Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1873-01-11
A Few Inquiries,

MESsRS. RULE & RICKs: Why is it
that no effort is made to straighten Crook
ed street that runs through the heart of
the city and ought to be one of the best
streets in it, while beautiful broad streets
we'll guttered with capital curbing are be-
ing opened up, out this side of Fountain
Head Camp Ground?" 1t is true it has
afforded our city engineer an opportunity
to show his skill by making easy grades
over rough country.
1 desire to suggest that it would be
equally as we'll to spend some of the tax
es this side of "Sharps Ridge"-take De.
pot street for instance, where there is a
dense population, and where the wives of
mony wOrkingmen are compelled to wade
in mud-Q will say nearly as bad as a
Chattanooga street for fear the Press and
Herald should take offense,) every time
they 60 to town for market or other pur-
poses whenever it rains or thaws. Why
is it that some men, not only on Depot
but on other streets, are required to have
good sidewalks, while in front of the lots
of others the mud is often Ito state it mod
estly) shoe-mouth deep as it is where there
ought to be sidewalks on Depot street?
l agree that the streets out near "the
park" will made excellent ground for the
livery stable men to train their trotting
stock (no danger of pedestrians out therel
but the Fair Ground is nearly as near and
there is a good track there. Then
take the street that has been opened from
Clinch street in East Knoxville, by Van
Gilder's stable, from 1000 to 1900 feet
across by Munson's kitchen to Mabry
street.-(This reminds me that our last
census taker did not take oil the inhabi-
tants over on that street and they should
be taken nOw.) The city engineer has GER
tainly made some exhibit of skill in the
country northeast of the city, but I sug-
gest that he made serious mistake in
fixing the grade of the street behind Van
Gilder's stable. He now has one very
deep cut and two heavy fills. The water
comes rushing down those large ravines
and are continually washing away large
quantities of the city's dirt which will al
ways be constant expense to replace and
would keep the street out of repair after
heavy rains (that is if the ,street should
ever be needed: It is true that Van Gill
der has erected dams across the mouth of
his hollows and this dirt is filling I'D and
making lots fit some day to build on, but
if the city has to fill in those ravines would
it not be cheaper to do it all at once and re-
ceive bids and let the lowest bidder have
the job? Now, insist that if the city
engineer had made heavier grade behind
Vans stable, he could have saved both the
fills and tunnelled the hill which would
| not have cost much more than the cut has
cost. If this is objected to as not giving
| good frontage to 80 or 40 of Vans lots,
| submit that it would have been easy to
sink shaft from the top of the hill down
to the tunnel large enough to permit an
elevator" to pass up and down (if any
body should ever live over there), and a
man could take charge of the elevator and
run it as the city scales are run. Why was
this not done? II you can answer some
| of the above questions satisfactorily, you
will confer favor on F fE
AN ENGINEER.