The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-06-18
RAMSEY OUT OF IT
Says He Won't Fight Paving
Combine Any More.
Tired OF Working for Glory at
Home.
PEOPLE TO PAY MORE.
Means That the Price Will
60 Up.
May Be No Bids on West Twelfth
Street.
PEOPLE TO PAY MORE.


pavements cheap in Topeka, says he
is done bucking the alleged pavement
combine.
IF I do any more work in Topeka
said Mr.. Ramsey today, u will do it
at a fair price. am tired working for
nothing. There is plenty of paving
work in other Kansas towns. Up at
Lawrence we get $142 for exactly the
same kind Of work that costs Topeka
only s1-15- Higher prices for pavement
prevail in every town in the state than
prevail here
Mr.. Ramsey says that he does not
think anybody will want to bid on the
w est twelfth street paving at the en-
glneer's estimate of SIPS. The fact
that there are two car tracks on this
street breaks off the line of pavement,
and makes it difficult to lay brick there.
II James Ramsey really withdraws
from the paving business in Topeka
and his son Charles B. Ramsey follows
cheap paVementS in Topeka is at an
end. The Ramseys have been the ones
who have made things unpleasant for
the alleged combine. The Combine"
drive them out of business and it seems
that at last it has succeeded, or that
the long standing hostility has been
patched up. Perhaps the concessions
have been mutual, and that in the fu-
ture, the annual lot of paving contracts
will be sliced up among the contractors
at agreed prices.
That something of this sort may be
on foot was indicated by the bids which
were received at the last council meet
ing on the paving of an alley one
block long in North Topeka. James
Ramsey bid the limit on this-S1 IS per
square yard. which was the full esti-
mate of the city engineer. John Ritch-
lie bid $1.Z41z. Rather than let the con
tract at these high figures, the council
rejected both bids. There is some talk
now to the effect that none of the con-
tractors will bid again on this job Of
work This might leave the city in
rather an awkward position.
July L is the date for the awarding
Of contracts, not only for the North To
peka alley, which has been readvertis-
ed, but for East and West Twelfth
streets. At that time it will be shown
pretty concIuSfVeIy whether the paving
combine has gobbled up Ramsey, and
put an end to the paving fights unless
as Mr.. Ramsey says and others init
mate, there will be no competition for
West Twelfth and the North Topeka
alley.
City Engineer McCabe does not take
much stock in the report that there
will be no bidders on the West Twelfth
street job. He says; This estimate Of
SIPS is not too low. The contractors
can easily come inside of those figures
If they can lay pavement on other
streets for S1.15 they can easily lay it
on West Twelfth for less than $1.25."
The history of the fight between the
Ramseys and the alleged combine is
pretty well known in Topeka Aside
from the Ramseys, there have been
only two other firms bidding on To-
pelxa pavement. One was Wall & Han
ley and the other was John Richie.
Wall & Hanley and John Richie are
said to have had the backing of the
Capital City Brick company. Two
years ago. Ramsey & Ramsey stepped
in and took a lot of paving contracts
and filled them with brick made at
Lawrence. This made the local manu-
facturerS mad, and they turned in to
help punish the Ramseys. The bidding
for the next contracts was exceedingly
bitter. The price was cut down to
s1-121z. and neither side was able to
make much if any money
That there is close friendship be-
tween Richie and the Wall & Hanley
firm is shown by the fact that Hanley
and Ritchie are in partnership on GER
tain paving work outside of Topeka
The Ramseys have apparently formed
an alliance with the prOprietors of the
old Blackman brick plant, some dis
lance west of the Capital City brick
plant. This makes the fight take the
nature of a fight between rival brick
companies as well as between rival
paving firms.
Paving contractors are notorious
buffers. It may be that Mr.. Ramsey
talk about Withdrawing from the To-
peka field as an active opponent of the
so-called combine" is merely a bluff.
He may be trying to throw the other
side off it's guard, and swoop down on
some paving prize a little later on.
One thing is tolerably certain, how
ever. If the RamSeys drop entirely out
of the paving business in Topeka, it
will be because they are driven out.
They are not likely to make peace with
their old adversaries. And so long as
two brick companies continue to oper-
ate here, there is. likely to continue to
be competition between their favored
representativ for paving business.