The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-02-10
BIG PAVING FIGHT.
East Eighth Avenue Situation
Is Still Complicated
Favorable Report Will Be Made
by Committee.
NOW HAVE MAJORITY
Friends of Improvement Have
Won Latest Round.
Now Reported That Injunction
NOW HAVE MAJORITY.
Now Reported That Injunction
Suit Will Be Commenced.

Apparently the East Eighth avenue
paving is in a fair way to win in its
long struggle for existence The orig
inal petition" worked it's way through
the council, and Friday afternoon the
committee on streets and walks, after
a lengthy discussion, decided that the
various remonstrances against the orig
inal petition have been legally signed
by the owners of only 456,154 feet while
a majority must have over 600, $40 feet
There never has been such a bitter
and complicated fight as is being waged
pro and con the proposed pavement of
East Eighth avanue from Quincy east
to the. Topeka cemetery. It is the long
est stretch q pavement ever asked for
in a single petition in the history of
the city. comprising nearly II blocks.
The original petition called for brick
pavement and cast iron curbing- Then
a combination remonstrance against
iron curbing and petition for stone
curbing came in This was thrown out
because it tried to cover too much
ground Then came a remonstrance
against any paving whatsoever. This
was followed by a number of personal
letters from people on Eighth avenue,
asking that their names be taken from
one document and placed on the other.
The council accepted the original petit
ton, ana adopted a resolution to pave
Twenty days were then allowed for re-
monStranceS. 1t was to consider these
renonstrances that the streets and
walks committee met Friday, and the
result was that the committee will re-
port to the council that the remon-
STRANGE has not enough signers to de-
feat the original petition. 1t is now up
to the council to act
The council is in rather a delicate 20
sition in the matter The law says that
where majority of the taxpayers pc
tltlon Tor paving the council shall grant
the petition. Apparently the majority
has come out in favor of the pavement,
but there is still some doubt about it,
because several protests against >the
pavement have been filed with individ-
ual councilmen. and never turned over
to the council in an official way. These
protests have been disregarded
If the council acts as it is apparently
obliged to act, under the findings of the
committee, it will grant the petition
Then there will be an Injunction suit
for the people on East Eighth who OBJ
ject to the pavement declare that they
viii not allow the pavement to be laid
without a fight in the courts The CITY
viii have to pay the bills in this Iitiga-
ton, as the taxpayers on that street
will escape liability. If the CITY IS
beaten in this lawsuit, il will have the
% costs to pay All that the petitioners
for pavement will have to do is to sit
back and watch the city fight their
battles.
And if the city finally wins in IT'S lit;-
cation 1t may have TO pay the bills for
the whole Il blocks of pavement Peo-
pie VINO buy paving bonds are likely 10
be afraid to invest in bonds which have
been the subject of so much contro-
versy. The city will therefore he Iaft
with about 100000 worth of bonds on
hand The city will have let the CON
tract for the paving, however. and thus
pledged itself to pay for the work The
city will be liable for this work. ana if
the bonds do not sell the money will
nave to be raised in some other way.