The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-06-07
Meet at Commercial Club Rooms
Friday Night.
LEAVEN WORTH 4
Mayor and Commissioners Will
Tell of Their System.
Topeka Boosters to Issue Petit.
ton Later.

the Commercial club Friday evening
the active campaign in favor of the
commission form of government for
Iopeka viii be launched and the work
IN TINS direction started. A number of
prominent out CT town speakers will
De present to give their ideas to the
members OF the club and If their i'm
preston is favorable enough to war
rant an adoption of the system in To-
peKa the Commercial club will circulate
petitions and sometime this fall Mayor
Green VIII call a special election for
the people of Topeka to vote upon the
proposition
At the meeting Friday evening Mayor
Apernathy OF Leavenworth will be one
Oh the leading speakers. The Leaven-
worth mayor is an enthusiast over the
system and has filled the executive
chair with great satisfaction. Mayor
Alternately is at the head of a manu-
facturlng f-rniture concern in that
city Besides the mayor the four COM
.n1SsIoners of Leavenworth will also
be present. Commissioner GRANGER,
formerly mayor of the city and
wholesale hardware dealer, Commits
jsioner Knipe, who is at the head of
II. issioner Doege. Of the National Soap
company, and Commissioner Marquis
will constitute the board of commits
sioners who Will talk of the plans to
the Commerce club.
Besides these speakers, A. NJ. Lam
bert, president of the Greater Leaven-1
worth club. and Judge Hacker will give
talks in favor of the commission form
of government. Judge Hacker has CIV
err number of talks along this line
in different cities and has recently turn.
ed the tide in Kansas City, Kan. He
is a polished orator of rare talent.
Probably q. number of other speakers
viii be obtained before the time of the
meeting.
Topeka is al ready for the wecoming
OF the commission system. The mat
ter has been explained many times and
all the people need is a proof of the
working order of the system. 1t is for
this purpose that the Commercial club
has procured men who have been
through the "milP' in order to make
the people believe that the plan is the
only thing for the city to adopt A
true account of the many points in its
| favor as enjoyed by the people of Leav-
enworth will be given after the meet
| ing.
If the members of the Commercial
club decide .that-sthey are heartily in
favor of the plan a. committee will be
appointed to confer with the city at
torney in the drawing up of petitions
and the petitions will be taken on the
streets at once. It only requires 10 per
cent of the total vote for mayor at the
last city election to make the petitions
acceptable with Mayor Green and thus
ony few over 600 signatures will have
to be procured. The members of the
Commercial club alone could make the
petitions legal but it is planned to
send them all over the city and give
the general public a chance for their
signatures. Through this system a
preliminary sentiment can be procured.
The more signatures to the petition will
give it the more weight with the peo-
pie as. a whole.
When these petitions are signed it
| is planned to ask, Mayor Green to call
| the special election some time in
September. Between the time of the
call and the signing of the petitions
| a. series of big meetings will be held
| at the Auditorium and the people will
be called to these meetings as
whole. Speakers from all over the
country win be obtained for these
| meetings. The good points of the
| commission plan and the bad points
! of the council system will be ex-
| planned at this meeting. Also a num-
| Der of the points against the COM
mission and for the council The
meetings will be given for the one
purpose of giving everybody a chance
| to vote in the right light. 1t seems
| that the only argument in Topeka
against the commission is that the
people fear slight representation in
only. four commissioners and one
mayor. 1t will be shown where this
| is q. mistaken idea.
| Topeka, has paved the way for all
| the commissions in Kansas. 1t vas
| through a committee appointed from
| this city a few years ago that the
| Galveston system was explained fully
| and presented to the people and
| finally to the legislature. At the last
| session of the legislature enough
amen dments to make the law prac-
| ticable to this city were passed and
| now Topeka iswilling to adopt the new
| methods number of other Kan
| sas cities have elected their mayor
and commissioners but 1t was
| through the efforts of prominent To-
| pekans that the system was brought
| to this state.
/ when the matter has been accepted
| at last with the Commercial club the