The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-06-04
VOTE BY MACHINE.
This VIII Be Tried in Topeka
This Year.
Council Contracts for Purchase
of Fifteen.
ONE THAT is TRIED.
Columbia Is Approved by the
City Council.
No Action Taken on the Light
Question.
ONE THAT is TRIED.

The most important business trans
acted by the city council last night at
its first June meeting was the adoption
| of a resolution instructing the rnayor
10 contract for the purchase of fifteen
| Young machines of the Columbia COM
pany in time to be used at the next
| general election. The committee on
ways and means recommended the
| purchase of the machines and the
| resolution was adopted with only one
| dissenting vote. The contract with
the Columbia company is to be placed
in escrow with the city clerk and is
not to be delivered to the company
| until the council has examined the
machine made by the Kansas Voting
Machine company, provided this can
pc done by the first of August 1907.
If the council does not in good faith
purchase the Kansas machine before
the first of August then the contract
IS 10 be delivered to the company and
VIII have full force and effect. There
is small chance that the contract will
not be delivered to the company and
made binding for the Kansas machine
has the tickets placed in vertical rows
which was the reason for discarding
the Standard. Winslow and the Abbott
machines. The Kansas machine also
costs more than the Columbia and is
new machine which has not been
actually tried by use as the Columbia
has. In fact, it has not yet been built.
City Attorney Dreaming gave his opin-
ion that the city council had no au-
thority to enter into a Is year con-
tract such as the resolution calls for
but that if they buy voting machines
they must pay cash for them. The
contract as drawn up calls for $500
cash on delivery and a $500 payment
each year until all deferred payments
are satisfied, the deferred payments to
draw interest.
The report of the committee gave
an itemized list of the present expenses
OF city elections and a list as they
would be using the machines and
showed that there would be a saving
of more than $100 over and above the
annual payments and interest. More
over, the machines can be leased to
the parties for use in primaries and
this will be source of revenue to the
city.
The company agrees that they will
lend eight extra machines to the city
for use in the first election and after
that it is believed that fifteen machines
will be sufficient. The company gives
bond in the sum of $4,000 that the
five years and a bond of $40, 900 that
the election in which the machine is
used will be counted and registered
accurately. In case of any fault of
the machine which causes the election
to be declared Illegal the company
agrees to pay the costs of the election.
The machines can be used and
money saved to the city under the laws
governing elections as they now stand,
but some changes will make their use
much more economical. The number
of judges should be reduced from five
to three and the number of precincts
reduced from % to Is.
The propositions of the Edison COM
pany and the company represented by
E. f. Roudebush concerning street
lighting were officially brought before
the council and referred to the COM
mittee on ways and means. This COM
mittee will probably take action and
council at the meeting of the commit
tee Thursday night. The public is
familiar with both these propositions.
The pay rolls of the various depart
ments were presented and allowed as
follows:
Water department .....-$ 1,58914
City officers l,S1l.b9
Sanitary department 37129
Street department 2,593.3O
Electric light department. 553.3S
Engineers department 556.12
Police department 2,225.5
Fire department 3.2O2-66
$12,353.1O
Petitions for sidewalks in the fol- |
lowing locations were presented and
referred to the committee on streets
and walks:
Twentieth to Hampton.
Crane street from Kansas avenue to |
Harrison street.
South side of Fifth street between
Fillmore and Clay.
Wayne avenue from Munson to