The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-07-18
BILL is SCALED DOWN.
Capital Will Still Pay the City Over
Three. Thousand Dollars.

After re-checking some of the items
on the Daily Capitals overcharge
bill, the ways and means committee
of the city council found at its Satur-
day night meeting that the commit
tee had made some slight errors in
| it's first figures. The Capital company
presented a statement showing the re-
suit of the measurement made by that
office, and made it appear that the
committees bill for overcharges was
$77.06 too much on the three and
half years work:
The committee did not re-check all
the items claimed by the Capital, but
took only the larger ones. Rather
than take the trouble to go over all
the items, the committee allowed the
claim in a lump sum. The Capital
| management expressed a willingness
to pay the entire amount claimed by
/ the committee, but the committee was
generous and discounted the bill by
| $77.06. This leaves the Capital owing
| the city for overcharges the sum of
| $3,052.14, which it has agreed to pay.
Arthur Capper, president of the
Capital Publishing company was
present at the meeting and made
speech in defense of the Capitals sys-
tenn of padding the council proceed
ings. He said
There is no law governing the
publication of council proceedings,
and there is nothing in our contract
There is not even any law ordering
their publication. We have been gov
erned by custom. 1t has been the
custom of every paper which has ever
had the city printing to print the
council proceedings in the news mat
ter type of the paper. 1 have no
the county or state publications
should measure this council proceed
ings matter he would measure it as
we did"
AZ
suggested Chairman Green.
Yes, as corrected" assented Mr.Cap-
per.
When the State Journal had the Off
were set in solid nonpariel or solid min
ion. usually the former, and the city
was not forced to pay one-third extra
for blank space.
The members of the committee
thought that the council had allowed
the padding graft to go on for long
without any objection that it had tao
lily assented to such practice and could
not consistently try to make the Capt.
tai pay back the money illegally col
lected for this practice. A motion to
this effect was made by Councilman
Ryder, and carried.
When it came to the reading of the
committees report, as drafted by the
subcommittee, the meeting went into
executive session, and the exact nature
of the report will not be made public
until tonight, when it will be read to
the council. The only point which the
committee had to agree upon was the
extent of censure to be placed upon
City Clerk Squires and other city Off
Gals for their negligence in permitting
the Capitals bills to go through I'M
checked for the past four years.
The committee promptly rejected the
claim of Chris Roof. the East Eighth
grocer who wanted $1,000 for damages
to his business due to the alleged neg
lect of the city in failing to repair the
East Eighth street bridge more prompt
ly when it was washed out. City AttOr-
ney- Spencer told the committee that
the claim had no standing in lazy.
The judgment for $S25 secured by w. |
A. Roberts against the city for injuries
received by falling through this same
East Eighth avenue bridge while it was
in a damaged condition will be paid. |
The committee decided, on the advice
of City Attorney Spencer, not to APP
peal the case. Judge Hazen, in ruling !
on the motion for a new trial, told the |
lawyers that in his opinion, the verdict |
should have been twice as large as it |
was.