The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1891-02-07
SWEEPING PARIS STREETS.
What II Costs the GtIdy City TO scruf
and Keep Itself Clean. -.

II Costs the Ghldy City TO Scrub
. and Keep Itself Clean.
It takes an army almost TO clean,
scrub, sweep, and sprinkle the streets
of Paris, and the service is divided into
two divisions-the central and suburban
and these two bodies are again sub
divided into sections and quarters. The
central division sweeps nearly 1000, 900
square meters and the suburban nearly
5000, 900. So you see about 10, 000, 900
square meters of soil have to be cleaned
daily. t.s.. SOD, .,- .- n,. ,-r .
The army of street-sweepers is COM
posed of embrigades and volontaries:
The former are. considered as canton
niers, o r road laborcrs, and are em-
ployed the whole day long. All the
cares Of public STRENGTHENING fall to.
their lot, and they do the supplementary
sweeping, washing out of cutters, clean
ing of public stations, market-houses.
etc. The volontaries are voluntary work.
ers. They are enrolled in brigades.
There are about 100 of these brigades,
or ateliers, and each comprises a chief,
a foreman, and about thirty men and
women sweepers, the greater part of
whom only work In the early morning,
either in the cleansing of streets, prop
erly, so called, OF else in assisting to
load the wagons that carry away, the
dirt and refuse. They leave Oh warR
at ten O'CLOCK IN the morning, and this
L. called working by the halliday. The
labor begins at three o'clock In summer
and foursin winter, and when they work
a whole day they finish ut four o'clock;
that is to say, after labOring for twelve
hours. ..J ....... .....t .t.
The complete service of sweepers COM
prises: Thirty-seven chiefs or over
seers, 1872 foremen, 654 ordinary can
tonniers, 1900 auxiliary sweepers, and
$50 men and ON who do only half
a days work. Overseers, foremen and
ordinary c~antonniers are paid monthly,
the first $50 to 1850 francs, the second 100
to 1875 francs, the third l06 francs, and
the sweepers are paid for the work they
do from ca cents To as cents for a day
and from IS cents to so cents for a half
day. Out of these small emoluments
each ''cantnnnier,'' no matter what his
grade or class, has to pay monthly into
u savings bank the SUN of five francs, Il
reserve fund which is RENTED to them,
however, Immediately they leave the
service, or it is paid to their widow,
children, OF other heirs if they die In
the harness. a further deduction of
two francs for the society of mutual
succor is made monthly from the wages
OF those employed in the Bots de Bou-
logne and in the Bots de Nincennes.
The implements used are of two sorts,
according TO the sex OF workers and
place of combat. Women sweepera
handle the ordinary birch broom, or
whit is known as the ''piazzavu," made
OF a sort of vegetable hair of great sup
pleness and much resistance. Road
scrapers uIe given To men. also larger
brooms with which to push the water
n mud toward tho sewer openings,
and experienced drivers are supplied
with sweeping machines. Thesa scrap
ers and brGoms are worth describing,
particularly those used along the cutters
and on bitumen and wooden paVements,
They have i~ndia-ruhbcr bands. This
produces perfect adherence, and there
is no space betwren implement and
ground that is To be cleaned, so that
water and Maud are easily pushed into
the sewer. Mechanical sweepers are .
cleaning machine Of rather recent IN