The Topeka state journal., 1902-03-24
THAT v1NEwooD FRANCHISE.

1t Is to be hoped that the city VIII not
be deceived by a proposition which
bears the stamp of deceit upon its face.
No Individual or collection of capital
lists, smart and shrewd enough to ac-
cumulate s150.O0O. will expend it for the
mere purpose of running an electric line
into one of the suburbs of Topeka as
an investment to seek returns from
summer resort enterprise, coupled with
what little business it can secure from
the people of the suburbs in that one
direction. The proposition to spend this
amount of money for this purpose IS
simply preposterous.
AS the State Journal has explained be-
fore in giving it's reasons for opposing
this gift, there is some Interior and hid
den motive. 1t is either a plan to secure
an entering wedge into the city of To-
peka for Kansas City electric line, or
it is scheme to acquire for nothing a
valuable franchise for the purpose OF
selling out at profit or for holding up
some other company.
If the reader will pause for a moment
and consider he will see the situation.
We are given assurances that the Vine
wood people will enter into an agree
ment not to dispose of any rights they
may acquire to any Kansas City cleo
tric line. Such an agreement the
reader should know would not be worth
the paper written upon so far as any
security to our merchants is con-
cerned.
There are a score of ways which any
agreement of this kind could be legally
evaded by means of mortgage and
foreclosure, or reorganization, or trans
fer first to intermediate parties, or any
one of a dozen schemes.
The Leavenworth and Kansas City
electric line is just now acquiring a
right of way into Kansas City. Mo-,
the lack of which has handicapped It's
business The State Journal believes
that some day an electric line will be
built to Topeka from Kansas City. but
our merchants generally believe and
tell us that such a line will be of great
injury to them: that it will increase
the facilities for going to Kansas City
and encourage trade in Missouri, which
should be fostered for our own peo-
pie, but there is no use in extending
the glad hand to a Kansas City enter
prise which our merchants now so Bit
terly oppose. The easiest gateway for
a Kansas City electric railway to enter
Topeka would be through exactly the
franchise now asked for by this Vine
wood company.
We believe that the council will never
regret its action if it postpones any
further consideration of the proposed
franchise at this time.
Recently the Topeka Street Railway
company has been relieved of a million
dollars worth of bonds and interest
which has hung about its neck like
milestone. During the past few days 1t
has shown signs of arranging for the
rebuilding of its Topeka tracks and re-
placing its old, unsuitable and dis
graceful cars. The power house is a
splendid one and the time of the serv-
ice is rot to be especially criticized, but
the miserable track, the bouncing and
cramped cars deserve condemnation.
A hundred thousand dollars spent by
this company now would give Topeka
a superb city railway equipment and
service.
The Topeka City railway has been re-
lieved of an incubus, just as the old
Santa F'e system was. Now let the city
railway follow the Santa Fe's example
and give us the best transportation ia
cilities and equipment to be had. We
are entitled to them. Let US have them.
City railway stock may then go up like
lLG odIlld It Shares QlQ-ITOU1
to almost par.
In. other words, we believe that To-
peka is in a good position to demand
and secure decent street car service,
and any effort at this time to handicap
it by giving away a valuable franchise
to a line which proposes to cover one
suburb would interfere with the early
of our present city lines
Tho vii f6a
people of Highland Park and Vinewood
will have a service like all other por-
tions of the city and suburbs in other
Just now these people can
afford to wait and put up with what
they have rather than defer improve
ments for the car service of the whole
city and fve-sixths of the suburbs. We
believe in giving the City Railway COM
paQy one more chance. If it does not
this spring and summer put it's lines
and cars on a basis creditable to this
western city we will be in
favor of taking progressive measures
looking to that end, but we do think it
would be a mistake to grant any new
franchise to any outside company at
this time.
The owners of the Vinewood Park en-
terprise have acquired it in the main
by the exchange of some southwestern
ranch lands and the city can afford to
let these people get along at present
with what they already have The pre-
tense that the city has any serious fear
of the outcome of the old Vinewood
Park suit for damages on account of
the removal of the rickety old life en-
Ninth street viaduct is ri
diculous. The Vinewood Park people
r. hor1oSa1xy0G admit ha fhnir iS Of
little standing. At any rate it involves
an amount of less than $1,000 and would
be a mere bagatelle to exchange for a
franchise.
This paper has no interest in this
matter except that it does not like to
see the city and the merchants of To-
peka imposed upon by a scheme which
will not stand upon a business basis
ki1.h