The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-04-12
Mean BUSINESS.
Commercial Club Faces Santa Fe
Shop Problem.
Brayely Meets the Questions and
Goes to Work.
COMMITTEE REPORTS.
Property Owners Ask $122, ,5O3
For Their Homes.
Topeka Must Raise About
$4,000 in Cash.
No Hesitation When TOpeka's
Future Is Involved.
COMMITTEE REPORTS.

After a discussion of the Santa Fe
shop matter lasting for over two hours
last evening, the Commercial club
placed the entire matter in the hands
of the various committees which have
been appointed to secure the shops and
gave them power to act as they see fit
and confer with the Santa Fe at once.
There was a large attendance of busi-
ness men at the meeting, and the pres
ent situation was thoroughly can
vassed.
It was developed during the meeting
that the people of Topeka will probably
have to raise upwards of 100000 in or
der to secure the shops, but it was the
almost universal sentiment of the
members of the club that Topeka can
under no circumstances. allow the new
shops to be built elsewhere.
The committee which has been inter-
viewing the property owners on the
| proposed shop site completed it's work
late yesterday and finished its report
last night just in time to present it to
! the club. This committee is composed
| of Oscar Bischoff, c. H. Roof and Jos.
! Giriley. It has been hard at work ever
since it was appointed and has done it's
| work well. The report which was pre-
sented by Mr.. Bischon last night, is as
! follows:
LOuE committee dDpOluleQ IOE the
| purpose of interviewing the property
! owners in certain district of the city
| of Topeka for the purpose of ascertain
! ing prices of property, begs leave to
make the following report:
| THE territory which the Santa E'e
| Railway company desires to purchase
| for the purpose of erecting additional
| buildings for its shops at Topeka, COM
| prises part of what is known as Klein 5
/ addition. 1t is bounded on the east by
| Chandler street, on the west by the al
| ley west of Klein street, on the north
| by Seward avenue and on the south by
| First avenue, or the right of way of the
1 railroad company.
THE said district contains 200 lots
/ upon which there are located 107
! houses, all frame excepting one stone
building, and 80 frame barns and num-
! erous small outbuildingS. such as chick
| en- houses, coal sheds, and the like.
1.-THE properties are all owned by the
/ occupants, being for the most part San
| ia Fe employees. The committee has
! made a thorough canvass of said dis
| trict, making a conservative estimate OF
| the lot values and improvements there
| on, also ascertaining and adjusting the
various prices asked by the owners for
| their respective properties, and succeed
| ing in many instances in obtaining a
fair allowance on the prices that were
/ told to us as formerly given to George
D. Hale, agent for the railway com.
pany
"The figures in writing, obtained from
! the owners of the properties within said
district. and statements in detail com
piled by your committee regarding its
labors are herewith respectfully sub
mitted.
THE aggregate amount asked for the
properties is 1922, SOB.
OSCAR BISCHOFF,
Chairman
&C, H. ROOF.
''JOS. GRILEY'
/ oir1cr Ep qf he mi +.
tee Mr.. Roof said in addition to the re-
port:
I'VE had a hard job. I think it wa.
the hardest job I ever had hold of. WI
first put value on the property our
selves and then saw the property own
ers. Mr. Hale's figures were SI10,0 900
but we found that Mr.. Hale hadn't seel
ali the owners I am satisfied that tn
figures given US are, as a rule, fair, hon
est values The people have not Onl.
their houses, but they have cellars, ant
cisterns and trees, and grapes, man,
of them like to make wine-and I d.
not think the values they ask for thei
! properties as a rule are very high"
In reply to a query as to the price o
the lots alone without improvements
Mr.. Griley said the committee ha,
placed a value on each separately an
that the lots averaged $172.
Mr. Bischoff: 1--WE tried to put a cor
rect market value on the lots ourselves
We were guided by what property ha
been selling for down there recent
and what Mr.. Fensky asks for adjoin
ing property now. We put price O
s14O on the lots on Chandler street. an
advanced the price to 5000 for the eas
fronts or Klein street. Some of tn
property sold for $3.50 and $500 a fey
years ago, but no such price is main
tained now. Those people consider tha
the property is worth to them what
; has cost them. The houses are thei
| homes. but they are willing to leaV
- l.
want to get the cost out of them"
George w. Crane: did the commit
tee make any estimate of the salvag
from the houses that could be move
off and sold again."
Mr. Griley: 1--WE estimated the vaIu
of all the improvements separated,
2 but we do not know just how many
I | the houses can be moved. There al
, quite a number of new houses. bui
= in the past two years, which could /
moved without difficulty"
p. L. Wise, city engineer: 'I hax
{, looked that territory over pretty thol
= oughIy and have had q man figure G
q the salvage, and I cannot see more tha
$4,000 in it. I think we could easil
get $4,000, possibly $4,000, for II
l. wreckage. If the lots average $172 ths
j means $34. 400 for the lots and $Ss 600 f
= the improvements, so there is bour
e to be big loss there"
d Mr.. RischofT: Before we started
= interview the property owners we g
e a list of the property from the tax rol
= and also blue prints to guide US. o.
= estimate on the property is $S9.00o 10
= | and all. The difference between. ol
e figures and those of the property owi
V ers is that they ask what the proper
i cost them, while we valued it at i
5 present value. We explained to the
=. that they had been paying no rent, a.
/, therefore had been receiving an ind
i rect revenue from the property, a.
that they would receive cash in hal