Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-12-11
THE PAVING QUESTION.
4 Correspondent WhO Believes ia Cedar
Blocks.

Blocks.
To the Editor of the Globe.
read with much interest the commun-
ication of Mr.. A. Dempster, city engineer
of Pittsburg, which you printed IN the
GLOBE of Thursday morning, as | do all
articles relating to the subject OF street
paving. This subject is one of great in
terest to every property holder in St. Paul
just now, and all information which can
be obtained from the experience of other
cities is eagerly sought after. l have
made this subject something of study
for several years, and have sought all the
information I could, both from CORE
spendence and from personal interviews
with those who were supposed to have
had experience in the comparative values
of the different kinds of pavements, and
l had arrived at the conclusion that the
cedar block or tamarack was, by all odds,
the cheapest and best pavement which
could be laid, especially in new city
like ours, where the streets are being con-
stantly torn up for various purposes.
But Mr.. Dempster has dashed
to the ground all my well digest
ed convictions upon this subject
with one stroke of his pen, by the follow
ing allusion to his experience of the &C.
dar blocks:
~ will just take occasion to say that
the cedar blocks for which so much was
claimed IN the beginning, has proved a
miserable failure"
This is short and to the point, but so
far as my observation has gone, is by no
means the experience of other cities:
In looking over my scrap book to-day,
1 came across an article which clipped
from Cleveland paper some months
ago. 1t is a communication from the
clerk of the board of public works of the
city of Detroit, and addressed to that pa
per in answer to inquiries upon this very
point. The letter is as follows:
CITY OF DETROIT,
BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS,
DETROIT, January "a, 1881.
To the Editor of the Pioneer Press:
In 1874 the question of what was the best
and cheapest wood pavement came up before
the board of public works ofthis city, and was
long and earnestly discussed We were then
paving with pine blocks laid on plank, and on
sand foundations; and to ascertain which was
the more durable, the board made thorough
over the city. The pine blocks laid on plank
were found 20 be dry-rotted at the bottom, the
rot working upwards. On Woodbridge street,
which is thoroughfare for heavy traffic, we
had put down the stStowe" pavement, consist
ing of pine blocks laid on sand. These blocks
we're found to be preserved and practically
solid.
The comparative cost of pine and other
modern pavements then came up for consld-
r 10 10 fo fCr info
regarding the cost of that citV's wooden pave
ment, and received reply that their tamarack
pavement, which was laid in 1S49, was as good
in 1874 as when first laid, excepting of course
the ordinary wear and tear. The board then
decided in favor of cedar as being
more lasting than pine and cheaper than tama
rack.
One great reason for discarding pine pave
ment was the enormous royalty eXacted from
the city. Therefore, we were enjoined from
LAYING cedar block on the ground that the
pine patents covered all kinds of wood, but
the United States court here held that the use
of cedar block was no infringement of the
patent.
We have found the cedar block pavement
to be
THE CHEAPEST KIND OF PAVEMENT THAT CAN
BE LAID.
It cost in 1880 about SLIP per square yard for
new and old, and about 81. per square yard
for entirely new, including grading, curbing,
sand, etc., etc. If left undisturbed
IT WILL LAST, WITHOUT REPAIR, FULLY
TWELVE YEARS.
The mode OF laying it is as follows:
First-Grade the street to the desired level.
Second-After grading roll it with a 1900
pound roller, to discover weak spots, depres-
sions, etc.
Third-Cover with sand to the depth of six
(6) inches, and roll with an 500 pound roller.
Fourth-Place the blocks on end and pound
down by hand.
Fifth-Coat with tar and cover with fine
gravel.
The pavement is ready for use as soon as fin
ished The blocks used here are four az and
ten (l0) in diameter by seven (7) inches deep.
Very respectfully,
JOHN CAMPBELL, Secretary.
fully indorse the above.
JOHN MCLOUGHLIN, City Engineer.
Thus you will see by the above that the
experience of two cities, at least, differs
from that of Plttsburg. You will also
notice that engineers, like doctors, Will
differ. l think it would not be wise for
our city authorities to entirely ignore the
cedar blocks upon Mr.. Dempster's ex-
perience alone. The subject will bear
investigation. ]. W. CUNNINGHAM.