The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-06-20
Second Street Property Owners
to Withdraw Petition.
CAUSE OF THE TROUBLE
City Railway Granted PERMITS
sion to Pave When 1t Pieases.
This Means Pave When the
Company is Ready.
Cinders Being Used Between
Tracks ON College Avenue.

One of the haHdsomest gifts which
the street railway company ever re-
ceived from any source was the pres
ent of 5000 worth of immunity which
was made to it recently by the city
council
The council, by resolution, granted
the railway company permission to
pave its right of way on paved streets.
or not pave 1t, Just as 1T saw Mt On
its part the railway entered into a
solemn and binding obligation to pave
its right of way on paved streets when
ever it got ready to do So
The immediate effect of this reSClu-
ton is to make all the streets where
street cars run, and which have peti-
toned for pavement, wish that they
had their petitions safely slowed in the
waste basket.
At the meeting of the council Mon
day night a. request will be presented
by the property owners on Second
street between Quincy and Madison
streets that their petition for pavement
be reeonSidered and withdrawn. This
request is signed by all the property
holders who signed the original petition
for the pavement of this street. The
paven ent was to have been so feet
wide. There are two car tracks in the
street. If the car company is not re-
Quired to pave its tracks, about half of
the width of the street will be unpaved.
Naturally the people in that block are
highly indignant, and will resist any
attempt to pave the street They think
that if the council compels them to
pave the street it will be equivalent to
getting money from them under false
pretenSes, for when the pavement was
petitiOned for the street car company
had not worked its great bluff on the
council, and was obliged to get along
without special privileges.
There is no more reason" said
Second street property holder, why the
street car company should be excused
from paving its tracks than why a
poor citizen, living IN a. block with
more wealthy neighbors, should be ex-
cused from paving the street in front of
his house, provided the majority of the
neighbors decide that they want the
block paved. 1t is an outrage on the
property holders of Topeka to have
such action of the council enforced, es-
pecially since it is to be enforced
against pavement which was petitioned
for under entirely different conditions"
Street Commissioner Frank Snyder
says that it will be practically impos-
sible to sweep or effectively clean the
streets where the street car CON pany is
allowed to put in cinders instead of
The city officials. appointees of
Mayor Hughes, feel obliged to refrain
from saying anything derogatory to
the action of the council. But when
asked in regard to their views of the
question, they shake their heads. smile
suggestively, and say, well, I don't
know, of course, anything about it,
The College avenue pavement will
probably be the first in town to be
completed according to the new style
Already the street car company has
put its track on grade, and has COM
menced to dump in cinderS between the
rails. The people living on that street
while they object most strenuously to
the change from brick, realize that
they have no means of redress.
The only redeerning feature of the en-
of hA oil fc he ~
that it is a. resolution, and can be easily
undone at any time. Until it is undone.
there viii in all probability be no more
pavement laid on streets where car
lines exist. 1t also seems likely that
all the streets which are now being half
paved and half covered with cinders
will for many years be an eyesore to
the town.