The Topeka state journal., 1905-09-20
WILL SURELY PAY
President Newland of Water
Board Talks.
The Work of improvement Will
Be Rushed.
CHOKE FIRST ON LIST
New Boilers will Also Be Put in
at Once.
By Next Spring viii Be Exten-
sion of Mains.

THE waterworks is going to make big
money for the city, this is the verdict
of Frank Newland, president of the
board of trustees of the waterworks.
It's going to be good investment for
the city, one of the best that the city
has ever made. The more that dig in
TO this matter the more 1 think of it.
Unless things look radically different
from what they do now, on further in
vestigation, 1 can't help but think very.
favorably of the plant. I would just like
to have the opportunity of owning it
myself. 1 could pay 6 per cent on the
investment and leave a. mighty nice
balance over. The people probably paid
enough for the plant more than it was
worth. There is no question but the
plant has proved a good thing for the
former owners. They had trouble but
that was because they bonded it SO
heavily. sA
we are going right ahead and make
the Improvements which we have been
contemplating. We will probably take
some action this evening with regard to
taking out that Choke at Fifth and
West streets. We will let a contract for
building on to the boiler house and also
for building two additional boilers. The
river will have to go down before we
can put in those driven points. Along
with the removal of this choke will
come the Du1lQlnS OF q main OOMfl SeN-
enth street from West street to Western
avenue. We have some money avail
able at present and the cost of these
extensions will be paid for as this mon
ey accrues. 1 don't think that we can
complete everything which is contained
we have drawn up before well into next
spring. The first thing to be done is of
course the removal of that choke. We
will then run a main into the dry dis
t,ia I'D
sions will be made from time to time as
the necessity arises. This is the feeling
of the members of the board Improve
ments will be made right along as the
condition of the finances of the depart
nnent will warrant.
LAS soon as we have installed the
boilers at the up river plant we will
close down the Harrison street station.
We are now paying out ten dollars
day in wages there which is a straight
drain on the department for which we
do not get any commensurate returns.
I don't know what we will do with
that Harrison street property. Prob
ably we will sell it. If you could make
the people believe it, it would be a
great deal cheaper and better for the
city to run the Harrison street station
rather than the other. The water at
| the Harrison street station is perfectly
pure. it seeps through sand and rock
forming earth before it is pumped
through the mains. 1t is perfectly
pure but the people won't believe that;
they are prejudiced and there is no
use in trying to make them believe
| otherwise. It would be a great deal
cheaper to run the plant from the
Harrison street station than from any
other place because the system of
mains has been built with the idea of
making that the central source of sup
| ply, the haul for coal is also less.
.'The rates for the present will not
be touched. If we had not been. forced
| to make these improvements we would
| have made reduction in the rates.
but as it is we viii have to wait
awhile. A universal meter system will
slowly be inaugurated. When all of
| Topeka is on a meter system you will
find that the supply has been increased
| fully 25 per cent. The waste will have
been reduced and the pressure in
creased.
1--WE expect to adopt number of
rules and regulations for the depart
ment This will be considered this
evening"
The EXPENSE of the Improvements
will cost upwards of $4,000 and the
/ department to meet this has at present
| $4,000 in the treasury. This surplus
will be added to substantially by the
! time the actual payments will have to
! be met.