The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-02-05

,rn,. Tan, Need Mendiug.

or a.. varm weather continues le"
d.ys e. our citizens will again be IoFcloly y re-, g.
miD5ed of one Of the soFest needs oI !n'S
ci,v, viz: q general and thorough I'M :,
s'g, S.emcn, Of the streets. The paved
i,,oo,. all over the city arc greatly out oi
rsnair, while those not stoned are IN SOIL
Weather olmos, impossible. The street
'o.o.s ,hc Island between the two bridges
!. a disgrace to the city. Nothing adds
az much to the appearance OF q CITY, 10
,bo convenience and comfort OF its lnhaD'
i,on,s and 10 the value Of property Us
clean and solidIy paved streets and alleys
No. only arc the thoroughlAFcs' IKE
zapo street on the Island and MAN
.,ree,, in very bad condition. but
Main Market and other streets where
bonldcrcd arc ncedlessly uneven, while
the sidewalks generally are much dIHpl'
lated We do not wish to reflect on the
Stree, Commissioner, though VIC think he
bss been too lenient IN the matter OF side
walks and distractions; but in respect TO
other work on the streets he has acted
entirely, we presume, in accordance with
tbs bsipstructions Of council. A good deal
of money has been spent the past year on
the streets, but 1t has hardly sutticed to
keep them up. 1t has been the policy OF
council 10 patch rather than make sub
s.antlal improvements. The economy OF
this is doubtful. The improvement Of
streets ought to be made with reference
to permanency. Whateveris is worth doing
in tha. line is worth doing wcll-the
moro substantially the better. There
is no Grstrate pavement in tie city. The
boulders on Main and Market are the
best, aud yet they have serious draw
backs. They are rough and noisy. They
are terribly hard on horses and vehicles
The wear and tear on these that would be
saved by q smooth and solid pavement
would goa great ways towards making
~ for the difference in cost Then the
boulder pavement IS hard 10 clean and
requires constant patching. The hills
around the city are full Of excellent paw
ing material, the sandstone in general use
for building II the business streets oil
the city were once laid with blocks OF
this stone say foot or eighteen inches
thick, we should not only have first
class pavement which would save bali
the price OF 1t in horSetlesh and wagons
every ten years, but one that would hard
ly need renewal for generation. It
would cost round sum to put down such
n roadway-not 50 much perhaps as at
first sight might Appear-but take twenty
years together and we believe it would
Oc cheaper than the present boulders or
broken limestone.
We refer to this matter with hope ot
directing tho attention of our citizens
generally to the urgent need of substan-
tlal improvement in the streets and alleys
ali over the city, and OF stimulating some
and discussion of the ques'
ton whether Wheeling cannot take some
advance steps in the way Of paving
A very large sum can be
spent proatably in the next two years
putting the streets Of the city in good
In the few weeks that inter.
vene before the opening Of spring the
subject ought to be considered. We
trust not only the Committee Of Council,
but all tho members OF that body, will
give the matter some thought