The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-02-25

pany has just had a thirteen story
! addition erected beside it. One dry
goods firm has just completed a ten
story Skyscraper for its own use. To-
peka has two big newspapers, one of
them housed in the finest publishing
house west of st. Louis, erected at a
cost of 100000. The town yearly has
| 1ngs worth thousands of dollars.
Washburn college, with 100 acres of
ground and dozens of handsome
buildings, is the equal of any denomi-
national school in the West. Bethany
college is an Episcopal seminary that
provides education for young women
from many states. The Topeka city
schools rank high throughout the
country, and its churches are large,
| prosperous and influential. At this
| time an Episcopalian cathedral to cost
upwards of 100000 is in course of
construction. The state hospital for
the Insane is located west of the city
and the state reform school at the
north. These last are not mentioned
as strong drawing cards, although it
can be truthfully said they attract peo-
pie to Topeka from all sections Of the
state. The Topeka Auditorium, a
| splendid structure that can accommo-
date almost any sized crowd, and also
| houses all city officers was built by
town boosters. There is a big packing
|
a hundred other enterprises. But to
our mind the greatest charm Topeka
has is its miles of wide paved streets
lined with parking, trees and well
| kept homes. The men who laid out
the town builded better than they
knew when they made boulevards
rather than alleys of the;- residence
| streets.
We want to say one thing for the
Topeka spirit The Topeka slogan is,
| Topeka Kan, Topeka Will" We have
never been able to do much for the
slogan business, for our idea is that
most town adopt a live, healthy, ro-
bust slogan and then sit proudly down
and wait for the slogan to achieve re-
suits. But, frankly, Topeka is now far
enough along so that the thing might
be changed to Topeka Kan, Topeka
| Does"
The Santa Fe railroad pulled off
som ething decidedly unusual and ex-
ceedingly pleasing, with its buffet
l luncheon on Tuesday noon. At IL
| journed to the Santa F'e office build
1 ing. They went through the old build
| ing and were ushered into a great
room in the new structure whole
floor of the building, in fact. The San
| ia Fe officers in person. attended by
well gowned wives and daughters, in
! troduced themselves and Shooed the
| visitors down the reception lines I'M
! til they came to the end of the room,
across which was strung long tables.
| Behind these tables stood dozens of
! French chefs from the Harvey eating
houses of the Santa Fe system. We
took them to be chefs, for we couldn't
make out q word they said. The long
tables were festooned and garlande ed
and trimmed and piled and loaded with
things to eat. In fact, they resembIed
| the beautiful pictures made by the
landscape gardeners of Southern Cal
| ifornia, anly the pictures were made
of food instead of flowers. Each news
paper man was provided with a plate
and told to pick out what he wanted
to eat The eats looked so pretty, so
perfect and SO contented that we hard
| ly had the nerve to pitch in and break
up some of the beautiful designs, but
Frank Jarrell-formerly editor of the
| Holton Signal and now publicity man
| of the Santa Fe-said to hurry and
get started before the crowd came and
we picked out a few roses a bunch of
violets and a bundle of carnations and
then took a seat at one of the little
| tables where Harvey house girls,
| fee and looked after the little things
| the editors would have been too ex-
cited to have thought of. The occa-
sion was indeed salubrious one
what ever that means The immense
room set with scores of tiny white ia
bles; the crowds of bewildered yet
eager newspaper folks with dainty
| mattresses and finely dressed Santa Fe
| women lowering over them; the
long counters with their gardens of
food of every hue and form under the
sun; and, last but not least, the palms
| in every nook and corner. the pepper
tree branches, and the California foil
age and shrubbery that covered the
| ceiling and banked every corner.
This with soft music from a big
orchestra made up scene that those
who attended will not soon forget
/ The menu or bill of fare was printed
! entirely in French, but whatever the
food was, it was as well prepared,
as tempting and as satisfying as any
thing that might be ordered in the
greatest hotel of the country. And
you may be sure the editors were duly
| grateful. The memory of that Santa
Fe luncheon will 1inger with the edi-
torial fraternity a long time. The
company will lose nothing by it's gen.
| crosby, for the fame of the affair will
! be spread broadcast over Kansas.
Following the luncheon. there were
| tablets by well known editors and
the Santa Fe officials. that did much
I to establish more harmonious rela-
lions than have been in evidence since
the anti-pass law went into effect
Charles H. Browne, in Horton Head
! light, winner of SIS prize.
!