The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-10-11
BUST The TRUST.
Kansas City Officials Adopt This
as War Cry.
After the Paving Combine With
Big Stick.
TO AGREE ON A PLAN.
Meeting in Wichita May Adopt
Scale OF Prices.
Mayor Billiard Says That Brick
0 AGREE ON A PLAN.
Mayor Billiard Says That Brick
Cost Too Much.

The mayors Of Kansas are prepar-
ing to fight a combine. The brick
trust the cement trust, and the as
phalt trust are the avowed enemies of
a string of Kansas towns that demand
| lower prices. They claim the paving
| combines are holding up the cities and
towns of Kansas and the mayors will
organize to secure a regulation of rates.
The first organized move in the anti
combine battle will be made sometime
| during the meeting of the Municipal
| League held in wichita this week. The
| Municipal League now takes in about
! all the towns in the state and if they
| all agree not to pay more than GER
| tain price for brick; and hold up all
! paving until this figure is met, the
| probabilities are that the brick men
| will have to come down.
According to F. L. Martin, mayor of
Hutchinson, at the meeting in Wichita
an effort will be made to enter into an
| agreement not to pay over certain
| price for brick and other paving ma
terial.
Mayor Billiard, of Topeka, who leaves
| for Wichita tonight to attend the con-
vention, is enthusiastic for any move
| that will regulate the price of brick;
and will lend his assistance in the
| framing of an agreement to stand out
against high priced material.
Say In6f6 Is NO lTuSl.
OF course the paving men insist that
| there is no trust. It. F. Swift, secre-
| tary of the western Paving Brick Man
ufacturers association, recently &C
knowledged, however that there were
seven manufacturers in the association.
But we are not a trust; not a COM
| bine in that sense" declared Mr.. Swift
I'VE are organized together simply to
| boost the use of the better grade or
brick which we make, and not to con-
troll prices whatsoever"
Mayor Martin, however, is just as
| insistent that the brick men are in a
| combine and expects to drive them out
| of the woods 1.-THE towns of Kansas
are going to join Roosevelt and Taft
| and Bryan and the rest of the trust
busters, and whether a trust Is response
| BILE or not, the cost of paving mater
| ial is too high; and for this reason
there will be no contracts let in Hutch
inson this fall" And this in spite of
the advice of Mr.. Swift, representing
the alleged brick trust.
| when l see a man breaking his neck
| to show me how to beat him." remark
ed the Hutchinson man, 4 am suspl-
cious that after all he is trying to beat
me- And l am suspicious of the sacr1-
| fees the brick men are MAKING 10 save
us money this fall. Id rather wait I'M
til spring and lose some money if nee
eSSary.
Billiard Says Price Is Too High.
In Topeka very little paving ma
terial has been bought this fall The
price has had great deal to DO with
holding off contracts, and again the
commissioners have been waiting un-
til there is more money in the treasury.
Il am confident that we are entitled
to better rates on paving material than
we are now receiving said Mayor
Billiard, land 1 will be glad to CO
operate in any movement that viii
~ r7r1fnn In
want to let a number of paving con-
tracts for spring work and a nice de-
cline in the present high prices Will
put quite little money in Topeka's
pocketbooK.
81 have not followed this new move
ment very closely declared the may
or, but as I understand the situation,
it is an excellent plan. There can be
no doubt but that the paving men have
been holding up the towns and cities
in the prices of material and 1t is just
as fair for us to get together and pro-
tect our own interests"