The Topeka state journal., 1909-03-23
CITY HALL NEWS.
City Engineer Rogers Receives
Patent for Invention.
Reinforced Concrete Manhole
Surprises Sewer Men.
USE NO LOCAL BRICK.
Fort Scott Firms Land the Con-
tract.
Other Items of Interest From
City building.
USE NO LOCAL BRICK.

OF all the inventions patented by To-
| peka's city engineer, John P. Rogers,
| the one applied for about year ago
and granted the other day looks like
the best-both as a useful article to the
-city of Topeka and a money making
proposition to the city engineer.
Reinforced Concrete Manhole Cow
err is the name given to this new in
vention by Mr.. Rogers and sewer men
all over the country have examined it
and predicted its general use all over
the United States in a few years. This
means that Topeka will get a new
manufacturing plant and lose a city
| engineer t1
Rogers is on exhibition in the labora-
| tory at the city hall-if a key to the
room can be procured from the modest
| engineer.
| The cover consists primarily of a
metal lattice work collar a metal base
| portion and a, metal rim. In other
words to construct a. manhole cover of
| the Rogers plan it is only necessary to
| have two iron castings and combina-
ton of reinforced concrete will do the
rest. This is a great economy COM
! pared with the big heavy solid iron
manhole covers used at the present
| time by cities all over the United
| States. 49,
The object of the invention is to do
| away with the usual heavy metal cast
| ings heretofore used for such purposes
and weighing several hundred pounds
and to substitute therefor skeleton
| frame work of economical construction
| and light weight and suitable as the
reinforcement for concrete of which the
main body of the structure is to be
built.
| To construct Rogers manhole cover
| the moulding is dropped over the sew
er entrance. The metal castings are
L. @1C01
crete is mixed all around. When the
cover is finished it is one mass of con-
crete reinforced by the two castings,
There are many advantages to this.
| For instance in Kansas City and all
cities in the country big iron covers are
used weighing at least 700 pounds, The
cost of transportation and handling is
an immense item to the city and the
contractor Then there is another
| trouble which, up to last year, has been
prevalent in cities using the big metal
manhole covers. Junk dealers who
have a habit of picking up everything
| that is not stationary or fastened by
/ law and iron make d practice of steal
ling nanhole covers from the city
4.Latelv big hinges have been inserted
/ but at a great expense and trouble
will do away with this habit: The COW
/ er itself on the new Invention contains
very little 'front.' is practically all
| concrete with the iron reinforcement.
There is another advantage in the
cost of the old and the new. The old
| costs at least 81 so. The new cover can
| be laid for $3.50 and still leave a good
| big profit. Mr.. Rogers has offered the
| city the use of the cover free of charge
| and it will undoubtedly be introduced
/ in the near future.
The new. covers will mot crack The
| iron affairs give the city a continual
| expenses of maintenance-they crack
and break and rust. The concrete can
| not crack. being of the reinforced type
and it will not rust. This last item
means sanitation.
| The city engineer secured the patent
with a view of introducing the inyen-
| tion in substantial form as soon as it
| is made up for a good model. Mean
while the city of Topeka is free to have
/ the free use of (which will mean u
great saving on this item in sewer con-
( struction There are.two kinds of types
| in the invention-the round and the
mortar board shape. The latter is
| much handler for paving purposes. Is
Reports from Fort Scott state that
the fires have been started in the kilns
| and hundreds of brick men are going
| on duty simply for the construction of
brick for Topeka paving this year.
| They are going to bake over a million
| brick at Fort Scott for Contractor Gill
fllan and the work is worth thou
sands of dollars to the brick plants in