The New York herald., 1877-12-17
HOW TO CLEAN THE CITY.


A SIMPLE SYSTEM OF DISTRICT STREET SWEEP
ING CONDUCTED BY HONEST woRKMEN UNDER
COMPETENT sUPERINTENDEN1s
NEW YORK, Dec. Is, 1871
To THE EDITOR HERALD:-
TO have clean streets IN New York there must be
system adopted whereby the mon employed shall DO
taught to properly sweep and gather tho refuse
thereoni consequently competent who thor
oughy understand such a system should be appointed
to superintcnd the work. Having been some years
ago connected with the Street Cleaning Bureau in
Liverpool. Engand take the liberty OF illustrating
how ,he ytem practisod there might be adopted In
New York with beneficial results 10 the aud
the unfortunate pedestrians who arc compelled to
travel It's mud and garbage covered streets FIRST
divide the Guy into twenty districts To each district
appoint superintendent who will be held responsible
for its thorough cleaning In the central portion of
each district have Office and for tho storage OF
sweepcrs materials. Over ne district super nendents
appoint general superintendent, whose duty shall be
to superintend tho sweeping OF the whole city hire
and detail the several districts, receive the
ports each day Of the number Of men employed in
each district, and to issue ORDERS tho necessity
arises for the guidance Of mis- subordinaes To each
district allow average OF forty men, to bo divided
into TWO or moro Squads aud In each squad appoint
foreman to keep the from idling and who, tho
absence OF tho superintendent, Will act as sucn. BY
a foreman / don't mean q political hummer, whose
only recommendations tho sampling Of bad
whiskcy ana fidelity to his political favorites, but
man from among the swcepcrs who sball receive 81
per week for his services such foreman lead
his squad, using his rake or broom occasion
qures The should report al their district Offices
at given time each morning, where the supcrIu-
tendent shall COLL the ROLL give instructions TO his
toremen what streets should be swept during the
day ana any other orders necessary Tor tho proper
n a m RNrh nuv
supcrintendents should report at general super
inlendents Office the number Of men employed
their respective districts forms to be iur-
nished for such purpose, said reports to be flied
aud recorded on the payrolls. In Liverpool, damp
and weather IL considered tho most favorable
for street cleaning. Tho refuse the strcets being
In semiliqud state, is swept into tho cutters or
channels, and thence. transferred by instruments
called scoops which roscmDe soup ladies'. water
tight carts, specially constructed Tor the purpose.
To each cart two men are detailed, one OF whom
tho scoop ani the other broom. In very wct
half tho men should he detailed to act as crossing
swecpers, by which mean that space OF at least
two ynrds at the Intersection of streets should be
swept thoroughly every hour with fine broom for tue
convenience OF pedestrians. havc looked IN vain, Tor
the last hitecn years. Tor crossing sweeper In this GUY
but employed, unless some wretched
little girls or boys who merely act to attract the gem
croslty OF 0naritably disposed persona consider IL
the most important feature IN tho whole system of
street cleaning have the passages al tue intersection
oil streets kept thoroughly swept 1t would be a boon
conferred the unfortunate people who nave to
from one side oi tho street 10 the other III pursuit OF
their everyday vocatons generally wadlng IN three
TO hvc inches OF mud and slush) that wOul hun
dreus oi thousands Of dollars worth OF boots and
monts, besides preventing delicate ana consunpuve
people from catching cold through tho agency vi wet
feet, which III many cases prove iata In European
cities In the toughest weather, ades can walk the
CATO patent leather boot Now | Will cndeavor 10
enumcrAte the cost which the above system would
entail on tho city.
Forty men 10 each district Of twenty-s0O
men-cmploysd 3l3 days In the year, AZ
twenty superSieaasu.s At 300 Der ~ COO
One general superintendent, per year. 2oUO
Clerk hire ana extra pay to loremen. Il 900
Which makes grand total per year Of. S4l5 900
There are at least thirty days in each year
which, through the agency OF frost anu other
causes, IL would bs Impossible Tor work a
street sweeping. which, deducted from the above esti
mate, gives sou nIou dic or thirty days In each year
Theu Tor any extraordinary within the scai
year the l0rce 0f $40 could be doubled ior Inrty
Gays without increasing the estimates will now
deavor 10 compute the number vi miics ul streets in
the CITY ny mag ning It ~ shape oi paraleloeram
miles long by tIrce miles wide, having twenty
parallels In length intcrsected by 100 parallels
width, representing tho streets, which gives total
66O mnes The peces iu such paralelogram III which
there are no streets reckon us sixty miles; deauct
from 900 ahd there remain QUO miles 10 be swept.
Forty men cun easily sweep miie OF streets In an
hour, Allowing tea noars TO working day, thcy can
sweep ten miles per day Multiply by the number OF
districts Uwenlyl when gives zuU miles per uay Tor
500 men working ten hours Accordingly, every street
IN the city OF New FORK coulu be- swept twice the
week. l am satisfied IRON experience II the streets
were once thoroughly cleaned 500 men could sweep
800 miles per day, properly superintcnded. For the
removal oi the sweepi1gs to the dumping depots
ALLOW $50 carts per day (the cost o zach horse aud
driver included, $4l working 3l3 days each year,
would amount to $ls7,S00 Allowing thirty days IN
the year IN which they cannot work. IN the OF
the swcepers, you Can hire 300 carts and
Tor thirty days, for any extraordina OCCASION,
without increasing the estimate oI the fiscal year.
Thus II VIII be seen that Tor thoroughly cleaning
every street In the city twice IN each week, ana
moving the swcepings Lhcrefrom, tue cost cannot
honestly exceed $o02 sOO TO viii ada sl2 200
suDdrics making tota oi &6l5, ,0OO leaving balance
Of nearly 500 900 Tor the removal Of ashes ana gar
bagc would recommend that the city tics ad-
vcrtse for bids Tor their removal l am saushed
there would DO lively competition to Obtain the con-
tract, because tho price OF the enormous OF
manure which could be cleaned IRON the refuse Of Tho
city would moro than pay the cost OF It's removal n
properly attended 10 by an cnterprising manager.
sucn contract would relieve the present department
from duties OF which they are ignorant, and which
never can be performed under the present system.
JAMES MORAN, Essex Market
a CRISIS FOR SELE-ASSERTION