The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-01-15

Readers OF the black-letter literature called
proceedings of the Board of Aldermen will re-
member the curious character who made 1t q
business to 60 about the city falling into man.
traps and ground holes and making claims to
It has been calculated by some Of the erudite
among the political lobbyists of the City Hall
that if the man had fallen into all the holes and
mantraps at once he would not have lived to
exercise his curious profession. In later days
the mantle of this unfortunate diver fell upon
the shoulders of Alderman Robinsons horse.
There was never hole in the ground that this
cheap and unfortunate beast did not fall into
and come out of again, and consider 1t his
duty as lover of good order to call to
account by laying before the Com
mon Council claim for damages.
That profession so industriously fol-
lowed exists In this city indicates that there
are mantraps and earth holes enough lying
about to keep man and horse busy. But
the people who fall into holes and sustain
injury from accidents and never bring claims
for damages are very many more than ever
give their names and their complaints to the
corporation printer. The remedy for the evil
belongs to the duties Of the Department Of
Public Works and of the Department of Build
ings. There is hardly more danger to the pub
lie from the weakness of an iron girder, or
from the size and weight of keystone, than
there is from the existence of piles of rubbish
in the streets, from deep excavations in the
sides of rising buildings, or from the taking
up of long strips of sidewalk tagging from
vaults and pipe trenches. In most cases where
sidewalks are uncovered, revealing yawning
vaults or subcellars. the only warning given
to pedestrians is a huge mass of debris, Of sand
and broken foundation stones, indicating that
building of some sort compels people to turn
into the street. Even if the warning
were always sufficient the streets are
not always accessible to pedestrians Be-
yond the curbstone foot-passers have no rights
that horses are bound to respect. And if the
unfortunate walker be unusually brave and
undertake to keep the sidewalk he is COM
PEELED to pass over thin and narrow board,
like one of the dangerous paths of the Andes,
or the precipitous pass on which SCOTS two
sturdy Highland chiefs met in combat This
state of affairs is not confined to the filthy Gel
lars of West street, but may be seen any day
on the finest thoroughfares. The dscomforts
and aggravations of travelling are as great to
drivers of vehicles as to pedestrians. The
coachman who made fame by driving as far
as possible from the edge Of the cliff has no
onportupitios IN incraasa hia ranutatiOn mr. his
masters safety on Broadway or the avenues,
and on the river streets to turn horse is fire.
quently to throw driver and a load into q
cellar puddle.
Mr.. Van Mort has q duty to perform. He
has charge of street vaults, which are fire.
quently open; of sunken lots, at which few
fences are erected; Of the opening of sewers
and drains, which are sometimes left un-
guarded Of street pavements, which some
where are always sunken, jagged and piled
together In heaps. 1t is his charter duty to
keep the streets clear. He is to the city what
an overseer of roads and highways is to the
country. One of his duties is to compel ex-
cavators of vaults to protect the people from
danger of them and there is law that open
ings in sidewalks for excavating any kind of
vaults shall not exist more than three weeks.
Is this law always observed or administered?
If not, we beg the Acting Mayor, the Com
missioner of Public Works and the Superin-
tendent OF Buildings to busy themselves with
an attempt to make the streets passable and
the sidewalks safe.