The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-03-26

EpNtASS' 80 " OCfstCf Di
order and decorum betI, within and with
out the schools highly gratifying to the
friends Of public instruction, and n sufficient
answer to the honestly entertained fears Of
many who thought that the free school
might be public good, but would certainly
be private nuisance.
We are teaching this year 3,421 scho-
lars, an increase Of 700 on the preceding
year, and, as we believe, are teaching them
better. / invite from the Council and the
public full scrutiny and an impartial judg-
fnent OF the system, and confidently antici-
pate the issue. n..ry @
renew my recommendation of an appro-
priation for high and normal school, and
refer to the ful; report recently laid on your
table for complete details Of this most impor-
tant and usefu! subject Of municipal care.
i THE STREETS. a,E ~
/ Few cities have as large an area in proper.
ton to population as Richmond. ItinclIdes
within its limits about three thousand FIVE
hundred $500 acres of territory, or m acre
to every fifteen Of its population of all ages
and colors. To provide and keep in order the
thoroughfares of so extensive al area is mat
ter of great difficulty and expense. or the
one hundred and three and one-third miles Of
our streets, three miles are paved with gram
ite, six and q half with cobble-stoncs, and one
and two-thirds MISUNDERSTANDING ninety
two miles unpaved, and of these over sixty
two miles are not even graded. Nor is the
state of our sewerage satisfactory. Thanks
to the admirable natural advantages of Rich
mOnd, the surface dIninage is cqualled by
that Of few cities In the world. Its area
is divided by natural inequalities of sur
l;ice into twelve watersheds, inclined at
such angles rs to insure n thorough and
speedy securing of the surface with every
rain, yet of such diversity in their outlets
and direction Of slope as to prevent the
flooding Of any particular points by accumr,-
lation thereat. But ollr artificial drainage is
extremely inadequate in amount, and inefi-
cient in plan. We have about eight miles
and two-tifths Of scwerage--comprising .I3l
feet of drain-pipe, 1882 feet of brick, and
2i,231 feet of stone sewers. These have, in
the main, been constructed independently
and in short sections without much reference
to each other, and with no regard to generiI
and homogeneous system. The best that
can now be done is, in future construction, to
follow some general design which shall util-
ize rs far rs possible what has been effected,
and form the basis Of orderly progress i'll the
: future.
The sidewalks of the city are in an espe-
+ cially unsatisfactory condition, and, in my
, Judgment will continue so until the Council
: adopts the method had the honor to recon-
, mend heretofore, of imposing upon the citi
zcns. where property is enhanced by the I'M
, proyement, the cost Of constructing ant
keeping the sidewalks in repair. am aware
that this plan will meet with very resoluts
opposition from many whose interest is tt
!, make their fclow-citiZcn$ whose property l.
: not thus improved pay for the advantage
: enjoyed by those whose property is improved
but have never been able to see the justic,
of the imposition, and long experience ha
, demonstrated its ineticency.
No subject better deserves the enlightened
care of the Council than city improvement
upon none does the comfort Of the people ant
9. the growth of the community more mani
: testly depend, aud i'll expenditures for none
f i SO much irlnneSs, watchtlllnesS, and practi
Qal coed sense demanded.
As illustrative OF the proportions to which
with our vast extent Of Still unimprovcd ter
. ritorv, this expenditure is growing, lappent
the returns Of the cost OF CIR streets during
the past four years:
In lie year ending January IL, ,ls57....s ss,7s
=: III. wear e,.d!EE JANUARY g.. IS7u.... $3.50
- tie wear ending; .l;tuIary 81, iaTl. Si.O5
Iu tie year ending January 81, ls7s..... lle'2l
,, III other words, we have trejled our cy
: pend;tGreS IL three years; YET how little il
done in comparison with what must be done
I recommend thai a curcfulv-prepared esti
mate OF the total cost per yard Of tie yariou.
, ,r,tcns of l,aying. together with such datt
= rs to the perr,ancl!ce and usefulness of each
, be furnished the Council, and that alternate
! SQUARES lee laid Oh the same streets, in order
by subjecting the various plans to equal tests.
! | TO determine their relative merits. It vii
, probably he found that an additional cost o.
twenty cents per yard to the price OF 6
f.yorile present pLin of street paving vii
insure Il strcri-way of double tine Wear anC
of far greater fitness for traction, cleanliness
y and uniformity.
. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
i The Chief Engineer OF this department
|. anticipated tie period Of his annual report b!
i three months, at my request, III order to com
= form to the general regulation which pre-
y scribes the close of the fiscal year-the las
a day of January--as the period for making vi
" the accounts OF the year. His department i
in q very satisfactory condition, and IL
efficiency nav in part he Illustrated by TIN
fnct that Willie it has been summoned forty
&c seven times during the past year, the destruc
Id amounted to but SG6, ,295--the loss for TIL
III preceding year having been S227, ,1S5. Tn
ty force of this department consists OF one chic
~ six officers fourteen station men, and seventy
Il one minute men-in all. ninety-two men.
W During the past two years two steamer
CT have been added to the stock Of engines, an
IL u new truck is il process of construction fc
ce the hook and ladder company, which was tt
Dt- - Pho l,,otali1t nf tip fpu1r
u ment desired by the Chief. In connectlo
i, with tlis subject, ask the attention OF u
le Council to the propricty Of greater cautio
=, sv in the granting of permits for the eoDstru
~ tion OF wooden buildings. An official I
,i- port of the great fire of Chicago, on the 8
= - of October, 1871, ascrihes the IncOntrolab
u, 1upidty of that terrible coni!agration to Il
"a Ia fuel furnished by the vast number Of wood
- buildings which had been constructed und
AZ AZ permission from the City Council. An e
~ animation of the Journal oftLe Council sho'
h his that hundred and ten permits for wood
~ ~ houses were given during the past year, al
~ while many Of them were for the constrt
y ton in localities where 10 additional risk W
~ thereby oct1,Sloned, some were, it seems
- me, less justifably allowed. .,a ..
. Under this indulgence the erection Of mo
=, substantial and handsome structures is pI
Va vented, risk Is increased, and the improl
: ment Of particular locality often manifest
'lc permanently retarded. The extreme lib
oi laIity of the Council in this matter is e
&c hibited in the fact that but nine application
p were refused throughout the year. Duril
If the month of January Of the present We
5, eight similar applications were granted az
~ nine rejected. The fire-alarm and poll
" telegraph has proved most valuable adjun
;, in the operations OF the department, and q
~ number of stations is i'll progress of steac
~ increase. II ~- r.