The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-08-10
He Casts 1t Over Topeka and
Sees Things.
Condoles With Citizens Over
High Gas Rates.
WOULD CAUSE TEARS.
What He Says About Kansas
City Water Rates.
Likes the Topeka Streets and
the Pavements.

City Engineer Robert AIcAlpine, Of
Kansas City, Kas.. was in Topeka to-
day to inspect the paved streets of To-
pelza and the progress on the pave
ment now being laid
They have dollar gas in Kansas City,
kas.. and this is what Mr. McAlpine
says about 1t:
our gas company seems to be max
ing money in the gas business under
the dollar gas rate They give US ex-
ceIlent service-better, I should judge,
than you get here in Topeka They
make all our connections with the
mains free of charge and furnish the
best quality OF gas that can be made
The gas com pany is Independent Of the
Kansas City. No. plant, and supplies
only the people in Kansas City. kas-
The water rates in Kansas City, kas.,
are also where they should be- 1t IS
enough to make a Topeka man weep 70
think of getting all the water he needs
for his house for the sum Of a dollar
a quarter or four dollars a year but
that is the rate in Kansas City, kas.
Moreover, the water company there
VIII sell a single quarter at the same
rate In Topeka the water company
viii not transact any business for less
than a half year.
There is only one thing in which To-
peka seems to have Kansas City beSted
in the matter of pavement
1.-THE Topeka streets and pavements
are very fine" said Mr.. McAlpine i
like the wide streets and the way they
are laid out. You do not have trouble
with irregular blocks as we do in kan
sas City. The pavements I have seen
here are all in good shape, and seem to
be standing up we'll In Kansas City
we are laying brick pavement mostly
now but we lay it on a concrete base
instead Of sand. We pay about $l-3O
a square yard This is for one course
of brick on a foundation of concrete
I don't know but what the Topeka way
of laying on sand is better 1t is not
50 difficult to make repairs to pipes
under the street, or make other excava-
tons"
Kansas City has had a great deal of
trouble with cedar block pavement, as
Topeka soon will have on West Sixth
street. The Kansas City people allowed
their cedar block pavement to get into
terrible condition 1t was so bad the
cedar blocks We're washed out in large
numbers by the rain, and still the re-
pairs were not made That is q little
worse than Topeka ever was. But now
Kansas City is spending over a million
dollars in pavements, and all the old
cedar block pavement is to be replaced.
We repair our cedar block pave
ment at the expense of the property
holders living on the street We pro-
coed the same as for an original pave
inent. leVying a pavement tax on the
property abuttinE. The old cedar
blocks are removed, and piled UP for
the property holders to use for lxindling.
Then we lay a course Of brick upon the
original foundation. 1t costs us about
IS cents a square yard to make the
change"
The Information about taxing up the
cost of the repaving of a block to the
property holders is a new wrinkle for
Topeka officials. The officials of this
oity have heretofore held that such a
tax couldinot be levied against property.
1t seemstthat it can be done, for Kan
saE City is doing it all the time. Act
ing on this assumption. it is likely that
the council Will not be slow to order
West Sixth street to be repaved- West
Sixth street is in bad shape. but not
nearly as bad as some of the cedar
block pavement in Kansas City.
Mr.. McAlpine spent most of the
morning riding about over the pave
ments Of the city. He was escorted by
City Engineer James McCabe.