Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-11-23

| The invitation was promptly accepted.
Now" said Mr.. Luhrs, after they haG
driven about block, while we are er
route, it might not be out OF place to recite
a little history. You remember how the
Improvement Company was originated, o.
| course? Well. tnen you also know the
! obstacles ii had TO contend with. The con-
tractors, who had had MONOPOLY of the
street work, got up aud howied against Us
and the bond proposition when they heard
| that we were not in the business to make
money, but to
GIVE THE PEOPLE GOOD STREETS
| For Just what the labor and material cost
They did everything they could to dis
courage US. At that time, however, there
was little or no street improvement going
on and these men were making a scant
| living But we got on our feet, in spite oil
all the obstacles thrown in our way and
! we went into the business with vim
| Look at the result These same con.
| tractors and teamste1s, who were so bitter
| against US, have now more work than
they can possibly attend to. They had
| also kicked against our using a steam
wagon. for the purpose OF hauling gravel
from the pit, claiming that it took work
| away from them, yet, to-day, the combined
| efforts of the steam wagon and more teams
| then were ever before employed on the
streets of Sacrapento cannot keep up with
the work that is desired TO be DONE
| CHANGED THEIR TUNE.
"Well, what do they think of it now Pr
ventured the reporter.
| "Oh, they see now how mistaken they
| were and they are now our greatest friends
| And well they might be. Our scheme has
proved veritable boDanzl for them. Every
man in the city, and many from the coun.
| try, who has team, has as much work
and more, too, than he can possibly han
bic, and it will be the same next year,
| have no doubt.p
! How many teams and men have you
given employment to ~
you mean the Improvement Com.
panr?"
Yes
| LET me see, now. To-day. there are al
work just fifty-tive teams, to say nothing Of
| the steam wagon. Each team, of course, i:
attended to by one man. Then, the steam.
| wagon and its carts has crew, and there
| is large gang employed at our gravel pi
| to do the loading. Then there are the la
| borers who do the work on the streets after
| the gravel is brought in, The foremen, tht
rollers and others whom I cannot enumer
ate. Altogether, there must be something
like
TWO HUNDRED MEN EMPLOYED
Right now on the streets-fully triple thu
number that was ever employed at on,
time before. And what is more than al
this, think it is very safe to say that, a!
the enthusiasm of the people increases
daily, by next year there will be fully
double the present amount of work unds
way, and employment given to a core
| civ iTa cd bcnnb fO
the life of me | can't see where the add
tional teams and teamsters are coming
from, unless it is from other parts. Every
available team in the city is now at work
either for the improvement company o.
for other contractors.
"Csn you give me any idea, Mr.. Luhrs, a
to how much work las been done-that is
how many blocks have been excavated
graded and graveIed p asked the reporter
We'll, can come pretty near to it" wa:
the reply. II can tell you almost exactly
what the Improvement company has dom
and very near what has been done by Other
contractors. You will remember that tn,
Street improvement Company
DID NOT GET TO WORK
Until the middle of August Of this year
but every day since then has been used L
advantage Since then cur company ha
excsvated, graded, grayeled. and rolled il
the best possible shape, aboutthirty blocks
and by the end OF the year it will react
fifty. This, of course. includes the cross
ipgs as wei! as The streets themselves, anC
the crosswalks, too. There is a great dea
more work about putting street IN orde
than the casual observer or average either
dreams of. The other contractors have,
should Judge, disposed Of about seventy
five blocks during the past yesr. There
you see, Sacramento has now over hun
bred graveled and graded blocks, all 0
good quality, and of the kind that will b,
in good order during the heaviest kind o
a winter Quite change from year ago
eh ?"
The vehicle was now bouncing along NJ
G. street toward Agricultural Park. Tn
street Yasin magnificent condition, smooth
hard, nicely convened, and durable in ap
pesrance. Nj Luhrs explained that con
tractor Peter Miller was just putting th
finishing touches on the street, he hayin
had the contract tor
THE WORK OF TRANSFORMATION
From Sixth to Twentieth streets-thst be
ing the entire length Of street al present
It is admitted on all sioes that the qualit
of gravel in the pit owned by the improve
mem, company is superior to any other i
this locality, and the fact that contracto
Miller was permitted TO use gravel iron
, this pit or 6 street had much TO do wit
the excellent appearance Of the street now
Reaching Twelfth street, Mr.. Luhr
pointed out several blocks which had bee
done by the improvement company, an
they al! looked splendid. Twelfth street
now grayeled and graded from L stree
: noTthEard to the levee, and as the count
I is putting the county road on the other sid
of the bridge in good condition, too, tn
citizens and farmers may rejoice in tn
knowledge that there will be no more stop
pages of traffic this winter as was the cas-
LIST year, by re .son of the impossible cor
diiion OF this road and Twelfth street.
r Yes, sir, said Mr.. Luhrs, enthusiastic
: ally. the fac, that Twelfth street is now
e fac thoroughfare means thousands OF do
2 lars to the people Of Sacramento, and nc
body knows this better than we bushes
men. Look al what we lost last yea
Why its iucslculable, sir.
REFRESHING TO BEHOLD.
As the buggy was driven rapidly froT
one street to another, where dozens Of me
e and teams were bt work, the newspap'
man was kept in constate state OF wond'
r wonder that so much could have bee
2 going on of such importance and intere
| TO the people, anu ne not hLuN II.
: From Tenth 10 Twentythird, II stree
has been made an entirely different iooi
ing thoroughfare, and contracts are sbot
D to be lei for finishing il out to the cit
limits.
= Work will be commenced in two or thre
DAYS BY the company on ! and J street
a from Thirteenth 10 Thirty first.
! L from Fifteenth to Twenty eighth
: nov finished and will reach the city limi
, BY the end of the coming week. The stree
: now affords an elegant drive to Suffer
, Fort, and 10 the road leading 10 Brighton
/ This is also the work of the improvemeI
q company.
q SOME INFERIOR GRAVEL.
Twenty-eighth from J to NJ has been fiji
ished, as has \ street from Nineteenth
8 Thirtieth The latter street was done b
> an outside contractor, and while no fau