The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-08-13
DRIVEN TO WALL.
Paving Combine About to Tri-
umph in Topeka.
Antitrust Firm Unable to Get
Brick.
WILL ASK EXTENSION.
Would Like to Have Paving Go
Over a Year.
May Be End of Cheap Pavements
In Topeka.


combine has succeeded in bringing to
its knees the anti-combine firm of Ram
sey & Ramsey. which secured the big
gest portion of the paving contracts in
Topeka this summer The combine has
control of the brick supply. and the
Ramseys are unable to get enough
brick to complete their contracts BY
making it impossible for the Ramseys
to obtain brick, the combine may force
the council to forfeit Ramseys' $4,000
bond. and thus ruin the firm and drive
1t out of business.
Ramsey & Ramsey have been brought
to the point where they are asking the
council for permission to postpone doing
a large portion of their work until next
summer. They want the city engineer
to order J. II. Maxwell to grade out no
more streets covered by their paving
contracts. Maxwell does all the grad
ing, and he is anxious to go ahead and
finish up his work and get his money.
He does not want to wait until next
summer to finish his contract with the
city. Besides, he is under bond to have
it all done by December l. Ramsey d
Ramsey also want the city to order
Kepley & Webster, the curbing contrac-
tors, to furnish no more curbing this
year for streets where the Ramseys eX-
pect to pave. The curbstone men object
to this, because they, like Mr.. Maxwell
want their money.
The Ramseys are obliged, under their
bond, to finish their work by December
10 Otherwise the city could demand
the forfeiture of the bond. But there
seems to be no possibility that they can
get brick enough to carry out their con-
tract by December Is. The combine mas
nearly everything sewed up tight.
There seems to be only one place
where Ramsey e Ramsey can get brick.
The old Blackman plant, now owned by
Rodgers and others, will sell to the
Ramseys. But the output of this plant
is very small, not nearly enough 10
supply the needs.
Tire Capital City Brick company is
sending in brick to John Richie ana
Wall & Hanley as rapidly as possible
but will sell none to the Ramseys. They
claim that they must supply the other
two firms first, though there are said TO
be millions of brick ready for delivery
at the Capital City plant 1t has been
slow work delivering brick. owing to the
condition of the roads. The ROCK Is
land spur which leads to the brick plant,
was also washed out by the Hood, ana
has Just been replaced. Br1ck are DelnS
sent to town on flatcars but Ramsey "
Ramsey can get none, it is said, until
the others are supplied. There seems 10
be no special reason why the supply OF
bricks should not be distributed along
the various contractors, and enable
them all to keep at work and get the
streets of Topeka into passable condi-
ton, before winter sets in.
It is also claimed that the Ramseys
are unable to buy brick from Lawrence.
Just how this source was sewed up is
not known.
1t seems to be up to- the council TO
take some action. City Engineer Nc
Cabe does not know what authority he
has in the matter and Will refer the
question to the council Monday night.
No doubt the council win be inclined
to favor the Ramseys if possible. But 1t
is questionable whether it can give them
any relief without doing an injury TO
j. H. Maxwell and Kepley & Webster.
These two firms want to go ahead and
finish up their work at once. After
Maxwell grades and rolls the street, the
responsibility is then with the paving
contractor If the excavation caves in,
or if rains necessitate more rolling, the
payer must stand the loss. Hence il
would be disastrous for the Ramseys 20
have the excavations made long before
they are able to get brick to pave with.
The curbing contractors demand that
the excavations be made, so that they
can go ahead and set their curbs. There
fore the city council has some very deli
cate points to take into consideration.
The fight between the Ramseys and tbs
paving combine started several years ago
In the beginning it is said to have beer
started by James Ramsey, who claimed
that the brick men were giving inside
prices to other contractors Mr. Ramsey
IN retaliation went to Lawrence and gO
prices on brick there which eneabled hin
ing Topel<a streets This made the bricI
men here very mad and the next year they
co-Operated with the rival contractors Of
Ramsey TO keep Ramsey from getting any
work Prices were cut down to $l.l2l2 anC
S1.13 a square yard in this fight
Prior to this time Charles Ramsey had
been in partnership with John Richie
while James Ramsey was operating indie.
pendenty. Charles Ramsey had disa-
greement with Richie, it is said, and th'
firm was dissolved, Charles later going int
a partnership with his father under th'
name of Ramsey & Ramsey Ritchie ha:
since been very bitter against the Ram
seys and is said to have expressed it as
his determination that the Ramseys should
never lay any more pavement in Topeka
Things were in this shape when the pavina
contracts were let last spring.
Ramsey q ramsey knew that Ritehi'
ing in sympathy and they also suspected
that Wall & Hanley were lined up witt
very low on the work, thinking that the,
would get such large portion of it thai
ness with them or do no business at all
This plan failed to work. Richie anC
Wa eeS the cSp9i city pan nj ne
busy, and the delay caused by the foo;
cut down the normal capacity of the plan
somewhat. Naturally, the Capital CITY
plant undertook to supply its friends first
and Ramsey & Ramsey have had to wait
It is claimed however, that the plant nov
has on hand much larger supply of bricl
than will keep Richie and Wall & Hanie,
going but refuses to sell a single brick +
the Ramseys. This is one of the point
which the city council will probably in
vestigate
Topeka has been getting cheap pave
rnents recently and it is probably due il
large measure to the fight for existenc
which Ramsey & Ramsey have been max
ing Ramsey & Ramsey are said to hav
lost heavily in the West Sixth street ma
cadamizing contract. and the county com
missioners are now threatening to sue then
on their bond.
Nor1 80 Tsl,orl-o