Telegram-herald., 1890-05-15
BEST IS CHEAPEST
No Cheap and Nasty PayemenIs
Ars " orth Having
GOOD ADVICE 10 OUR IIPMERS
FroPers Owaers Shoula Heed tt-Ths
Fasiug 0gestaon wisely Dtscsssea--
SeGac i.aEgcs Ia rhe IhartSr-ts
MaAe the Tax EAss


The city VI Grand Rapids nas, prob
ably, no more level-heSood citizen no
practical affairs than Hon. rhOs. T.
Gilbert. - far a. be speaks from eK-
perlenoe On puohc matters hls advice ls
sound. Bus the most leyel-headed man ls
liable 10 TX mistaken when he reasons
upon theory only. Mr. Gilbert. IA a
Communication 10 the Eaols on sunday
last, recommended cedar block pave
ments LAID upon heml0ek planks, both
blocks and planks dipped in boiling
tar, with tie lnteTsuCes filled with
clean gravel and water lime cement.
He thinks THIS would be almost ln-
destrucuble, and would wear evenly.
"A0w / have lived for years on
streets fixed that way, and ! am able
70 say from experience that sucn
pavement Is neither durable nor even
nor sanitary. 10 costs more than cedar
books On sand only. and ism important
respects the worst OF the two. Almost
every important street ln Detroit WAS
once paved that way until Detroit gave
Il up a. al expensive failure. Chicago
had the same experience. Let me tell
Mr. Gilbert how i works.
'No amount OF boiling blocks and
planks ia hot tar-and they are really
only dipped, not boiled make the
tar penetrate. AT most only very
thin shell on the outside of the blocks
and planks Is tarred. Thus ls shell
impery.Ous at first 20 water. Dry rot
at once begins IN the interior Of the
planks and blocks. Then The shell
cracks and admits water. Then the
thin shell wears off the tops Of the
| blocks and admits water, while their
tar-cOyered bottoms and sides make
each block a cup % hold water and
street filth, giving of slckly malaria.
The blocks viii not wear smooth or nat,
but even more crOwnlng, because tie
dry tar edge crumbles fastest, making
the street as rough az cObble stone.
The planks beneath last better, but
they also rapidly rot or break IN spots,
| making bad holes IN the pavement
The splendid Woodward and Jefferson
| avenues IN Detroit, once paved that
way, became positive nulsances. dis
graceful TO the city. The old Nlchol-
son pavement-Once the best-was also
made this way; but II Is now every
where repudIated. Not a rod has been
| llId IN America IN years. Everywhere
1t has proved afailure.
again don't let anybody's theory
ever induce Grand Rapids 10 lay SIN
| gle square yard of pavement with water
lime cement. 1t makes the meanest,
nastlest, finest, most destructive and
nsuseating dust and mud of any sub
stance ! ever saw tried, and II ls dan
gerously slippery for teams when wet.
"Mr. Gilbert refers 10 Minneapolis.
The people Of Minneapolis, after dong
what he says, turned to asphalt and
/ grante-cOstly, but cheapest IN the
/ end; and their asphalt pavements are
now the pride and delight of the city.
| The fact is, not one Of the cheap make
shift pavement systems will serve. /
! have seen them all tried; / have lived
/ by them for years, and carefully noted
/ their various phases; | nave seen them
/ all wear out and fail, every one; ! have
/ had TO help paw for many Of them; and
/ ] know, by bitter and long experience,
/ that it Is absolutely impossible 10 make
/ good pavements OF cheap, inferior ma
/ terials. There Is no more royal road 20
! good paving than there is 10 learning.
! The cheap and nasty are always not
! only really the most costly, but are
| also detestable nuisances and hind
RANGES TO city prosperity, good reputa-
/ ton and rapid increase of property vai-
ues. II Grand Rapids wants 100000
/ population the way 10 get them is 10
make an attractive city; the way 20
prevent getting them Is 10 make city
the dust, mud, roughness, rottenness
and dIlapidated appearance of whose
pavements Will disgust visitors.
"But good pavements, that viii last
fifty or more years, cosb heavily. Why,
then, should this cost all be paid 10y
those who use them the first year they
are lald? 1t is only self evident justice
that each year should pay its share for
a time, at least. The true economical
/ system is 10 issue ten-year paving
/ bonds. guaranteed by the city at large,
| giving property owners ten years in
/ which 10 pay for the best payements.
/ Then the city at large should pay tho
! cost of maintenance and the interest,
! since the street Improvements arc for
/ the benefit Of the whole city. Let & be
a law that, when a lot owner has once
| paid for first-class asphalt pavement
! III front Of hls lot, that Is the last and
/ only special paving tax he VII have 10
pay a. long a. he lives. on that lot, and
you viii sec q very different spirit
/ manifested Now he has 70 expect TO
/ pay special paving tax for q cheap
and nasty pavement, or Tor gravel,
every seven to ten years. and no won
der he feels tired when anybody talks
OF new pavement.
"Get your citv charter fixed 40 that
frst-clsss asphalt or granite psvements
1 can be laid with ten-year paving bonds.
as above suggested, the city 10 pay for
4 maintenance and interest but leave
/ the cheap psvenents 10 be paid Tor n
! one year. and YOU Wi soon have a
/ city TO be proud Of. This VIII be IN in-
! ducemeni 20 get the best-s reward for
/ progress and enterprise. such 20 they
4 deserve. and such as vii stmulste the
I go-ahead progress We spirit that Is best
for tie city.
"Let me add that, within The lssf
T thirty years I have personally seen
I every known variety II wooden pave
ment ever tired on this continent. and
I sls0 Cohh.o stone. cIt stone. mscadsm.
and grave lad. worn out. and repud-
sted as failures have seen. also.
T the granite gravel snd u1scaJam IF
I Boston. that sre adm rshlv successful
Z for suburban streets. hut cannot 10
T had here ditto the granite and trsu-
roc < Te.foT5 of Nev Jersey also rot r.
he had hereI. and the m red
pebble n other places ln noun
F tan rel 0rs mot oht8 nshie here 7 saw
4 ths FIRST asphalt lad RI Buffalo srid
4 Boston. I have been fam ar with thf
f evper rnre r. Nev York and BeIelar
. Cra- y books. end know wtsta Costly
+ nuisance trey sre. n sp r. of Their
fursh fv Z f.&vs seer eravv ra~lrr
. experiment ever tired n Uetrot er.d
+ know era~fv re results. ssw tne
= NrrCI Ie-0 pavement IsIc hr Nicholson