New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-08-11
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
COST OF PAYMENTS AND CLEANING.

COST OF PAYMENTS AND CLEANING.
7e ne EdOr q T1< s.. y. Tyits-<
SIR: 1t is not easy to ind ont, from the Con-
trolers report what is the total cost Of paving aud
not possible to find the cOst per yard per job. BI.
Tread it, SI35, 900 paid for Russ paving and SJi3
IC2 for streets paving and assessment contracts"
and S290,OC0 for cleaning streets. From the last
deduct S27 600 for receipts and we have q total of
81 ,3iI, 0o0 which the public snd the real estate
owners had to pay for the worst and drtiest pave
meDtsI have This amount should induce US
10 examine any reasonable plan to amend the System.
company haa been formed to introduce iron paw
ing. OF course this company has patent for 4 new
plan, and does not touch sny Old plan by which Others
could make contracts for laying as the COM
psDy, at great expense to ITSELF had demonstrated
the utility and economy Of it, This company has laid
piece Which appears likely 70 keep its level and not
10 get beaten into holes. In other respects seems
inferior to other plans OF iron paving whch have been
tried but which, unfortunately are free not pateDta
bic and therefore not likely TO be tried in this city
since individuals will not be a. the cost of trying
them, and the Common Council has not the good
JUDGMENT to appropriate few thousand dollars for
tie purpose of testing trey plan that is well recon-
mendtd.
Were wealthy I would give million dollars for a
patent with guarantee that it should be sustained
tor smooth iron pavement. On a level and gentle
slopes, carein ODservdt0n OF the
working on sm 10Th pavemeBts IN Naples and Florence
that horses would work with less slipping than takes
place TIE Russ pavement in its usual unctuous state
On the accents the paving plates should be cast in
grooves, more or less rough, the ascents
or less steep.
This opinion, am aware will be laughed at But
how long is it since it believed that the wheels Of
locomotives would slip; and patents granted for
legs to trOt them along, and toOthed rails for their
toOthed wheels 10 gear intOl EIperimsat that great
o1aI
tons and " calculate from table fthe cOcfcients
Of friction that the first experiment will explode the
notion that horses cannot well on smooth iron. |
do not lay that they cannot slip An inexperienced en-
eineer sometimes slips his wheels badly but expert
one does Dot and good driver will soon train his
horses to without slipping.
| do not however, expect the COuRc to act upon
this suggestion but hope that it will give contract
to this Company. The iron paving once begun. in
complex way may be simplifed-iust as locomotives,
which for long time with legs, and toothed
wheels and all sorts of gearing at last were olsen
numbered Of their complexities; 80 let us not lose the
chance Of getting iron payements OF any knd that has
u patent, TO encourage enterpnslng men to ntr0dueeI
This patent plan has good feature IL Will support
rails in such way that they will remain flush with IT,
and net become uneven, like the mixture Of rails and
stone pavemtnts now IN use. The Company EXHIBITS
pattern Of rail pavement All that it wants is to
be rid Of the useless completely Of groove. A fiat
rail FIVE inches wide will accommodate all vehicles that
are built TO its gauge; and there will be no difficulty
in keeping the wheels upon it. OF course the City
Railroad Companies will derde this, because just so
sure as such rail paving is laid they will lay up their
clumsy cars and lose their monopoly; for omnbuses,
en- sm Doth iron tracks, will run much easier and eau
20 to the sidewalks instead Of dumping their passen-
gers in the mud This combination of the iron pave
ment and fat rail will allow crossing, without such
trouble and injury to wheels as is now endured And
if contract is given hope that little oil the nat
rail will be tried.
have an interest in this matter 1t will hardly be
doubted that steam-carrages will well upon such
tracks. And if steam should prove objectionable,
compressed air may be substituted, as the power
quEed will be less than quarter Of what is required
upon the Russ pavement. ). III. FISHER.