The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-09-28
OPEN THE FIGHT
Injunction Proceedings Against
City Railway.
Found That Even West Sixth
Macadam Is Bad.

Late this afternoon injunction pro-
ceedings will be commenced in the dis
trict court TO compel the street car
company to take up the dirt. cinders,
bricks and stones with which they have
been filing their West Sixth street
tracks, and replace this alleged
"macadam" with either cedar blocks or
brick.
George e. Stoker is the attorney. He
is backed up by half dozen promi,
nent citizens who are indignant. and
rightfullY SO. at the horrible imitation
of pavement which the company is
trying to perpetrate upon residents on
West Sixth.
This morning the city council COM
mittee on streets and walks visited
West Sixth and made some discoveries
of what has been going on out there
The railway company worked Dig
gang of men all day Sunday. and in
stead of laying good macadam pave
ment as it had agreed to do, il was
dumping in rocks as big as peck
measure for the lower course. and
throwing cinders and dirt on top. For
a distance of four blocks the cheap i'm
itation of mscadam had been put down.
1t seems that il was the intention of
the company to get the big stones COW
cred up with something before any
body had time to inspect the work.
After making the discovery that the
people who are constructing the city
railway are not TO be trusted TO carry
out their agreement, the streets and
walks committee authorized the city
engineer to Immediately appoint an in
spector to be constantly on the ground
and see to it that the city railway does
Its work according to ordinance and
according to agreement. Already the
city engineer has had considerable diff
Guilty in enforcing the terms of the or
d1nances regarding excavations.
superintendent Collins, OF the Railway
Construction cOn1n9nN seemed n he
siderably annoyed by the discovery of
the way in which the work was being
done on West Sixth. He agreed to have
the big stones broken up, and agreed to
dig out the dirt which has been put in,
and replace it with crushed stone as
soon as the company is able to supply
the crushed stone from its Vinewoo1
crusher. He claimed that the dirt and
sand which had been dumped in was
merely temporary, but his explanation
of the other irregularities was simply
that he did not know what was going
on.
The injunction proceedings which are
to be commenced will ask first that the
more ''macadam' and that a mandatory
injunction be issued to compel the COM
pany to take out the macadam which
has been laid, and replace the cedar
blocks
To replace the cedar blocks. however,
it virtually impossible, because they are
decayed and falling to pieces. The COM
pany would not want to buy new cedar
blocks. and the court would probably
order it to put in some suitable substi-
tute. The kind of macadam which has
been going in is not a suitable substi-
tute for anything.
East of Harrison street. the macadanI
on West Sixth is very well laid. 1t has
3-inch crushed stone for the lower
course. and finer stone for the upper
courses. Part of the way there is a
concrete base being put in. But west
of Harrison. the condition of things gets
worse and worse. The refuse paving
blocks from the stone pavement be-
tween Kansas avenue and Van BurelI
are being hauled in and dumped into
the excavation without being broken,
whole bricks. the culls from paving
work, are also used. and on top the dirt
and sand dug from the right of way Is
piled. 1t would be practically impas-
sable. Wagons could not cross from one
side of the street to the other.
1t looks little as though the street
car company was trying to rush things
faster than it can handle the WORK sat
isfactorily 1t cannot supply rock from
its crusher fast enough to keep up with
the excavation work and it seems 10 be
resorting to very inferior substitutes.