The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-06-29
FINDS new CRAFT
City Engineer Rodgers Charge
Against Topeka Bridge Co.
Buy Old Iron From City and
Use 1t Over.
CHARGING FOR NEW.
Item Involves Little Less Than
Five Hundred Dollars.
Viaduct Won't Be Ready on
July /.

Using old iron from the dismantled
| Sixth avenue viaduct, paying the city
2 Il cents per pound for it and then
putting some of the old iron back in
the reconstruction and charging for
it at rate of u cents per pound, the
rate for new material, is the charge
which the city engineering department
makes against the Topeka Bridge
company. The contract should be
completed and the viaduct turned over
to the city at the latest by July list I'M
der the terms of the contract. The
contract was entered into on February
goth.
The structure is only partially re-
paired and the contract will not be
completed for some time yet. az don't
know when they will get through"
said John Rodgers, city engineer, in
disguised tone. Never before has
the city had a more unsatisfactory
contract than with the Topeka Bridge
company. The company has endeav-
ored to squirm out of the various
terms of it's contract, tried to inter-
polate extras and it has been fight,
fight from the first signing of the con-
tract up until now
The dodge of putting in old iron
and charging for it as new material Is
new attempt 1t is said to get in ex-
tras above the regular charges which
terms of it's contract
Six hundred and twenty dollars
worth of material is involved in the
latest extra which both John Rodgers,
city engineer, and his assistant Walter
Arnold, claim the Topeka Bridge COM
pany is putting in at a profitable rate
when the material actually belongs to
the city itself
OF this material 1882 pounds are
chords which the company has charged
the city at a rate of .612 cents a
pounds after allowing the city for it
at rate of .213 cents pound as old
iron. The bolts were cut. the chords
taken down and reset and the COM
pany claims that 1t was as costly as If
it was new steel.
This item represents $480.1O.
pounds of gusset plates, 27 of them.
The gusset plates, it is said, were
made from the old material. but the
rate at which the company charged
was equivalent to new steel.
This item was $1SS.64.
These are not all the serious
charges that are made against the
company. 1t is stated that the company
wilfully ruined "a sidewalk brackets
in crude methods employed in dis
mantling the bride at a cost to the
city of 1915.
The men were employed in making
repairs on the tronwork which sup
ports the sidewalk and instead of fol-
lowing the directions from the city
engineer, the claim is made that the
bridge company followed its own
methods and permitted the iron work
to fall down and become badly broken
to such an extent that the city was
forced to authorize new material
The company attempted to substitute
other lumber than white oak for flooring
and brought its request to the council |
The council instructed the city engineer
to use his discretion and the latter in
sists on white oak. Il haven't seen any
of the white oak yet" said Mr.. Rodgers.
Its about time it was coming. l want
to see some of it in there
The bridge company has claimed that
it was impossible for it to secure the
white oak Another hitch is on with
regard to painting the viaduct- The
bridge company wants to paint the
bridge now, the city says it does not
want it painted now, that the painting
must wait until the bridge is complete
ly finished and ready for traffic. Though
the city council has never attempted to
collect the $40 per day against con-
tractors for every day in excess of the
time specified for the completion of
contract it is stated that it is probable
that some sort of an attempt to force
collection from the bridge company will
be made this time.