New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-06-01
STREET-CLE AIMING.

The People of this City emincnty need and ardent
" desire Clean Streets; they pay enough to secure
them yet they suffer immensely in purse and person.
in health and comfort for the want of them. Ii Is
moderate estimate that One Thousand lives and one
Million dollars worth ofprOperty are annually saeri-
feed in this City through the excessive iilthlness OF
our streets
WIZ is tAisl There is scarcely an acre of the
island on which this City is built which lies half
mile from navigable water. The hungry soil of Long
Island alone needs all the iertzing matter that
be swept from under feet for the next century.
Ncw-Jersey, Staten Island, Westminster, Rockland,
all have soils hungry for manures, and ready to re
ward generously their application And yet we die
here each summer OF feyers, cholera, and other dis
eases which faithful Street-C leaning would obvate or
greatly modify, until despair has become current
faith aud Thousands virtually concede that, though
New can build Steamships by the score, Oceanic
Canals Panama Railroads. and, if need be, Overland
Pacific Railroads she must always remain the filth
est and most nosome city of ChrstendOm. And the
conviction is very general that the vital reason for
tLisis not that Streets Cleaning is essentially difficult,
or more difficult here than elsewhere but that our
nefionaries in charge Of Tie streets aggrGndse and
enrch hemseres rather by SIGHTING their ''ork than By
".
truth In the hope of shedding light the subject,
and compelling some reform if possible we proceed
to develop the recent operations in regard to Street
Cleaning BY the light of official documents
Out of respect to the nostrils Of our readers, we
will disturb the remains of Arcularius us lightly as
possible Suffice it for the occasion that when our
present Municipality (called the Reform Council,
though majority of its members are not even noml-
nally Reiormers) came into power az the beginning
Of the present year, they found Henry Arcuarus
Commissioner Of Streets ard Lamps, with set OF
contracts Just contaminated by him-alter the most
unnecessary and unreasonable delay-whereby the
streets were thereafter to be cleaned in districts by
contractors.
Committee on Cleaning Streets appointed by
either Board which soon addressed itself to the work
devolved On it. AID. Lord of the ANIIlth Ward
/ Ia Reformer) was at the head OF the Committee OF
the less numerous Board. On che 18th of January,
/ Controller Ilsgg requested by tie Board to
report what sums were being paid TO the contractors
onwhat authority and whether they were or were
not doing faithfully the work they had IN iertSken.
Tie Controller reported that all payments to the
coftractors had been made the requsition of the
Commissioner (Arculsrius) OF Streets aud Lamps
that all payments were made on the presentment of
bills By the contractors, verified by oath-that the
bills were all passed by the Superintendent OF streets
az well as The Commissioner aforesad-and that he
Flarc) did not feel authorized to go behind these.
So much on that bead.
The Controllers Report further showed that the
bids for STRENGTHENING under the contract system
were opened Sept. Eth, 1888, when the contracts
should have been promptly awarded by Arcularius-
that they were not awarded or at least, the work
was not turned over 10 the contractors until Nov 2d
following. two months after the bids We're opened)
that meantime Arcuarus having spent all the an
nual appropriation for STRENGTHENING, applied for
oct 18th and obtained Nov. 18th extra appro-
priaon of $40 600 for that seryce-that though but
three DAYS interviewed between the passage Of the
appropriation and the surrender Of the streetc Gaming
BY Arcularius to the contractor yet in that brief in
teryal the $40 COO lad nearly all been absorbed and
disposed Of
Well: the contractors set 10 work on the 22l OF
November last as aforesaid; but serious dscrepan-
cy with regard to their duties evident The
People and the Council supposed they to sweep
the streets; Their understanding, the contrary.
seemed to be that they to sweep only the Treas
ury. 1t being notorious that they cleaning
the streets the Board of Aldermen Jan 23d last by
resolve directed the Controller not TO pay them any
more, and the Councilmen concurred the rext day
Hereupon all the contractors except Lynch Of the