Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-09-23
A Reply to a Reply tina. was not Reply.

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To the Editor of THI EVENING STAR:
The report OF Health Oficer Townshend
published in The STAR of the Goth instant in re.
ply to of my letter to the first controller
concerning the vouchers for street cleaning
and the pay rolls Of the health department for
cleaning unpaved streets and alleys by day wori
Ii 90 remarkable for what it does not reply to
Is well as Its labored effort to explain certain
things by argument rather than by facts that
feel IL my duty, in view of additional facts that
are coming 70 my knowledge every day, to ask
Tor space In TIE STAR to place this matter
more clearly before the people, which / do
government, and without any personal i'll feel
ing toward anyone
Passing over the doctors argument, I come
to his statement of facts
First, he says list street northwest was swept
eleven times during the months Of May and
June, which was as often as possible to reach
II, following the schedule in force"
ANSWER.
The printed schedule that the doctor says
went into operation four months ago-a copy
Of which is before me--only calls for the sweep
ing Of LIST street once per week. Why sweep it
eleven times in two months when the schedule
only calls for once per week? My statement to
the controller that LIST, I'd and Sd streets were
only swept once per week, when the schedule
schedule in the doctors annual report (p 663),
where those streets are put down as being swept
twice per week. had not then seen his ne W
printed schedule. / stated that knew from
personal observation that I'd street had not
been swept but once per week. This can be
proved by many residents, a special policeman
and by the admission of the drivers employed.
j also stated that LIST street was put down in the
doctors report Up. 663) as not only being swept
twice per week but containing 1860 square
yards Of pavement between b and streets
north, when it does not contain over 1900
yards between those points. The doctor is
silent on this point. Does he call this mis-
take of the printer? The work was done at the
government printing Office. Does he mean to
say the figures were changed there?
The doctors explanation of the schedule,
which proves itself to be fraudulent, is most
remarkable. Hear him:
The six sweeping schedule contains 276 items of
measurement and IN the printing some half dozen
one case an error in the Of figures gives the
1000 Yards less than be is entitled to for
gives him S99o less than he is entitled 70 in the
rspesition Of street on one q the schedules gives
him more than he Is entitled TO, and the repeti-
over payment Of $50 square yards As t the
schedules were printed to clerical labor and.
errors should creep il % be discovered aud reneed
equally between the contractor and the Tovernnent.
and the further fact that during the month OF May
from the contractor Tor imPerfect Work. shows
stolen to the payment Of 500 II in the case Of
that the both have been corrected aud
less than four months the setting Of the erenees l.
an easy matter"
1t Is true that there is an error against the
contractor on Pennsylvania avenue between
I'd street east and 18th street east Of about
5000 yards. 1t probably occurred in this way.
There IL park IN the center of that avenue
from I'd to 18th street east 1t is put down on
the map as being 60 feet wide and the carriage
way as 30 feet each side. Whereas the park is
but A feet wide and the carriageway is 3S feet
wide each side. This makes o difference of I6
feet more In width to be swept than the map
calls for, which would about make the diff
ference.
With regard to 9th street northwest find
the following in Mondays schedules:
Ninth street west from Pennsylvania avenue
to Boundary A,091 square yards" and on
Saturdays schedule find 18TH street west from
Pennsylvania avenue to Boundary 40, O91 square
yards. Here Is the same identical space stated
at 5000 yards more in Saturdays schedule than
In Mondays schedule. Was this too a mis-
take of the printer? Will the doctor inform
the public under which schedule the work is
done9 Which schedule is correct? answer,
neither.
The exact distance from the north side of
pennsylvania avenue to Boundary street is
e,2o7 feet. The carriageway from curb to curb
Is 81 feet, and the number Of square yards, in
GLIDING 10 street crossings and three wide ave-
nues that cross it diagonally, which are paid
for being swept the other way, is 46, $780, showing
2,S6s square yards more than the doctor has IN
his Mondays schedule, and 2.13l square Yards
less than in his Saturdays schedule.
Row hear the doctors explanation with re-
gard to the duplication Of C street, which puts
him and his schedule In worse hole than 9Th
street.
He says there is "a repetition Of c street on
one Of the schedules 1" implying that il is only
on one schedule. The following which 1 copy
from his printed schedule speaks for itself. I
copy the schedule for the whole week.
Monday schedule reads &C street north. from
Indiana avenue to 9th street west II, 262 square
yards"
Tuesdays schedule reads &C street north. from
Indiana avenue to Sth street west, II, 262 square
yards, and then only six lines below it may be
found the following for the same day.
&C street north from Indiana avenue to 7th
street west, 8, 9S7 square yards
Wednesdays schedule reads &c street north.
from Indiana avenue to Sth street west II, 262
square yards, and sixpines below again APP
pears a second duplicate, as follows:
&C street north, from Indiana avenue to 7th
street west, 1881 square yards"
On Thursdays schedule all but one square is
dropped of. II reads &c street north, from
TN TO 9Th street west. LIFTS square yards, and
Erluay = scnedule READS the same.
Saturdays schedule reads: &C street north
from It'll street west to 8th street west 1918
square yards" and then, nine lines below on
the same page. for the same day, appears @
street reversed. as follows: &C street north
from seventh street west to Indiana avenue.
1851 square yards"
IL viii be seen that street is down for a
sweeping four times per week between Indiana
avenue and It'll street west and once between
7th street west and Indiana avenue. II the
schedule 10 honest why this Transporting? Is
this the work Of the printer?
II viii be seen that there il q duplicate two
days In succession. instead Of one as stated by
the health officer, and then there is a break Of
two DAYS that the street is not swept.
1t Will not do to call this q mistake of the
printer. have read twenty Of these duplicate
charges that were copied with a pen into a
large book kept by the health officer between
the I'D OF May and the 18th of August
The health officer admits another duplication.
OF 35th street, West Washington, but he omits
70 state still another which may be found iu
Mondays schedule, viz. 18th street from
PENNSYLVANIA avenue north to NJ street north
which is down twice for that day. And this i
the way the doctor explains all Of these dnnli-
Gates: AS the schedules were printed To save
clerical labor, and for the first time, il ia but
natural TO expect that some errors should
creep IN, 10 be discovered and remedied later
on"
The doctor fails to give Us the name of the
printer that he aims made those duplicates
Printers follow copy. They will hardly FEEL
IKE fathering such work as this. Then. again
was there no one TO read the proof of tbis
work! Was the printpr given n hl.r.k.