The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-02-20
THE BUSINESS WAY.
Norris Gage Cites Practice Under
Commission Form.

To the Editor Of the State journal:
1 have read in the State Journalytne
excellent defense made by Roy L.
Bone of the commission form OF gov
eminent as operated in Topeka Mr..
Bone, however, neglected to mention
one important advantage gained py
this form of government ana ASK
space to describe briefly the same.
When the subject OF paving kansa s
avenue was first agitated the late
Judge Mcfarland, at public meet
ing of property owners, appointed
committee of five to investigate ana
report on the subject. Three OF the
committee are. now ltvtng-AlDert
Knowles, Howell Jones and myseiI-
the other two--ex-Governor Osborn
and C. w. Jewell-have passed over
the divide. We visited Omaha. st.
Joseph and Kansas City at our own
expense, conferred with the city en-
gincers. gathered the results OF ex-
perience in other cities and finally re-
ported in favor of Colorado sand
stone on steep grades and sheet
asphaltum as a nOiseless pavement on
level streets. At that time ovens Tor
baking paving brick had not been In
vented. We had severe struggle TO
keep the streets from being paved by
combinations known to be worthless
but which were fostered by influential
persons who were interested in the
same, some of whom were city Off
Gals.
Later on paving brick became COM
mon and large percentage OF the
paved streets of Topeka are paved
with brick. Under the old and dis
carded form of ward government the
plumbers were allowed to tear up the
pavement when, where and In what
ever manner they pleased and to re-
pair the same with unskilled labor In
the cheapest manner possible. .
"a
and residence streets of the city were
INSTRUCTED by large numbers Of ridges
where too much material had been
used to fill the excavations and by
bitches where not enough material
had been thrown in. This made travel
on the streets unpleasant and ex-
pensive and shortened the life of the
pavement. The plumbers were not to
blame as they had to bid against each
other to get the jobs. Neither could
the mayor, the city engineer or the
councilmen be much blamed. But
there was an unbusinesslike condition
Of uncertain and divided. responsible
ity which is inherent in that form OF
city government which alone was re-
sponsible for the resulting waste and
loss.
Under the old form of government
miles of pavement were poorly laid
with inferior quality of brick. there
seeming to be an utter want of infor-
nation or interest in the same by. the
public or by the city authorities.
Protests were sometimes made. by
property, owners but without results.
Immediately on tho accession of the
new form of city government a re-
form was effected both in the repairs
to old pavements and in the making
of new ones. s.Let any voter or tax
payer examine the brick spavements
of recent years and compare them
with the pavements formerly laids2nd
the most skeptical will be convinced.
Skilled labor is now employed to
make repairs, the expenae charged up
to the property owners Severe mois-
ture and what Is known as RATHER
tests are now used on all paving brick
and with surprising results. No. one
knows how much has been saved up
to date by the commission form OF
government with its business like
methods applied to repairing and paw
ing the streets of Topeka, but it must
amount in the aggregate to several
hundreds of thousands of dollars. If
details on this subject are desired let
the enquirer interview Commissioner
Tandy or the present city engineer. )
Occasionally a good but mistaken
to commission form of government,
but it is a universal rule that pave
ment and sewer contractors and ward
politicians wish to return to the form
which so high an authority as Andrew
D. White has stigmatized as the worst
in use in any civilized country on
earth excepting possibly Turkey, Spain
and Russia.
NORRIS L. GAGE.
Ashtabula. O.. Feb: II. 1915.
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