The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-01-26
Condition OF the Streess-What Be
comes OF the Money:

movable festival of the seasons and the
elements that can justly be regarded as OF
greater importance to dwellers in this dis
tressed city. Men of the most diverse views
may equally chant peans in honor OF this
energetic deliquescence. and the muse OF
Bryant, of N. Z. Willis and even of old Fitz
Greene Halleck may fairly be reproached
with neglect Of grand opportunities IN
that none of them has fully done justice to
this grand theme in the heroic experiences
of metropolitan existence. thanks to this
great thaw the citizen can get glimpse
at the street payements for two or
three days in the worst Of winters
Not that the city payements are in them
selves fine sights spectacles that an
eye educated in pavements would banker
for but III the world OF snow and sleet and
hail and slush it is comforting to have the
assurance of our eyes from time to time to
the fact that there really are pavements
beneath it all, even though they be vile and
crippled and hummocky and eloquent of
contractors profits. But if the thaw de-
lights the public with the temperance Of
the true surface of the streets how does it
touch the souls of those who should have
carted the snow away, and how are the
cookies Of their hearts warmed as they
see their great enemy gently commit
himself to the gutter, when he can find
it, and thus give them the chance to
charge as if they had removed him, with
out putting them in fact to any expense
whatever?
Onr heavy snow came ten days ago, and
everywhere, except in Broadway or in one
or two other great thoroughfares, it has
been with us ever since. In West street,
Washington street and Greenwich street,
and in all the streets that bear similar rela-
ton to the river on the east side, and in all
the uptown streets save the few great
arteries of traffic that may be numbered on
the fingers, the snow lay before the thaw
began, not precisely as it fell, but certainly
not reduced in quantity by any action on
the part Of the city authorities. Some up
town streets are INSTRUCTED that even the
adventurous milkman scarcely makes an
effort to get through, while down town snow
and filth, ground together and partly
thawed, fill the streets with rivers of pasty
mud everywhere ankle deep. For the city
streets to be as they now actually are is
scandalous and shameful. They are in the
condition in which one might expect to find
the streets Of a city which made no pre-
tence whatever to the possession of street
cleaning service. Should we imagine a city
in civilized lands whose citizens were not
taxed to keep the streets in order, and
which did not support an army of func-
tionaries paid for this labor, we cannot see
in what respect its streets would be worse
off than ours now are in ten days after
snow storm; yet the people of this city are
not merely taxed for this service, but out
rageously plundered in its name.
Who can tell what becomes of the money?
This has always been one of the great mys-
stories of municipal Observation-Disclosures
is done in the winter months with the
street money? Never was it so much a
mystery as now, because it was never
palmer than now that it is not used to
clean the streets Within the ten days
since the snow fell what has been done?
Some carloads Of snow have been carried
carloads we do not know, but not many.
Only enough to make show apparently,
to pretend to go through the motions, to
put in an appearance, as if for the
actual performance of service. An i'm
preston was made on Broadway
but even that street was not cleaned,
only the snow was somewhat reduced in
was able to melt away what was left. But
if there had not been any snow and the
authorities had in the meanwhile done their
duty as to the streets they must have spent
two or three times as much money in clean
ing them as they have actually spent in
carting away some hundreds of loads of
snow. Thus the snow becomes an economy
to them. Naturally it should entail an in
creased expenditure, for they should carry
away the snow in addition to the perform
ance of their regular service. But they
scarcely touch the snow. They scratch for
q day or two along the edge of few streets,
but in fact leave the snow very much as it
was, and from their ordinary labor they are
entirely absolved. No investigating COM
mittee of the Legislature could ever find
out what is done with the money assigned
for these services not performed, but it
would be interesting to know.
Commonly delinquencies like this in re-
gard to the streets charged to corrup-
ton, and, no doubt, that has great share
in the result. But it is not corruption alone
that must be overcome to find a remedy,
for much is due TO incapacity, to the pres
ence in public positions of men unequal to
the duties of the places they occupy OIL
Gals and agents trained for the performance
of the duties assigned TO them do not exist
outside the army and navy anywhere in the
United States; and our public services