The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-05-10
THEY DON'T AGREE
John H. DALEY Makes a Speech
in North Topeka.
His Theories About a Flood Are
COntrOVerted.
ENEMY OF THE BRIDGE
People Don't Think That 1t Is
a Menace.
Heroic Work of Freeman SaE-
dOu to Be Recognized.
OF THE BRIDGE


ing in North Topeka since the flood
was held in Lukens' opera house last
night. 1t was advertised that Mr.. John
A. Daley would talk, and he did, some
what informally
President J. B. Billiard occupied the
chair. He first called attention to the
heroic work done by Mr.. Sardou during
the flood. and suggested that his ser
vices ought to be recognized in some
public way by North Topeka. DR.. NJ
r. Mitchell endorsed the idea which
was unanimously approved by the meet
ing.
The necessity of rebuilding the north
end of the Melan bridge and the restor-
ing the Sardou avenue bridge was dis
cussed at some length and finally
committee was appointed to press this
matter.
Mr.. Daley made one or two little
talks expressing his desire to help
North Topeka and finally presented a
map of the river together with d pro-
file of the Melan bridge The appear
ance of Mr.. Daley was unfortunate I1r
North Topeka and would nave De IN
more so if there had been large at
tendance of First ward women. his
presentation of the situation was raj
lacious, misleading and dispiriting he
seems to have it in, as they say, Tor
the Nelan bridge. 1t is his bette noir-
In his argument he assumes as his
premises, that we are to have announcer
flood equal to that of last year. This s,
of course, pure assumption. No sc1en-
tific or philOsOphic reason can be given
in its support and he gave none But
Mr. DALEY has some credit with the
nervous and excitable women of North
Topeka from the fact that some years
ago he declared that in case OF very
high water North Topeka might be cut
off by the river Overflowing its BANKS
reI1ea 7p1
western part of the city into SOLDIER
creek Now this was the case, to some
extent last year and consequently MI
Daley has been given credit for pre-
dieting the flood, when all that he said
was that these certain results Woulu
follow certain conditions. There was
nothing prophetic in this Any civil en-
efneer or in fact any person of Ordl-
nary observation might have said the
same thing. The overflow was the nat
ural and inevitable result of the pass
ing of the immense volume or water.
No one could know beforehand tnaI
such a flow would come, but every one
knew or might have known what
would be the result of such flow. BUT
because the flood did come, without the
preScienCe of Mr. Daley, ne StailuS
credited with a wisdom that belongs to
no man, and so is taken as authority
by many to the detriment of the com
munity.
Mr.. fDailey's argument is this: We
will have another flood equal to that
of 1903. These premises assumed
without argument or reason therefor.
The Melan bridge is a dam that
causes the overflow in North Topeka.
It is therefore a menace to safety and
a nuisance that should be abated. He
goes on to show how the bridge
causes this result and many of our
people accept his statement without
question.
The time has now come, if it did
not come long ago, for some plain
70 II TnN1 l-rfrH
had nothing to do with the flooding of
North Topeka. 1t is not true that the
water above the bridge was to any
perez tible extent higher than the
water below. The contrary is claimed,
as is stated by another engineer than
Mr.. Daley. If there is any truth in
this statement it would be we'll to
know at what precise time this oc-
CURED. 1t could not possibly have
been all the time of the flood and
that for purely scientific reasons
When then was it? When and how
was North Topeka flooded?
AS every one knows the first flood
ing of Topeka was on the South side
Early Friday morning the waters COW
cred the city park, and long before
noon Crane street was a raging tor
rent which people of the North side
went over to view. During the fore
noon some of the low districts in the
northeast part of the ward began to
be covered with back water from the
sewers and that portion lying east of
the Union Pacific tracks began to be
covered with water from the neigh
borhoOd of the Sardou avenue bridge,
more than half mile below the
Melan bridge. Some time before, or
at about noon, the water began COM
ing down the bottom land into the low
districts of the northwest part of the
ward This flow continued all the aft
ternoon, coming from the country
west of the city. There was no over
flow in North Topeka from the river
al Ft.a 1afAx
came from above, finally joining Sol
der creek and from this source food
ing all the northern portion of the
ward. To I'LL UP this low section re-
quired nearly all afternoon. The
water had been coming down West
Gordon street and other streets since
noon, the streams turning north as
the water approached the cross
streets and alleys. It was nearly dark
before there was water near the fire
station, corner of Gordon and Kansas
avenue. At that time the water west
and north was six, eight or ten feet
deep in places. And still Kansas ave-
nue. was dry from the fire station to
the Melan bridge. The higher banks
of the river between the bridge and
the Kuehne Preserving works seDara f I'd
the waters from the river from those
that came down from the west. The
street cars were running until a bort 3
o'clock. Soon after that the waters
all over the North side rose RAPIDLY
All the low ground acting as reser-
vOirs had been filled. Soon every street
running east and west became a. tor
rent. AS the volume increased within
the river banks, and over the ground
of the North side these two separate
bodies of water met Now what
would have been the result if at this
time the Melan bridge had been a
dam, with the water say, even two
feet lower below than above the
bridge?
Only one result was possible. Water
seeks a level as persistently as Mr.
Daley claims that the Melan bridge is
a menace to the North side. At this
time the water was at the end oS the