The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-08-15
TRACKS ARE laid.
VineWood Park Railway Puts
In Its Tracks.
The City Injunction Failed to
Materialize.

The injunction suit which the city at
torney was ordered to begin against
the Topeka & Vinewood Park Railway
company, to stop the construction of a
track on Ninth street between Monroe
and Quincy. is still hanging fire, though
Mr.. Spencer says that he is getting the
papers ready as fast as he can.
At about IL o'clock this morning, Mr..
Spencer had just been to the clerk of
the supreme court and obtained the i'm
mense $500 record in the city of Topeka
Vinewood park case
L am going to try to find out the
facts in this case said Mr.. Spencer. 7
will have to dig through this big record,
and will file the injunction suit just as
soon as can I went to the city build
ing this morning, expecting to find
Mayor Hughes. He promised to have
some data for me in regard to the case.
But he did not show up, and 1 suppose
he is out around town somewhere.
As matter of fact, it does not make
much difference now to the Vinewood
park people whether or not an injunc-
ton suit is commenced They have
their rails and ties all down, and the
only thing an injunction would accom-
plish would be to tie the company up
from paving its track This would
leave the street in about the same fix
that East Fifth street now is, between
Monroe and the Santa Fe depot.
The railway had a force of men at
work bright and early this morning
The ties and rails necessary to COM
plete the block were quickly put in
place. and by o'clock, all fear of an
injunction vanished. The rest of the
day the men have been leiSurely lamp
ing in einders. leveling their tracks, and
getting everything in readiness for tia
pavement to be laid.
Last night the council held a special
secret meeting just after the adjourn
ment of the regular session The pur-
pose was to authorize the city attorney
to start operations at once, and get his
injunction papers filed before he went
home to bed. Mayor Hughes thought
that the railway company would try to
lay it's rails during the night. But this
proved to be a false alarm, though the
city had the place watched all night,
as work commenced.
At the council meeting two petitions
We're presented. One was signed by w.
E Sterne and fourteen others, protest
ing against the laying of tracks on
Ninth street. The other had about fifty
signerS and protested against the pro-
posed rebuilding of the Ninth street
viaduct.
Vinewood Park railway, was present
at the council meeting, and presented
the side of the company.
''All the legal points involved in this
matter" said Mr.. Jetmore, ARE pend
ing in the supreme court 1t is a res
adjudicata. The city would gain moth
ing by stopping our work by Injunction.
l say frankly to you that the company
proposes to go ahead and lay this track
unless stopped by legal process. We
expect to use the track some day We
are planning to spend $780, 200 in this
city rebuilding and refitting the Vine
wood park road. We have plans and
speeifca lions completed for a new steel
viaduct over the railway tracks. We
propose to give to Topeka gratis, a fine
park, better than any of the parks
which you are paying your park COM
missionerS to create The VineWood
Park railway is a home institution It's
pay roll at this time is 1925 a week,
which all goes right out here in To-
peka- It is not making anything, be-
cause it is not yet in a position to make
money. If we do not win our suit in the
supreme court, we, of course, are will
ing to give up our claim to Ninth street.
So the city can lose nothing by allow
ing US to place our tracks there
The city attorney, however, advised
the council not to permit the cOnstruc-
ton of the tracks He said that it the
tracks were laid without protest, it
would act as an estopple to any future
claim by the city that the railway had
nor right to build on Ninth street. The
council therefore ordered that an in
junction suit against the Vinewood
Park company be commenced at once