The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-06-17
ARE up IN ARMS.
Commission Men Disguised With
City Laws.
Refuse to Pay License for Ped
ding.
DISCHARGETHEIRM MEN
Threaten to Do Away With De-
livery Wagons.
Say They Will Turn Horses Out
to Pasture.
THEIR MEN

1--WE will turn our horses out to pas
ture, we will paint the signs off the
from our wagons, we will cancel our
regular daily orders and We will make
every merchant who wishes goods,
come to our houses and procure them.
We will kill this town IL it does not
take up better measures through the
city council than have been taken up
during the last few weeks"
This is the unpatriotic slogan of the
commission men of Topeka. They are
up in arms because the city is enforc-
ing it's laws. They object to paying a
tax for delivering their fruit and COM
mission on articles over the city when
the city ordinances state emphaticaily
that they are duty bound to pay out
the money.
City License Collector Mattingly has
been reading up on the old city or
dinances and he has found that the
commission man who delivers ms
goods to consumers as Well as dealers
is in other words peddler-a nuc ~ =
ster and he is liable to tax or $zO
per year for such work. AS a result OF
this he took the matter up with the
commission men ana sent them az
notices informing them OF the law ana
giving them to understand that a1ter
July 1 they would be put under arrst
| if they did not carry a tax caro- on
| their wagons. AS an answer 10 the
warning of the license collector one OF
the most prominent commission Iuea
words to the officer of the city incense
department-and he meant It.
The ordinance covering these points
reads thus-"HucksterS and all persons
engaged in the selling of garden trucK
| from house to house either from
| wagons or carts twenty dollars per
wear. ten dollars for six months. Eacn
person so engaged in hucksterlng OF
selling garden produce from house TO
house shall keep posted in a consplc-
/ nous Mace upon his wagon or cart a
card to be furnished by the city clerk
| The commission men of Topeka dc
not only carry their truck TO the deal-
ers over the city but they distribute
to the hotels, the boarding houses ano
several other places. They ADMIT ina,
| thew do this kind of business but II
has never occurred to them that they
are classed under the mead OF
"huckster'' or ''peddler" when tney
make such deliveries.
! when the city license collector in
| formed them of the fact they de-
| clared that they would discontinue
| the distributing Of goods.
1--WE will make the grocers come
tn our doors If they wish any of our
goods. We will discharge all of our
/ drivers and send the horses out to
| pasture. we will cancel our big or
| ders from the firms we buy and tell
| them only to send per our request
They now send assignments ana
will make them change their meth
| DDS In other words we will not
stand for this kind of a license This
| is the way another commission man
| expressed himself.
Mayor Green has tried to brlne
| about a reconciliation with them anu
| al1ow them to attend to all of the
business except the peddling. This
will make it necessary for the hotels
and boarding houses to send TO the
commission houses instead OF tnt
| comrnission house sending to them
Nh ,,oavOr said this morning that he
was not in favor of working hard
ship upon them but the laws are II
/ the ordinance books and they mus
be enforced.