The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-11-06
HON rarI 3 Il rxs 81 clen...

Tgs xoEsiSa ToiIg or nj
| 0RGAN1zATins OF THE sCAvEEG ERs--I HOW
| THE STREETS ARE SWEPT AND yyATERED.
fRichard Whiteinpe PARIS eetrespondenee In New
Ynsk Nofld.I Il n n ss5 at5 ~
| Paris, unlike any OF her children, makes
| her first toilet the moment she rtsca. For
meray every owner Of q dwelling was bound
by law TO sweep the public road in front OF
his premises. He Is now obliged to have 1t
done by the public scayengers, ut arate pro-
poftioned to fhe importance OF the quarter.
The rate Is fifiy.two confines per square
metre in the .'first DIVISION which i'm
cludes the better quarters, and twentf-four
centisnes In the second. We baVe equality
and fraternity in politics, but no. exactly in
cieanliness-republi as we are. The
total rate levied on the city under this head
is $500, 400 year. The cleansing is tho
roughly done. AT an early hour In the
morning Molly the housemaid has to bring
down ali the sweepings OF her rooms and
leave them In the gutter-there are no
ASH pits in Paris. Then Il cart comes
around for the removal Of this heavier re-
fuse. Long before this the scavengers
have begun to sweep the lighter impuri-
ties from the roadway into the cutters. The
strip OF sidewalk in front OF each house is
still swept by the occupant. The last part
of the work is to thoroughly flush and sweep
the cutters, and when this is done Paris has
had her first morning wash. The business
OF the scavengers is to maintain her in a
slate of comparative purity for the rest OF
the day, the principle being that the only
way to keep. a city clean Is never to allow it
to get dirty. The scavenging is thus sort
OF preventive service against " matter in the
wrong place."
The scayengers are organized into 122
brisadcs, each numbering from twenty-five
to thirty hands (men and women), and Of
ficercd by chief or mid. Most Of the hands
are employed only in the morning, when
the most Of the work is to be done. The
morning hands are called "Swecpers," the
all-day hands " cantonniers." The last have
TO water the roads in summer, and keep
them up to the mark in general cleanliness
all the year round. The scavengcrs begin
at 8 in the morning in summer, and in
the winter at 4. and both in winter
and summer their DAYS, if cantonniers,
ends at 4 2. N. The halliday OF the
6, $50 scayengcrs OF both grades. and ITO
chiefs. The cantonniers are mostly en-
ployed in the most frequented quarters,
where the sweeping is going on all day.
| In the other quarters, the first cleansing is
| in many cases also the last. The $3.50 Scav-
enoers mentioned above form the lndepend-
ent staff; but the total OF persons engaged
| in the service is ut all times largely in
creased by the "auXiliaries," who are en-
| pIoycd as they are wanted, and paid by the
| day, or rather by the halliday, as that is
the more usual term OF labor. The mum.
Der of auNiliarieS varies. OF course, accord
ing to the season. At the present moment
Summer timc) there are 1880 on the books,
10 1 FOR
their mornings work. Add these to the
number given above, and we have ilITound
numbers a total OF about 5000 broomS al
work in Paris day by day. Reckoning the
area at about 25 square miles, this gives 200
scavengerS to the mile, or more II we make
the considerable allowance due for the space
occupied by the houses.
Part OF the work OF sweeping is done by
machine broomS, set in motion by Il horse
going at walking pace. Each mochine
costs $500, and it will sweep 5000 square
wards an hour. A man working with a
broom can do but 600. The machine, there
fore, does the work OF ten men. 1t is used
only on the largest tloroughfares. 1t has
been found that the washing OF the road
ways tends largely to their preservation.
They are therefore thoroughly drenchcd
and secured every five or six days. The
| OfQlUaIS LUZ StiSStS W hSSp
down the dust begins on the 18th of March
on the macadamizcd pavements, and from o
fortnight to month later on the payements
of asphalt and stone. A few years ago the
watering was done solely by carts. 1t is
now done partly by means Of 1ndla-rubber
hose. covering u large circumference, and
easily transferred from plugt to plug In the
streets. This system is cheaper by half than
! the old one OF water carts, though the latter
is still in extensive use. OF the S,500.000
square metres Of surface watered every
day G,173,00O are covered by means OF the
$50 carts, the remainder by hand. The
carts belong to the city. The service OF
horse and driver is performed by contract
at $50 month for each vehicle. Down to
1871 the removal OF street refuse was farmed
out. the farmers paying so much for the
privilege OF removing the mud, etc, TO sell
as manure. This. however, was found to
work badly, and the work is now, believe.
done by contract, the city retaining its
ownership OF the refuse removed, but on
tIis polnt am NOT oilite clear