The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-12-03
City Council Stirred Up About
City Light Superintendent.
Charged That He Is Holding
Two Positions.
HEDENIES THE CHARGE
Says He Is Acting Only as Mr..
Pankey's Advisor.
Doesn't Yet Know How Mayor
Decision Will Go.

c. c. Munson, the superintendent of
| the city electric light plant, is fixing a
landing place for himself in case of the
decision in favor of Albert Parker by
the supreme court He is holding down
the side position" of advisor and man
ager for the new Independent Telephone
company
1t is stated that Mr.. Munson will re-
sign his position of superintendent and
go to work for the Independent Tele-
phone company in case Mr. Hughes IS
thrown out of the mayors chair by the
supreme court. superintendent Mum
son manifests admirable sagacity in
arranging matters so conveniently,
though it must be admitted that the
city may possibly be getting little the
worst of the deal.
No special effort has been made to
announce the fact that Mr.. Munson is
working for the telephone company as
well as the city. One of the employees
of the company accidentally let the cat
out of the bag in talking with Council
man Weber a few days ago. Council
man Weber was hunting for Mr.. Mum
son and heard that ne was at the lnde-
pendent Telephone office So he went
there, and asked of one of the en-
ployes:
rs Mr.. Munson around here? Do
you know him when you see him.
"Oh, yes, 1 know him." replied the
obliging clerk, The is one of our head
men. He's out in the back room, 1
think
Mr. Munson was asked today whether
he was planning to resign his position
superintendent of the electric light
plant
That's the first 1 have heard of it,"
he replied.
Haven't you accepted the position of
Manager for the Independent Telephone
company? was asked.
"Oh. no; indeed replied Mr.. Munson-
Il am simply acting in an advisory
capacity with Mr. Pankey. I just
crf1- hi inn few r m
connected with the. old Harrison tele-
phone system, and knew some things
that Mr.. Pankey wanted to find out
about And then, you know" added
Mr.. Munson. I'VE don't know yet just
what will be the outcome of the
Hughes-Parker suit
Mr.. Munson receives 81, 900 a year for
serving as superintendent of the city
electric light plant. The job evidently
does not require his entire attention,
for it is quite difficult to find him at
the plant. Two or three members of the
council were trying to find him last
week. and though they telephoned to
the plant at intervals throughout the
day, they could not catch Mr.. Munson
in. Mr. Munson has evidently been i'm
proving his leisure time by fixing him
self for a fall out of a city job when
the supreme court hands down its
mayor decision.
Mr.. Munson IS generally believed to
be a good electrician, although there are
some who claim that in case the su-
Hughes an effort will be made to force
the mayor to appoint someone to Mr..
Munson's place
MIR. Munson is a. pole climber and
nneman. and not a good general SUI
perintendent of an electric plant He is
not engineer, and has never claimed
to be one" This is what one of the
critics of Mr.. Munson says of him.
There recently has been considerable
talk about the effort on the part of the
city to throw down. the Southwestern
Fuel company in it's contract to furnish
slack for the electric light plant en-
gines.
1t is claimed that the present city
adm inistratio is hostile to the South
western Fuel company, because of a
personal grudge between certain par
ties in both corporations. The South
western company asserts that it has al
ways stood ready to deliver any kind
of coal in any quantity, but that the
city, in defiance of the contract, has
recently purchased coal in carload lots |
from another coal company. The |
Southwestern company attempted to |
deliver car of coal to the electric light |
plant a short time ago, and found the |
track blocked up with electric light |
poles. How the poles got there is q |
question. Mr.. Munson says there wer9 |
no poles there Mayor Hughes says |
that the poles rolled off the pile by acct |
dent. But the poles were there, and |
shortly after, the plant ordered coal |
from another company.
The matter was brought to the atten