, 1880-02-29

Anything like thorough cleaning under these
circumstances Is simply Impossible, and large
sums Of money are thrown. away every year
in the futile effort to clean the city, "h1cn, II
aggregated during few years, would pay
for uniform and general system OF improve
ments. AS it is, almost any stretch OF rev
blocks reveals all Imaginable degrees Oh pad
ness upon street which rhas been paved,
and this irregularly- paved thoroughfare is
crossed By other streets that have never been
payed, and are: little else. than: elongated
mudholes. There is no hope OF cleanliness
in such condition Of things.
There Is just one way in which Ch1cago
can attain the cleanliness OF the modern
European and the Eastern cities, and thai IS
through h general system OF streetlmpfoSe-
ments. This should be begun by the Com
mon Councils ordering the paving Of all the
streets lying in the district bounded by tho
lake, the river, and Twelfth street. This
district includes the principal business por-
ton Of the city. The great commercial
houses, the chief retail shops, the large no
tells, the theatres and public halls are located
within these boundaries. This is the part OF
Chicago where the transient visitors on busl-
ness or pleasure abide, and. uniform and
perfect system OF street-pavelnents is all that
Is now required to make 1t one of the most
attractive metropolitan Identities In the
world. The Improvement should be uni
form in character and US nearly simultaneous
as possible in accomplishment. The main
thoroughfaros should be paved Oh the
Detroit plan, with cedar blocks laid
on q firm foundation, and the cutters
at the sides constructed from snlall
boulders. The cross-streets which are used
comparatively little might be improved with
gravel or crushed grant, laid upon foun-
dation Of mecadam. Certain blocks IN the
neighborhood Of the railroad depots and
warehouses might be improved with the
Belgian pavement or large powders. The
work could be let out. in large sections in
different parts Of the district defined, and
couple Of years would be enough to COM
plete it.
:: The ecst Of thus improving the entire
South Division north Of. Twelfth street,
when distributed over the property benefited,
would be very shall to the individual own
ers. 1twould be no larger in any event than
the present cost Of unsyste,na1io and useless
improvements upo,l d few blocks at time
All the streets in the described district have
been filled to grade, aud nearly all are walled
or curbed at the sides; all have sewers, water,
and gas. The cost Of paving would vary,
according to the present condition. from S1.50
to $a.5 per front foot, and it would fall upon
property worth all the way from $500 to
$4,000 per front foot. Every owner can well
afford to incur the expense; every tenantcan
afford to have the interest upon the cost
assessed In the form Of a tritli1lg additional
rent. In business building, for Instance,
twenty-five feet wide, paying rental of sew
eral thousand dollars yeur, a distribution Of
$40 year among the various tenants would
be triafng indeed, and yet that small amount
would more than pay the interest upon the
cost of tho proposed improvement. In the
case Of vacant lots, Us well rs property that
is built up, such system Of street-pavements
would add to their selling value several hum
dredper cent more than the individual cost
of paving. The money thus expended would
be good Investment for Chicago as city,
and profitable for every man who, as prop
erty-owner, would be called upon to pay his
proportion Of the cost
If It'll be objected that twill require one or
two years to make the special assessments
and collect the money for the improvement
suggested, the obvious answer is that sac!.'
will ba the case whenever the project shall
be undertaken,~ and the sooner the Council
starts the quicker the job will be done. It
must be done sooner OF later if Chicago Is to
retain its metropolitan character, and there
Is no time when th8 burden will full more
lightly upon the people than during the next
two years, when the rising value Of property
and good business are confidently expected.
It MAY be safely predicted, too, that it the
Council order the Improvement to be made,
Il very large majority Of the property-owners,
recognizing the inevitable and conscious Of
the advantage that will be gained, will vol
UNFAIRLY proceed in the matter and have their
pave1nents constructed upon private con-
tract. It would be a glorious thing for the
city If its principal streets could thus be put
in order for the coming summer, when the
city will be filled with strangers who are
coming here to visit the various conventions
encanpne1lts, reunions, exhibitions, etc.
As this dispatch is not practicable, the pre-
caution should be taken that similar gather
ings in the future will find a cleaner and
purer welcome. Whenever the general sys-
of improving the streets Of the business
portion of the city shall be begun, the resi-
dents of the West and North Divisions and
of the South Side outside the main business
district will eagerly follow the example, and
it will then be but very few years till the
entire city will be provided with paved
streets. Thereafter 1t will be easy and cheap
to keep the pavements clean and in good re-
pair, and Chicago will have done the one
thing lacking to make 1t the most beautiful,
attractive, and prosperous city on the Amer
lean Continent.
THE RUSSIAN UKASE.
The foreign dispatches report that the ex-
IN R,,acio tho