The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-07-14
He IS OUT OF IT.
Councilman Holiday Withdraws
the Brady Franchise.
No Second Electrical Plant Will
Be Built.
LETTER TO THE MAYOR
Reviews Good Work of the Gas
Company.
No Betrayal Of Myers Confidence
He Says.
Gives Copies of kilograms to
That View.

There will be no second electrical
plant in Topeka. Neither will there
be any attempt to sandbag the Edison
company into the sale of their plant to
the gas trust as has been charged.
Councilman Charles K. Holiday an
nounces today that the application for
an electrical franchise by the Consum-
ers' company is withdrawn.
Councilman Holiday makes a for
NAL withdrawal of the franchise in a
letter to Mayor Davis today. In so
doing he makes a personal defense of
his action. He says positively that he
has not violated the confidence of L.
E. Myers as charged by Mr.. Myers and
Incidentally has a little fun with the
city railway company by giving copies
of kilograms which show that Mr..
Sunny, one of the officers of the city
railway, made an effort to induce
Anthony Brady to enter into a COM
bination for the purchase of the Edi-
son plant in Topeka.
| Mr.. Holidays letter is a broad
minded one in which he declares that
he has the interests of the city of To-
peka at heart and it is so good that it
| is given herewith in full:
Mr.. Holidays Letter.
Topeka, Kan, July II, 1905.
| To the Mayor and Council, City of
| Topeka.
Gentlemen:-As president of the
/ Commercial club of the city of Topeka
and as a citizen I have. been making
every effort in season and out of season
/ to interest foreign capital in Topeka. 1
was one of the humble instruments that
/ secured the new street railway. then,
| directed my attention to resurrecting
the old Excelsior Coke & Gas company,
| which was then lying dormant with two
| law suits pending against it by the
1 city.
When my father died in 1900, the
principal party in interest, Mr.. Anthony
N. Brady of Albany,-aN. Y. asked me
if would act as the nominal president
of the company to complete the local
organization. The office paid no salary
4 and never owned a dollars worth of
stock in the company and Mr.. Brady
never paid me salary for looking af-
ter his interests. accepted the posi-
ton as before stated. 1 started out to
rehabilitate the old gas works.
t During this work. I drafted by
the Republican party to run for coun-
Gilman of the Second ward. Every
speech I made referred to the work I
was doing and pledged that if elect
ed, 1 would use every effort to obtain
$1.25 gas; the prices then being $1.50
and $1.65
l was elected by nearly 500 majority
in an OFF year, in ward that returned
my colleague, Joseph Griley, Demo-
| crat, by 600
After vast amount of the hardest
kind of hard work, after having been
| turned down a number of times, sue
| ceeded in getting the eastern owners Of
| the gas company to consent to spend
$175,00 in the city in new works and
| mains and to reduce the cost of gas
from $1.65 and $3.50 to SIPS fiat. The
council voted for the ordinance that
was presented. The new works were
started, the town measured for pipe and
| pipe ordered, when the Kansas Natural
Gas company commenced operations.
| Topeka was one OF the cities to be sup
| piled. I then took UP the natural gas
| proposition for Topeka, and after long
| and tedious work succeeded.
Has Done a Good Work.
The Topeka Natural Gas company
| called the Consumers Light, Heat &
| Power company, put the Excelsior Coke
& Gas company out of business. The
new works just completed and capable
of supplying artificial gas for city OF
200, 600 people, will also be put out OF
| commission. The engineers report for
| material and labor required to pipe To-
| peka just finished and forwarded east,
| involves an expenditure of $4,000 and
calls for over so miles of new mains.
| Gas mains are being laid between OF
tawa and Lawrence and gangs of men
are now working between Lawrence
| and Topeka. 1t is expected that nat
ural gas will reach Topeka sometime
during the month Of August. AS to
/ electricity. it had all along been the in
tention of the artificial or manufactur-
ed gas company, the old Excelsior Coke
& Gas company, to some day go into
the electric lighting business, as it is a
necessary adjunct. It is doubly neces-
sary with natural gas which burns a
blue flame unless mantle is used. The
Consumers Light, Heat & Power COM
pany was working along these lines in
connection with its natural gas. Sew
| eral franchises had been discussed. 1t
had generally been conceded that any
new electric company could secure a
franchise to do business in Topeka, as
| it would bring to the city another great
Industry It was a matter of public in
formation that the present Edison COM
pany had already calls for nearly LOCO
horse power in excess of its capacity,
and that large areas of the city were
not supplied with electricity. It was
never contemplated that any objection
would ever be raised against new
} company coming in.
: About a month ago, 1 received a tel
egram from Mr.. Myers, general man
, ager of the Topeka City railway, ask
ing me to come to Chicago. Matters
were talked over there that concern
only Mr. Myers. Some ten days or two
weeks ago, I received a telegram from
Mr. Brady, asking If it could now be
: arranged to have an electric light fran
, chise introduced in the Topeka city
t council, as he and his associates were
) | now ready for it. / counselled with
several of the councilmen OF the city
2 and the verdict was to introduce it. The
2 ordinance was introduced on July by
|. Dr. Ryder, councilman from the First
] ward. The rates were attractive and
: good words could be heard for it from
q fLe rress a nd the ueople On the Sth