Daily Los Angeles herald., 1883-01-04
our streets and sewers.

a uoDu ilke tnat VI tnt Otutf uaN,
causing miniature rivers in the cutters
Of our streets, and unspeakable mud and
filth on the road bed, with tho street
car horses splashing along in six inches
OF mud and water, speaks better than
would columns Of editorials of the de
fects in our streets and sewers, aside from
sanitary point Of view, and calls loudly
upon our city officials for remedies ant
preventives. As the new Mayor in hi
message aptly says, by conjuncturc o.
happy circumstance we have been
pushed, as 1t were, into something of q
metropolitan position; and what in the
past days, when wo were hardly more
than drowsy village, was matter OF
course, is. now that we are fast being
motamorphosed into city. mntter OF
comment to our visitors. These re,
marks are not very Aattering to our
ideas of street cleaning and general
municipal administration. The flood,
the other day, poured down Spring,
Main and many Of the lateral streets,
augmented ut each crossing by the
creeks and rivulets from the hills. A
small part Of the waters were detected
at sundry places to flow down the cross
streets; and, after course Of q mile,
they poured into the river or flooded
tho intervening lowlands. Down Fort
street smaller addition Of the Los An.
geles river coursed tumultuously, wash
ing out cutters until they wcro two feet
and more below the curb line. in the
heart of the city itself the mud grew
Deeper each hour; and, yesterday. we
saw the old spectacle of teams wallow-
ing in the mirc and pedestrians mud be.
spattered. The ravines among the hills
being filled up in part by streets graded
across them, here and there, form reser'
voirs for anti.sanitary effects and pur
poses. For the greater part theii
old outlets being filled in, the
waters are sent down to increase
the tribulations of the dwellers
in the valley, who are annually con,
fronted with the same difficulties. What
are We to do, Can we leave this impor'
tant municipal detail to natures dispo
sition: Can we lot the city grow west
ward to Washington street, and ther
have q continuous stream, two miles in
length, flooding the width of the street,
after its first miles course. In the neal
future we will have our streets paved OF
covered with some substance better, We
hope, than any now in use, for no kint
Of pavement in modern cities seems t'
give entire satisfaction, but we will thel
still have our water TO dispose OF. Al
ounce Of prevention is worth pound o
cure, and it is time to act. So far as w
know, there are no inlets to our sewer
in the heart Of the city for the reccp
tion of tho waters arising from rains
The new Spring street sewer, that il
designed to drain the buildings on eithel
side of that thoroughfare, will not drair
the street. II is of paramount import
ance that this sewer, which could b'
made to obviate the greater part of ;h'
difficulties now existing, should act as
drain for the cutters. At each stree
crossing inlets should be provided con
Meeting with the sewer and sufficient.
large to receive all OF the waters west o
1t. The contract has been let to pu
smaller pipe at the upper end. Let tn
whole length of the sewer be of tn
largest size its outlet will allow. LIE
the first work be the last, and let it no
be SO done that. five years hence, w
shall be obliged to enlarge it, Some O
our wiseacres would doubtless say tha
this will never do, that the sand an,
gravel used in grading our streets vii
fill in and obstruct the sewer. We vii
hardly fare worse than Cincinnati, Mil
waukee, and other cities, which hav
gravel lined streets ane similar sewers
and which aro yet not hnsd up b.
drainage matters. The inlets can b.
covered with close grating and KEEP
clear during rains. In dry weather !
cap can be put over the openings, and al
purposes would thus be answered. Ou
sewers would then he flushed and thor
oughly cleansed by each rain, More
over, in the summer, head of waite
could be turned on occasionally from tn
irrigating bitches; and our sewerag,
system, from being one of the most i'm
perfect, would become n model of per
fection. What little water would b
left on the streets after rain woul,
dry up in twenty-four hours, and ou
streets would be infinitely more passa
BILE than at present, and the publ
health and convenience would be bette
served.
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THERE is at the present time a dispC