New-York tribune., 1875-02-08


they nearly that proportion Of the taxable property
In order to ASCERTAIN the feeling In regard 10 tho bin
among tax payers not living in Fifth-ave TRIBUNE
and propsrt1 ownsrs IN various parts Of the ey noss
OF whom Expressed themselves more or less heartily In
Commodore vanderbilt. who has heretofore very
earnestly recommended putting on asphalt pavement ia
FIfhave., said Saturday that while no had not
Gently given the matter much thought, he Was do
cidedy IN favor OF having good pavement there What
KIND of pavement IL should be made no difference ift
was only good one. All thab he knew about asphalt
payements was what he had seen OF the excellent peco
opposite the Worth monument. where II has been for
tive years 81 don't care what KIND Of payeme mt you
have ~ fhihaye, he exclaimed. ~ that you get oil
John Agnew said he had closely consde red thu
matter and although be would not favor putting un.
! confidence IN those who have the In charge.
! M0ntgOnery H. I1rOop expressed h,insef very much
II, except Il would increase MS taxation he
thought the CITY owed II 10 itself tO have i finest street
well paved No one he said, could visit London, Paris,
and other European capitals; sld see The magnhcent
| asphalt pavements there without wishing that New
York could have at least one street paved in the same
The present pavement Ia fthaTe IS disgraceiu'
aud since IL must DO r6plYe1, there Is 10 use IN
doing the work poorly. Tho charter OF tho
9 ~ prohibie1 the assessment OF tho residents
OF street for the requirement OF tho same without
vote OF property owners repre'c Two thlrd9 oI to
property fronting on the stree Iho olI 1o% unu:r co
the state. Tao legislature rejected tue fIfleentn
ton which would have prevented the Legislature from
passing any act or bill affecting tho Internal anrs OF
cities. The Sixteenth Amendments was suosutntOi iOr
i but ous of that the word streets stricken, so
as to leave with the Legislature tho power pass acts
affecting ;he slreots OF cities Mr. TuGoop further
eyed that tho property or the city not lYuROh
Fitt-aye would be generally In favor OF helping pay
Tor the requirement OF that street
Dr. t. +. Fowler IN favor OF the laying OF tho
parchment because no considered It's smootuncs noise
essnes- and cleanliness favorable 10 nyads, ana some
smooth street should be provided where the sck bOth
rich poor, could ride comfortably. The same views
have pressed by other prominent pbys clans A
gentlemen who has Travelled Europe where no devoted
considerable attention to The subject Of payemen, said
shat lie was informed last year by an Official Oh rEE
In Paris who had charge or the laying
this country better tnan that which had been
in Paris, although he Thought that me Parisish
manufacturers could aud would mako asphalt concrete
equal 10 tLat made IN Hlls cry. Olo coi,1 @
niles London without passing over any paFement5
except asphalt, and the delightful sensation oI IIh-
rapidly without noise Or lOinS' OF du9i' wa
mat could easily be nagInci ny those accustOne
only to the rOugh-stOne payements OF New-hOrk Iho
asphalt land such quantities. perfectly OiOre-s
dirt, aud IN every way a. pcIicc' 40 P+'c
ment could be.
A DESCRIPTION OF TIE ASPHALT PAVEMENT OF
PARIs-METHOD OF LAYING 1T, AND MATERIALS
UsED-ITS ELASTICITY, CLEANLINESS. AID DURA-
BILITY.
To me Edttor OF The Trtoune
SIR: The plan of paving Flfth-aye. with the
material OF which a sample section was laid down near
Madisonave something like two years ago. meets Win
favor and likely to DO forthwith adopted Tue
material in question is "asphat concrete" resting on
hydraulic st least such the terms used
in your paper to-day though the specimen 10 question
rests Immediately upon the old granite blocks test oi
two years would be sufficient am in favor OF
paving tho proposed without any delay, nor
would say a word to PREVENT II could But write
this because have some facts TO communicate tAat Will
be OF interest to all who wish TO New York dccen'y
clean city, and which the present suspcious ma
! for making known.
lido not know il the asphalt concrete n question Ia
patented. 1 hope 1t is not. Patents lead to monoP
oIies rings and Jobs And yet they have their adydn
tages too. If, for instance the French asphalt pave
ment had been covered By patent private interest
would long ago have pushed and forced into use in
this country instead OF the half dozen different CON-
pounds of coal tar sand cnder5, &C. that we hayeot
lsto years been laying down and taking mp again. j.
has been because there no "mOns in IT, n0th-
ing to gain beyond the profits Of any other open basil
ness, that still remain practically ignorant OF tho
great advantages OF the French pavement Now don't
pretend 10 know what is the competition OF the pave
ment material it is proposed TO apply 70 our great
avenue but upper layer called asphalt concrete
observe be twice black as the Paris asphalt, and
twice as thick and presume 1t s smaeiialy diLeront
compound 1t may be Uetter one for aught can tell!
That We may Judge Of thls however wo should learn -
much as we can OF both; aud OF tho foreign article
now propose to tell what know.
lived in Paris during the year 1867 which was tho
year In which tho municipality for tho first time began
to employ tho asphalt in paving the roadways OF Streets
It's before then having been confined To few eX-
permental sections, courtyards, &C. The first street
they paved with IL was think, Rue Rchclieu. Oftou
stopped to observe tho workmen there. and after
whlo sufficiently interested TO call at the oco
Of the paving company and ask for Information. ono
OF the officers good enough to drive me out to tho
works where the asphalt was prepared and show and
explain the whole process The asphalt rock used
kind of sandy limestone brought from tho maes OF tho
company in the Val de TraVers the borders of SSiz
erland, saturated with about per cent OF natural
bltumen Brought the works In Jumps Of convenient
sze crushed by means Of iron rollers armed with
knobs and then baked, either in open pans or rotary
cylinders which had the effect Of completing its puyer-
ization to fine powder that looked like maccaboy
snuff This powder, hot from tho baking.
was hauled in iron carts TO WhcFo IL
was to be used, and there dumped on tho
foundation that had been prepared for 1t Of hydra"c
or other kind OF concrete. There. while still hot 1t was
rammed with hot irons to compact consistency as
might be-tho work Of few minutes only. In few
hours atterward the roadway could be used The thick
ness of the lower concrete bed about six eight
inches and Of tho asphalt, after it was rammed or
rolled five centlmeters, or something less than two
inches At first rather spongy and yielding sSht' log
the moment the wheels OF heavy vehicles the asphalt
becomes by quite compact on the upper sIt'tSo,
hardening bat litte way down, aud the body
nnnrant nT duaty for resisting shocks ANA wear.
roadway thus paved resembles surface OF so9 Ieathe
both in color aud consistency, more nearly than any
ming else think or II has appearance OF plich
ness 1t Is the ne plus ultra OF pave
Ffth,avc should bo found to excel it. Fourteen poe
cent was the proportion OF bumen contained III Tue
stone nsed In Paris as was informed. But when
VISITED subsequently did the mines from which 10
came In the Vat &c Trayers noticed many shades ot
color streaking the rock It's place, which would lud
| cate varying proportions OF the oltumen. ANA aa
told that some mines Or quarrles yield rock mat mas
only seven per cent In IT, With such think tAey NIX
Trinidad asphalt bring it up 10 the proper CONSIST
eucy In fact my latest informant tod Inc the more ot
Trinidad asphalt added the DO tor. IhIs informant WAs
contractor with when travelled last Summer III !ho
neighhorhood of the mines, and from Whom sougu' VIZ
latest information this subject lie was 1Ho O"o oi
mines of asphaltc rock wei a. layer OF %
| ~ f II pu.t necessarily be limestone. no