The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-04-26
Two Residents of Benefit Dis
trict Fight Improvement.
Employ TrOutman To Ask for
an Injunction.
MAY MEAN ANOTHER DELAY
Property Owners Have Made
Long Fight for Road.
1t Was First Permanent High
way Planned i'm Co.

After years of fighting to get hard
surfaced road on West Tenth street
property owners on that thorofare ON
the very eve of obtaining a contract
promise to be thwarted again and an
other expensive and long drawn out
lawsuit threatened. 1t became known
today that f. NJ. Washburn and w. E.
McCarter. residents in the benefit dis
trict. have employed James A. Trout
man, well known Topeka attorney and
candidate for governor. to file an ap-
p1ication for an injunction in the dis
trict court, enjoining the county COM
missioners from awarding a contract
for hard surfacing the road at their
meeting next Friday.
Troutmans legal argument on which
an injunction suit probably would be
based is in the office of Hugh Fisher
county attorney. Fisher and Trout
man have about agreed to a certain
statement of facts that will be ad-
mitted by both sides and thus facili-
tate court procedure in the injunction
hearing. Just when the application
will be filed with Mrs. Mary Chaplin
clerk of the district court. is proble-
matical
Road Boosters Aroused.
Residents along West Tenth street
I a
modern thorofare for years. learned
of the proposed injunction suit today
They were instantly aroused as were
/ the county commissioners. who ad-
mitted they had heard of the con-
templated action.
The hard surfacing of the West
! Tenth street road was the first per-
/ manent highway Improvement planned
1 in Shawnee county outside of the city.
4 Its path has been rough and rocky
] md f,p l,xrf he.
West Tenth streeters is given
reason for the alleged backwa rtiness
! of farmers in other parts of the coun-
! ty in falling in behind a permanent
| highway propaganda, encouraged by
money contributions by the govern
ment, and gaining impetus thruout
the length and breadth of the land
: Petitions calling for hard surfacing
the highway were circulated shortly
after the passage of the Hodges good
| road law. An application for an in
! junction was made in the district court
and appealed to the supreme court.
! finally ending in victory for the
resd .nts who demanded the hard
! surfaced road.
To Open Bids Next Week.
Following the supreme courts deci-
| sion the property owners and county
| commissioners began preparing to
build the road this year A survey
was made, specifications were pre-
| pared ana DlQS IOr SuGIdclnR lDe TUAu
were advertised to be opened next
| Friday.
Now comes the attempt to enjoin
| the commissioners Washburn and
! McCarter contend that the commis-
/ sioners have no power to improve a
| highway and make a different dis
| tribution of cost than that authorized
| by the act under which the petition
/ was drawn and presented to them
| The petition was drawn under pro-
| visions of the Hodges good road law.
| it is contended, while the cost dis
! tribution will be assessed under the
! good road act of the last Legislatures
| 1t also is charged that under the new
good road act passed by the last Iegis-
| lature all taxpayers in the county must
| participate in the expense. and, should
this be done, an added expense will be
thrust upon them without due legal
notice, il is claimed.