The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-09-28
TRY TO FIX IT.
Six Members of Council Give
Engineer Advice.
Then He Issues City Railway a
Permit.
REQUEST is MODIFIED.
Plan Double Track on Thir-
teenth to Fillmore.
Rest of Way Provision is Made
for Single.
REQUEST is MODIFIED,

This morning six members of the city
council met at the call of Councilman
Weber and instructed the city engineer
to issue a permit to the city railway to
excavate for a double track on Thir-
teenth street from Jackson to Fillmore
street. and for single track from Fill
more to a junction with its present Clay
street line.
This is not what the city railway
wanted. It asked for a double track
the whole distance The action of the
council is likely to make a great many
people on Thirteenth street mad. as it
looks nightly like discrimination in ia
vor of the block between Fillmore and
Clay
The six members of the city council
who took the action were Weber. Neil.
Nellis. Tincher and Kutz. Wolf, the
sixth man present, opposed it.
The argument in favor of keeping the
double track off from the block between
Fillmore and Clay, where NJ A Low,
A. T. Reid and ]. C. McClintock live
was that this block is paved, and the
pavement should not be spoiled
AT the same time, it was argued by
the same councilmen that by allowing
a double track on Thirteenth from
jackson to. Fillmore they would practi-
caliy force the people to pave that
street. If this should come TO pass, as
1t likely would, it would certainly look
queer to have double track on Thir-
teenth all the way to the NJ A Low cor
ner, and single track thence westward
f. G. Kelley, of the railway company
was asked whether the company would
agree to this sort of a permit or
whether it would go ahead and build
to do
L don't know" he said. THAT is a
question for Mr.. Myers to settle" Mr.
Myers will arrive in Topeka this after
noon.
The work of putting in the double
track on Thirteenth street will begin
Tuesday morning. 1t will be rushed
with the utmost speed. The railway COM
pany is afraid there will be an injunc-
ton to stop the building of the line. The
objection to a double track on Thir-
teenth is that the street is only 80 feet
wide. The double track will occupy 10
rect, leaving only Sc feet on each side
OF the track for a wagon road Many
people living on Thirteenth assert that
property.
J. B. Larimer came before the com
mittee of the council this morning and
stated that he represented c. j. Devlin.
w. w Mills, n. F. Handy and other
residents of Thirteenth street and that
he would see to it that the company
kept off Thirteenth street if possible.
The action of the council in seeming to
favor the people at Fillmore and Thir-
tenth will not tend to- nollify the resi-
dents at the east end of Thirteenth.
AS a matter of fact, the action of the
six members of the city council is really
of very little significance. They were
simply called into the case by City En-
gineer McCabe as sort of an advisory
committee. The company applied to
Mr.. McCabe for a permit to exacavate
on Thirteenth, and he asked the coun-
ell for advice. There being so many
councilmen absent from the city, and
also the mayor, city clerk and president
of the council, it was impossible to hold
a council meeting to decide the matter.
Councilman Weber therefore called the
streets and walks committee together,
and invited other councilmen to partic
ipate. 1t was sort of an informal
meeting without real authority.
The franchise held by the company
gives it the right to lay single or dou-
bic track on any street over 80 feet in
width, with certain specified exceptions.
1t could probably go ahead and do the
work without a permit, unless the prop
erty owners find a way to stop the
work by Injunction The injunction
route is what is now the most likely
one for the street railway for while
instead of the route out Thirteenth
The six members of the council, the
city engineer and Mr.. Kelley and Mr..
Collins of the street railway, visited
Thirteenth street this morning, ana
went over the Srouilu Cal SAuhs dtlOuS
ways OUT were suggested. The COM
pany offered to go on Huntoon street
instead of Thirteenth but this sugges-
ton was not favorably- received by any
one except Councilman Neil. Council
man Nellis wanted to cut a strip off
from, the south end of J. c. MeCllntock's
lots and the south end of Central park.
and let the company run its tracks
there instead of in the middle or the
pavement but it was considered al
visaI1I TO turn down this plan. some