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Newspaper
Topeka State Journal
Location
Topeka, Kansas, United States of America
Date
Feb 15, 1899
Page
7
Fragmented civic report describes a Brooks meeting and open discussion on street cleaning, waterworks, and town revenues. It mentions residents and officials gathered, with references to a lost, unclear agenda and ongoing public notices.
An unclear note describes a city commissioners meeting at night about securing patches and watches, mentioning BOE Director Marshall and a letter from Cal Nap Dalex regarding charity boards. It references labor unrest, politics, and a call to support modernization and economic effort amid vague names and places.
Dr P 3 Connor, recently back in town after long service on the war investigating commission, was honored by friends and neighbors at the Grant hotel. He criticized the commission as biased against the truth and urged a fuller court inquiry to expose the full facts. Judge Taft lamented political burdens and expressed hope Cuba could be the sole focus, while urging accountability should Brother Jonathan be found at fault.
London February 15 Madrid Times correspondent cautions that a Carlist uprising now seems unlikely but still possible. The letter notes failed efforts by promoters and mining ties in Spain and references Barcellona figures and nobility links, with uncertain future movements of a Filipino delegation member leaving Montreal for Liverpool.
A report from Washington states on February 13 Brig. Gen. William Sinclair has been retired. The earlier item notes a bicycle works destruction on February 2 related to Chicago and a machine shot of Silverman.
Railroad notes say severe cold crippled California fruit shipments via the Santa Fe. Engines stayed live but some froze. cars trapped in roundhouses from New Mexico to Argentine kept fruit above freezing. As the cold breaks, roundhouses will dispatch eastward. engines take up pool duties and roundhouses near empty.
A hurried, chaotic scene unfolds at Chirag depot as a youth leaps from a streetcar and sprints toward a departing limited train. Depot Master Pat Sherman calls for him to stop, bystanders shout warnings, and several bystanders block the platform in a dramatic chase that ends with the jumper leaping away toward town.
Conductor Joseph Bertsche who ran the Hunnewell Augusta line died Saturday morning after four days of sickness. Pneumonia was the cause. He was taken ill Tuesday and became delirious Friday. A special train carried the body to Halstead for burial, with Conductor Georg Marriott and railroad colleagues aboard. The Wellington Journal notes sorrow among railroad men and friends.
Kansas reports Santa Fe plans to cover the Chicago to Denver route in 26 hours and 5 minutes, 3.5 hours faster than current flyers. Competing lines include Santa Fe, Rock Island, and Burlington, with Burlington schedules pressured by the new speed. The Milwaukee line may enter the race, and analysts see possible broader impact on Kansas City to Chicago service.
Paul Morton second vice president of the Atchison Topeka Santa Fe and W A Bissell freight traffic assistant traveled to California from Kansas City and Chicago, meeting in San Francisco. Morton and Bissell anticipate stronger Orient business aiding overland freight. Higginress notes Santa Fe Coast manager Bissell will arrive with Morton for a naval conference on the San Joaquin line. Truesdale accepts as president of DL&W, assuming duties March 1. A snowbird accident injures engineer Rippey during a fast run, an object breaking the cab window and striking him in the eye.
The Santa Fe appears ready to reduce the 2000 mile book fare to about five dollars. The change would cover all system lines and is welcomed as a slight fare reduction for travelers.
A report from the state department cites Frit Summere of Workshire College England as inventor of a gelatin based artificial silk. The process heats gelatine to liquid, extrudes fine threads onto linen, dries, and winds into spools. It claims 470 yards daily per machine, tensile strength is low but can be improved by mixing with real silk, and pricing around 2 pounds 15 shillings per pound versus existing silk at about 6.25 dollars.
Foot and mouth disease continues to plague Alsace cattle with spread into Baden territory. The Strasburg police president ordered stockyards closed today to control the outbreak.
In fear of additional slides from Sasso Fossa, Altrolo residents face closures of all nearby schoolhouses and a state order for evacuations of houses near the danger line. The district contends with a deadly December 26 hotel collapse that killed four people, heightening local terror and prompting preventive action. The report also notes Senate actions on a Missouri loan associations bill and a Kansas political staffing choice, plus laundry promotions.
The fight over a cigarette bill split supporters and opponents in the Missouri legislature. Attorney Bailie Waggoner, allied with the tobacco trust, is cited as influencing committee members to withdraw, while Benefiel claims the push backfired and stopped the bill. Messages to Waggoner celebrated killing the legislation amid newspaper humor.
The House urged passage of a bill to move the start of county superintendent terms from the second Monday in January to the second Monday in May. An interim four month period would exist between the retiring term and the new start. Support comes from Superintendent Stryker and many state superintendents who say the shift avoids mid year transitions and aids reporting. Other measures would tighten eligibility to hold the office with required teaching experience and certificates.
The senate debated two years of argument over inheritance taxes as Senator John E. Hessin urged passage of a law taxing inheritances. The bill sets rates by relationship and estate size, with higher brackets for spouses and direct descendants and varying rates for uncles aunts nieces nephews and other beneficiaries across multiple income thresholds.
The Insurance department reports a record day with the superintendent McNall receiving over $25,000 in yesterday’s mails from insurance companies. Of this amount more than $13,000 was in payment of fees and taxes, signaling brisk receipts amid the current session.
The Topeka Park Bill and related measures were signed after a special session. New laws authorize Shawnee County and Topeka officials to lease fair grounds for park use. Other provisions empower Wyandotte County to levy road taxes, legalize certain county officers, relieve Shawnee sheriff and court clerks from salary law burdens, and disorganize school districts in Norton and Decatur counties.
The Falloon versus Stewart judicial contest was a special order for 2 o clock in the senate yesterday. The case was postponed again and rescheduled for 2 p.m. February 21, likely to be postponed until after the session ends. Osborn appointed Seaton Atchison Wright Lyon Mason Finney to draft a bill creating a binding twine plant in the Kansas penitentiary.
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