The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-03-04
GIVEN CLEAN BILL
Engineers Report on Fifth
Ward Sewer Made Public.
Everybody Is Exonerated
From Any Serious Blame.
He FOUND THE ROCK.
Was About as Claimed by the
City Engineer.
Takes Occasion to Compliment
Takes Occasion to Compliment
Excellence of the Work.

| Nipps have submitted the following
report Of the special engineer, ]. c.
Ellis of Kansas City. In addition to
the engineers report the committee
will submit their recommendation to
the mayor and council this evening
The committee has had the engineers
report for the past two weeks but it
has been difficult for the committee to
get together upon recommendations
to the council The committee refuses
to make known its report until this
evening.
James McCabe, city engineer under
suspension, is living out on his farm
west of the city.
The Report in Detail
Kansas City. Mo. Feb. Is, 1907.
Mr.. F. z. Nipps, Chairman Special
Committee, Topeka, Kansas:
| Dear Sir-In pursuance with your in
structions to make certain investiga-
lions of sewer district No. "a, Topeka,
Kansas, 1 arrived in. Topeka Sunday
night, February 10th. 1 began my
work of investigation Monday morn
ing continuing same until Friday noon.
Friday afternoon 1 checked up pro-
posed extension of sewer district No.
81 lying in alley between First avenue
and manhole about 100 feet south of
Third street, between Fillmore and
| 1 made such measurements and ex-
cavations as 1 believed to be neces-
sary.
| My method of procedure was to take
| the charges categorically.
Preliminary to my report. a brief
review of the conditions that 1 found
existing may be in order.
1t would seem that a contour map
of the district had never been made
by the engineering department. The
! only contour map in your possession is
! a lithograph dated 1891. 1t was evil
IDENTIFY taken from the geodetic survey
/ The contours on same are several
j blocks apart. You will appreciate that
without a contour map it is impossible
| to ever determine definitely and with
any degree of accuracy the condition
1 of the ground; in other words, the ex-
act lay of the land, that existed at the
time the sewer system was construct
i ed. There arc no ordinance grades
| established in a large section of sewer
district No "a and without ordinance
survey of the streets and alleys as
| they exist today would be of no value
| in checking the work.
I talked with Mr.. Gilmore and one or
two other gentlemen about the peculiar
| tiles of rock formatio in and about To-
peka. The best information l could get
was that lifestone stratum lies at uni
| form depth through this section of Kan
sas with slight dip toward the west
from the KaW river Sandstone and
nation lying on top of this limestone
stratum and may be encountered any
where. The rock encountered when
trench was re-opened on Huntington
avenue is what is locally known as yell
/ low limestone and its bowlder appear
ance is peculiar to all the upper sur
| face of this stone. To quote Mr.. Gill
| more: ''AlI such stone has the appear
ance of a railroad fill that has been
washed into gullies by the rain" This
describes the formation very clearly and
I will not go into description of same to
any greater length Any further infor-
nation with reference to peculiarities
of rock around Topeka your committee
can get from the state geologist, or
| from Prof. Lovewell. who, believe, re-
sides in Topeka, and is considered au-
thority along geological lines.
I find the records in your engineering
department kept in generally good or
| der, and maps, field books, etc, are cas-
| lily accessible. Combining myself how
ever to such records as concern the
sewer system in question. the plats and
profiles are examples of beautiful work.
manship and the field notes are uni
! formly we'll kept and accurate. l found
no errors of any consequence Whatever
in the field notes. / place no reliance
in are carelessly compiled and obviously
| inaccurate.
| Good Work by Contractor.
I wish to compliment the contractor
on the general excellence of his work.
My concern has built a large number Of
sewers and in the discharge of my du-
ties 1 have observed work in different
parts of the country. and want to as
sure your committee that sewer district
No "a is not excelled by any job that
1 have ever looked over, In careful and
painstaking workmanship. Water is
flowing freely in all manholes with the
exception of few dead ends, which
means in a general way the efficiency
of the system is number one and the
work of high order. The taxpayers are
to be congratulated upon securing sucn
an excellent sewer system excepting
one minor detail mentioned elsewhere)
for the contract price.
1 was asked to check up the eleva
ton of some several cellars. but did
not find these elevations differing in
any material extent from the records IN
your office.
I measured and recorded 65 readings
from So manholes. There were some two
or three manholes I was unable to To-
cate for the reason that same had been
buried by grading the street and it
would have involved too much labor TO
have uncovered them. l could not find
the manholes at the southwest corner
and southeast corner, respectively, or
Huntington and Topeka avenues, and
the one in the alley between Harrison
and Topeka on Euclid on north side or
street I overlooked the manhole en-
tirely Immediately west of tracks on
alley between Euclid and Eighteenth
streets The omission of these several
manholes will not effect the general
average to any appreciate extent.
I believe there is no question but
what rock was found at about the
points indicated by Mr. Gilmore, for
that reason will not go into this matter
at all with the exception of a specific
port of the foot raise in grades on
Huntington avenue mentioned later on
Charges to BE Investigated.
Under the above caption 1 will take