The record-union., 1891-04-05
LADIES TO THE RESCUE.
They VIII Rise Up En- Masse Against
the Dust Nuisance.
Petitions to be Presented to the Trus-
tees In Favor of Yearly Con-
tracts for Sprinkling.

The ladies of the city are now going to
try and see if they can accomplish that
which some of the public-spirited and
dust-begrimed male citizens have been
unable to do, namely-to prevail upon
the City Trustees TO let the contracts for
sprinlllng the streets by the year, in
stead of limiting the same to certain
months and trusting to the Lord to keep
the dust down the remainder of the time.
1t is earnestly hoped the ladies will
succeed. The RECoRD-UNIo has de-
| claimed against and ridiculed the past
and present policy of the city authorities,
in regard to the manner OF letting street.
sprinbling contracts, but the Trustees
have pursued the even tenor of their way,
regardless Of public and press criticism
The result has been that for weeks in
the spring and autumn the city has been
clouded with dust, to the discomfort not
| only Of persons out of doors, but of those
| indoors.
And now the ladies have been driven to
| the necessity of appealing to the Board of
| Trustees for relief from the punishment
they are obliged to undergo because of
the dust nuisance. They have prepared
the following petition-copieS of which
for signatures-whicht they propose to lay
before the Trustees:
''I0 the Honorable the Board of Trustees
| Of the City Of Sacramento We, the under
signed housewives and business men of
the city, most respectfully petition your
honorable body that, in letting the con-
| tracts for street-sprinkling for the ensu-
ing term, you make that term to include
full year continuously, and not for any
section thereof. We call your attention
to these truths:
Viewed in the proper light, it costs
more yearly to do the sprinkling now
than it would if the contracts were let by
the year. Bids have been presented to
your honorable body to do the street
sprinkling thoroughly for one year fer
Sl4, ,256, and the contract price for six
months footed up that year was Sl2, ,4SI.
This would show that it costs but SI,775
more to sprinkle the streets for one wear
than it has cost the city when the con-
tracts were let for only six months Yet,
in that year-lSS9-90-we spent 81, 100 in
the farce of extra sprinkling. So we re-
ally, on the face of the figures, saved only
the paltry sum of S675-which would
probably not pay the loss in goods dam
aged by the dust in some of our dry-goods
stores. 1t was, therefore, really no saw
ing at all, but great loss. 1t is undoubt-
| edly true that it would take thousands
| upon thousands of dollars annually to
| pay the losses incurred by our merchants
| because of our present foolish lack of
| thoroughness and system in sprinkling
! The best advertisement city could
have is the appearance of the streets and
| gardens. Strangers comment upon those
two prominent points probably more
| than upon all others combined. Well
sprinkled streets are pleasure and re-
lief to the eye, and certainly add to the
attractiveness of the landscape, while
| fiI CIR i
| shame. The appearance of our streets for
days and days during the last session of
| the Legislature was drawback to the
good name of the city in the esti-
nation of all visitors-a drawback for
which we could offer no apology, for the
offense against neatness and comfort was
| too palpable to permit of any explana-
| ton.
ITO be brief, letting the contracts for a
! full year will be a great public benefit,
| for overreaching the small additional eX-
| pense, in the saving of merchants alone;
| 1t Will insure to us clean streets during
| all the dry season, no matter in what
month; it will enable the housewives to
keep clothing, furniture and carpets
clean, and to maintain their gardens in
good Order-some ething that they have not
| been able to do; it will make of our streets
the most excellent of driveways; and it
will be in every particular, not only a
] blessing to the merchant and the house
wife, but real and appreciable saving to
the taxpayer.
"We, therefore, the housewives and
merchants of this city. beg that you will
| take these matters into consideration
when you next call for bids for street
| sprinking, and that your specifications
shall provide only for full-year sprinkling
contracts
The chief movers in the matter are
Mesdames Frank Miller, J. Il. Glover, f.
Birdsall, G. l.. Simmons, F. L. Orcutt.
| G. w. Clarke, Charles McCreary, J. N.
| Porter, and others. 1t is hoped their ap-
| peal may be heard by the authorities, and
the relief asked for be granted.