The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-03-23
WORK OR COURTS
Mayor Green Gives Sewer Con-
tractors Their Choice.
Must Clean Up Bad Situation in
POtwin District.
ACTIVE ON BRIDGE.
Temporary Structure Leading
to Melan at Once.
Good Weather Has Helped to
Clean Up the City.

Another battlecry from the city hall
If the contractors who have been
building the big Kenwood sewer, in the
western portion of the city do not place
a force of men on the ground tomor-
tow to clean out the alleys and level
the huge dirt banks that have resulted
from their excavations. the city will
go into court and demand immediate
action and also a neat little slice of
the contract price.
For the last week the people living
in Potwin and in this vicinity of the
city have complained to the city Off
oials of the disgraceful conditions ex-
listing in that part of the city. They
claim that their alleys are blocked,
that athey are impossible and in many
cases the dirt has piled up against their
barns in such a manner that it is inn
possible to make an entrance from the
alley.
The complaints have been coming in
all week and have gradually grown
more Indignant ;tnd bitter until the last
day or so and they have represented
an approaching storm with the preced-
:ng wind.
Mayor Green has ordered City En-
gineer Fulton to see that the cOntrac-
tors get force of men on the work
tomorrow and If the contractors re-
fuse to obey orders there will be a
real war on hand. The contractors
have told the mayor a number of
times that they would attend to the
matter, but nothing has been done.
1.-The dirt should really have been
tamped after the holes were covered"
said the mayor fbut this is a great
expense to the contractors and to al
low the dirt to remain and settle with
rains is the plan they have adopted.
There has been little rain lately and
n
warned the contractors because of the
unusual inconvenience to the people,
but they have not done anything.
1.-THE contracts with the sewer con
dirt. Unless something is done right
away there will be trouble. We have
stood this kind of business long
enough and considering the circum-
stances, the people along the line of
the sewer have been mighty patient.
The city engineer will see that this is
done at once, even though all other
work is delayed"
Considerable Work Going On.
Activity in city work is progressing
in great shape this fine weather. All
of the pipe has been laid in the Elm
hurst sewer. In the Martin & Dennis
sewer, the alley connections have all
been made and all that is left for the
contractors is to construct few catch
basins and clean up their work
Contractor Gilmore has shown I'M
usual activity in the construction of
brick sidewalks Only few walks re-
main in his extensive contracts over
the city. If this weather continues a
few more days he will be able to finish
all of them and commence work on
the cement walks The sidewalk stu
alton has improved wonderfully.
All of the curbing for paved streets
has been laid and the streets that are
still open are waiting for the paving
gangs. The paving on Eleventh be-
tween Topeka avenue and Western
avenue will be open in a few days. On
western avenue between Sixth and
Eighth, Polk between Sixth and
Eighth, Seventh between Tyler and
Munson avenues, the parkings have
been cleaned off and all is in good
shape.
II am Watching the contractors
closely and we are cleaning up all
work before taking up new work" said
City Engineer Fulton this afternoon.
AFTER this we will have all paving
other job is taken UP. This will do
away with the dirty parkings, ruined
etc
The work on the extension of the
Melan bridge will commence at once. |
Contractor johnson of Kansas City has
ordered the lumber from Topeka firms
for the construction of a temporary
bridge to be built as an approach to
the Melan bridge proper while the ex-
has also hired offices during his work
here. He is starting out like win
ner and will try and get things in
shape before the spring freshets in the |
river.