The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-12-10
NO ONE IN HURRY.
City May Not Be Ready to Take
Water Plant.
Purpose Was TO Close the Deal
Jan. l
MIR. STREET is COMING.
Hopes to Complete Arrange
ments for Transfer.
Mayor Bergumdthal Hasn't Yet
Signed the Bonds.

a telegram from President Charles f.
Street of the Topeka Water company,
stating that he would be in Topeka
some time before Christmas for the
purpose of closing up the waterworks
deal.
1t is now regarded as extremely doubt
full whether the city will be ready to
take possession of the plant on January
1. Things are being allowed to drag
along at dismal rate. City Attorney
Spencer is not yet ready to report on
the title; Mayor BergundthaI is not yet
ready to sign the bonds; the ordinance
providing for the method of managing
the plant is in exactly the same cond1-
ton it was last April.
Unless the city takes possession of the
WaterWorks on January 1 it will lose
thousands of dollars. That date is the
! beginning of a year and the beginning
OF quarter; that is the time when the
water company takes in vast sums of
= money in rentals. Unless the city is in
possession of the plant at that time, it
will lose all this income. The total
amount which the city would lose by
any delay would be from $4,000 to $780,
! 900.
City Attorney Spencer has been work.
ing on the investigation of the title
ready to make any report at the coun-
Gil meeting Tuesday night He ex-
plains the delay as follows:
L have been pushing this ahead as
fast as 1 can, but it is slow business. I
have had to call on the water company
for ten abstracts to all this property,
and the abstractors have required
long time to get the information into
shape AS fast as the abstracts have
been brought to me, I have gone
through them. I am now working on
the last and largest of the lot; the one
covering the right of way for two miles
along the Rock Island tracks. 1 have
been obliged to call for more detailed
information in regard to this abstract,
and am now waiting for it. After 1 get
all the information 1 need. do not
think it will take long TO make my re-
port. But it is slow work"
Won't Sign the Bonds.
City Attorney Spencer says that there
is nothing to prevent Mayor Bergund-
the S350000 worth of waterworks bonds,
and putting them in the hands of the
city treasurer for safe keeping, as Or
dered by the council.
Mayor Bergundthal says he doesn't
think it necessary to sign the bonds
until City Attorney Spencer reports that
the title to the property is o. K.
Under the terms of the bonds, the
water company must have a represen-
tative present to witness the signatures
of Mayor Bergundthal and City Clerk
Squires. President Street recently sent
to City Attorney Spencer blank affida-
Wits for the mayor. clerk and the COM.
pany's representative to sign, to the ef-
feet that the bonds had been properly
signed. He also notified Mr.. Spencer
that the water company would author
iZe the city to select the president, vice
president, or cashier of any bank in To-
peka to act as it's witness to the sigma
lures. There is therefore nothing to
prevent the immediate execution of the
bonds. 1t is likely that the bonds will
have to be sent back to New York to
receive the certificate of the United
~ o. he
fore they can be turned over in payment
for the water plant. This will take
couple of weeks.
City Attorney Spencer says: THE city
will have to pay for the lithographiug
of these bonds, and it makes no differ
ence whether the mayor signs them or
not as far as that is concerned. If the
deal should by any chance fall through,
it would not be any more difficult to
destroy the bonds bearing the mayors
signature than the unsigned bonds.
don't know any reason why the bonds
should not be signed. There is danger
in postponing this any longer than nee |
essary because the names of W. S. /
Bergundthal, J. H. SquireS and Seth @.
Wells, state auditor, are autographed
into the bonds. If anything should hap !
pen to any of these officials, we would
have to have a new issue of bonds !
made unless they had been already
signed. I don't see any object in any |
more delay"
''I regard it as extremely doubtful |
whether the city can be ready to take |
possession of the plant by January l,
said Mayor Bergundthal today. There !
are so many things to be done before i
we can take charge of the plant. The |
council must pass some sort of an or
dinance regulating the control of the
business, and suppose the chances are
that they will pass that proposed Ord1- |
nance of Councilman Howe's without |
many changes. We can make changes
later on as the need arises We don't |
know yet exactly what we want. |
have not selected a board of water COM |
missionerS and even after that board is |
appointed and confirmed, I suppose it |
will need some time to look around |
and farniliarize itself with it's duties be- |
fore taking charge of the plant I re-
alize that January 1 is the natural time I
to take charge of the plant, and that |
we would lose a, good deal by delaying /
the date, but I can't see how we are |
going to get ready
+ If the city should set about getting
ready to take the plant January 1, 1t
could doubtless hurry things up consid- /
erably. President Street has manifest
ed great willingness to turn over the |
plant January 1. and has been expecting |
to do this. If the Water company is
not furnishing abstracts as rapidly as |
it should, a little urging would prob
ably hasten the proceeding. Things |
seem to be all waiting just now for the |
city attorney to report on the title, but |
there is no reason why the council |
should not be considering and discussing |
the plans for the operation of the plant, /
and getting an ordinance all ready for |
passage. nor is there any reason why |
all the preliminaries to the delivery of |
the bonds should not be gone through |
with and gotten out of the way. 1t |
would probably not take long for |
Mayor Bergundthal to name his board