The New York herald., 1878-11-24
Street Cleaning and It's Deficiencies.


There are great faults in our present street
cleaning system. Probably the Police Con-
missioners have too many other duties to
perform to allow them to devote as much
time to street cleaning as the business re-
quires, if it is to be conducted with thor
ough efficiency Ii so it is a good reason
for the transfer of the duty to other author
tiles. 1t is unquestionably true that a
constant agitation of the subject is needed
in the press to insure proper prosecution
of the work OF cleaning the streets. AS soon
rs the public journals relax their vigilance
the street cleaning authorities relax their
efforts, and the business is neglected A
short time ago, when the HEEALD made a
daily report Of the condition of the Streets
they were kept unusually clean. When our
reports ceased change was soon apparent
in the work Of the Bureau, and now we are
called upon to renew our efforts in behalf Of
cleanliness and comfort.
Some time ago rumors were current of
startling revelations about to be made by
the Commissioners of Accounts rejecting
on the hon esty of the street cleaning man
agoment. The report Of these Commission
ers is now published, and does not warrant
the statements by which il was hcralded
The report affects to find n deficiency be-
tween the amount Of material claimed TO
have been gathered by the street cleaning
carts in 1876 and the amount accounted for
by transportation on the scows and delivery
to private individuals for filing purposes
The inference would, Of course, be that the
street cleaning authorities paid for n
greater number Of carloads OF material
than were actually received. The figures
given in the report itself do not warrant
any such conclusion.
The full carrying capacity of the carts
owned and hired by the bureau is stated in
the report to be l-3 yards. 1t is claimed
that 1,012, 900 cartloads were delivered dur
ing 1876 or, at full measurement Of the
carts, 1,349. 333 yards. 1t is claimed by the
Commissioners of Accounts that the scows,
calculating their capacity and the number
of their trips, carried away GA, coo yards,
and that 1862, 900 yards were taken by pri-
vate parties. This makes 906, 900 yards ac-
counted for as disposed Of, which leaves
433, 333 yards unaccounted for. This de-
ficiency amounts to about thirty per cent of
the total number of yards alleged to have
been delivered at the dumps, according to
the number of carloads said to have been
gathered during the year.
We fail to find any reason to doubt the
honesty ofthe Street Cleaning Departments
a.b Ia, tl,o
place, it is absurd to suppose that every
CARLOAD out Of the 1,0l2, 900 claimed to
have been taken from the streets was q full
load to the utmost capacity of the cart
If we allow that the loads on an average
lacked only one-sixth of yard OF being
full loads, which is very moderate esti-
mate. the total delivered at the dumps and
to be accounted for is ISL. 900 yards. or
only 175, 900 yards more than is admitted by
the report to have been taken by the scows
and delivered to private parties. This
deficiency is shrnkage OF only fif-
teen per cent from the full amount
delivered at the dumps by the carts, and
when it is remembered that the carloads.
besides being shaken down in their passage
frcm the gathering points to the dumps, are
subject to shrinking from the weight OF
packing at the dumps and in the scows ;
that the garbage which is gathered fresh
willis and wthers at the dumps and loses
bulk, and that there is certain loss in
loading the scows, this shrinkage OF fifteen
per cent is no doubt less than the actual
loss.