The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-12-24
PAVING SKIRMISH
City Council Takes Another
Chance at East 9Th Street.
This Time They Decide in Fa-
vor of Proposition.
WON'T HAVE Hal
Members Vote Down PROPOSE.
tiOn For His Reinstatement.
Councilman Bergundthal Says
the Mayor is Pooling Him.

Frank Patrick and H. w. Page rep
resenting the negative and affirmative
respectively of the question, Resolved
that East Eighth street should be
paved had a debating contest before
the council last night, and the council
decided in favor of the affirmative.
The much fought-over paving petition
for East Eighth was passed by a vote
of 10 to 2
However there is still chance for
the opponents of the paving. The
council did not take a step which can
not be retracted. The friends of the
proposed pavement have in reality only
won the preliminary skirmish of the
battle.
Mr. Patrick was present at the coun-
Gil meeting to urge that the whole mat
ter of paving be referred back to the
petitioners. 1t is claimed that this ac-
ton would practically kill the PROPOSE
ton Mr.. Patrick urged that besides
the original petition, protest had been
filed, and subsequent to that a request
to take names off the protest, and a
combination protest and petition, all
of which he asserted had inextricably
tangled things up. He further claimed
that 500 frontage feet the street
We're necessary to a majority, and that
petition, only 1855 without the
school board, whose right to sign such
petitions Mr.. Patrick challenged
Mr.. Page in reply asked City En-
gineer McCabe to state what he found
out concerning the signers on the pc
tition- Mr.. McCabe said he had found
that on the original petition there was
a clear majority of $50 feet for the
paven ent. He would not venture to
say what effect the subsequent protests
and counter expeditions had on this.
Mr.. Patrick claimed that if the city
granted the petition, it would make the
city liable for the whole cost of the
paving, as the petition has not enough
signers to be valid.
After long and tedious discussion
the council decided to pass the resolu-
ton calling for the pavement. After
this is passed and published, 20 days
are allowed by law for protests to the
paving. The council figures that
within those twenty days there
will be time to consider all the
protests and ascertain the real strength
and weakness of the petition.
The real trouble on East Eighth
street is merely a fight between rival
paving contractors, one wanting cast
iron curbing, and the other FIT. Scott
sandstone curbing. The paving petiti-
ton was worked up by professional
paving boomers.
Councilne en- Myers and GriIey were
the only councilmen who opposed the
resolution to pave.
Several other interesting paving mat
ters were disposed of without conflict
last night. The East Tenth street paw
ing was adopted and given a good
start through the maze of legal prelim-
inaries.
Petitions were received for paving
East Fourth street from the Santa Fe
tracks to the Shunganunga, and Nor
ris avenue from Sixth to Tenth. The
Morris avenue pavement petitioned for
is only 26 feet wide and its acceptance
is very doubtful The council is OPP
posed to any pavement less than 80
feet wide The last petition from Nor
ris avenue was for 24-foot pavement
and was rejected
With the East Fourth street petition
Joseph Griley appears as sworn circula-
tor, and for Morris avenue, Laura Bo-
linger did the work The people who
circulate the petitions are now required
to make affidavit that they receive no
pay from pavement contractors.