The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-01-08
MIR HowARD's STATEMENT.
Gives His Views on the Viaduct
Controversy.

Editor of the State journal:
No, 1 don't like to be misrepresented
by the official city paper. / don't want
even insinuations in the Journal or
the Capital. say yet the Journal has
misrepreSented actual facts in the
case. Your glaring headlines city
Weakens and Loses Penalty Provided
for in the Contract" is still a gross
Misrepresentation.
Several times the city has been
tempted to annul the contract. We
asked our city engineer and street
commissioner about four months ago
how soon and where We could get the
lumber to finish the job ourselves and
all the satisfaction we could get was
very indefinite indeed I think some
of the council telephoned to Kansas
City and were told it would have to be
"cut and sawed from the trees in Ar
kansas to fit these plans. When it
was explained that the lumber was
not long enough to lay diagonal and
the bridge would be held UP again for
months no one questioned the truth
fulness of the statement that no lum-
Der could be had to finish the job at
once. 1t is either wait or make the
change. The engineer was then asked
on the council floor What of the adj
visibility Of the change that the work
may not stop?" My understanding of
his answer was, Nothing vital though
better with the upper floor laid
diagonal but with a good three lap
over every crack this would be proper
ly taken care Of" 1 then asked the
city attorney if the bonds or contract
would be endangered or affected by
such a minor change. He thought it
might be till read on Page of the
contract THE party of the second
part reserves all right to order the
omission or addition of any part of the
work or material called for in said
plans and specifications or to make
any alterations whatsoever in the
work or material therein-provided-
that any alterations in said work or
material shah not be made unless or
dered by the mayor in writing" Then
he said it could be done.
by the mayor and council of the city
of Topeka that the mayor be and is
hereby" and then guarding against
technicalities I asked the engineer and
the attorney to come to the committee
room and after reading the section once
more carefully and discussing it thor
oughly the attorney rewrote the head
line ard the engineer dictated the bal
ance of the resolution including the
protective clause against extra
charges which is always put on any
amendment to contract unless you
want to get stuck.
I signed the resolution and it was
passed without any insertions" So 1
claim that
F'irst-You say, "It was examined by
the city attorney and the insertion was
made that there should be no extra
charge" This clearly states that L
presented the resolution without this
clause which is wrong.
Second-You say we made the change
against the advice of the engineer. Ev-
cry councilman that voted for the
change understood his explanation of
the matter as a request for the authori
ty in the matter in making the change.
Third-You state we have lost the
penalty provided for in the contract
while our city attorney announced in
open council: I'VE could make this
change without affecting the Vaholty
of the contract or bonds"
Furthermore any fair minded citizen
knows that there is not one councilman
in the body who would vote Tor any
change which would invalidate, though
1t would mean closing the prloge 1or
another year. 49,
Fourth-You stated: 1.-The council
amended the specifications so that the
top floor should be laid at right angles
to the first floor" This would place
the planks in the form of a toboggan
slide and on an incline so that II Woulo
make a road dangerous when even wet
to say nothing of when there was snow
or sleet This was the error that some
people thought we were crazy on
Now as to the "muzzle' for the Jour
nal you know I don't believe in "muz-
zles'' for calves, puppies or old dogs;
much less for newspapers. NO, keep 1t
up.
What we want are the facts. If you
had printed an exact copy of that reso-
luton with the exact words OF the city
engineer and the city attorney that's
all we could demand. Then you could
have used three columns giving us a
threshing and no one would complain.
lust keep Council Business" and RE
porters' Opinions" so well separated
that the people will not be misled and
let the people choose what they want
to swallow. That is all we want.
H. B. HOWARD.
Topeka, Kansas. Jan. Z, 1908.
It'll ~ coar }p the given