New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-10-30
PART II.
OCT. 80, 1891.
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THE BROADWAY PAVEMENT.
DEMOCRATIC TESTIMONY ABOUT IT.
.v,Kr CRITICISM OF THE TAMMANY CoNTRAo-
TOR AND OFFICIALS.


TOR" AND OFFICIALS.
rAat The Tribune has in no way exaggerated inc
.1lnon OF the new broadway pavement, or tue III
$50 that Tammany politics has exerted In delaying
'sor dining the summer and rushing II with I'M
-s,,v haste Dust before election, so that Iaminshy
80 could be employed and warmed up to sum
Wv. asgree of enthusiasm to vote for tie candlda'eS
=. .ho orcanizatop. is shown by the views OF expert
S.,hor,ies quoted In the Democratic press, ana oy
49, e,pressons of the Tammany organs themselves
~ Monday long interview appeared an Inc MoiI-
~. advertiser with Colonel Rowland X. Hazard the
sknown engineer the subject OF the rspl' transit
,ns recently presented to the Board OF Aldermen IN
49, onrse OF that interview Colonel Hazard paid his
'.srocts TO the Broadway pavement as follows Inc
n.vsment is neither good of its Kind nor OF suitable
End nor well laid for its kind men Wofk on ,H HS
.%,s work permitted to 60 on when obviously the
: o u NJ the RAPID Transit Commission VIII almost
immediately diSpace IT, ana WY hoU 40 ~ i az o
nsre b the obvious convenience and proht OIL an con
o .osdf :, There were many explanations oIere6'
scme plausible. some ingenious ana some cyucdl,
-. the work of building went on and parts OF II are
put s6SS and ready for inspection. standing in the
So'rwsy OF the Equitable building one haS n most st
esvvcssnt example. First. II will be perceived tiat
~ Granite blocks vary in width, and that regarded
s@nly as street surface no hlman agency can keep
y clean only a PrOtracted ralnstorm can really
y Nm srch surface. Rough as the surface Is, the
Sss and bottoms OF the blocks are worse me rSuiS
ue' vapns space between the stones and an unequal
va cushion beneath Them that bad as the surlae
NV Is II grows continually worse.
S1Be railway CORPORATION should be compelled TO lay ay
,ertecf and suitable pavement, and the caOl5 cor
poaon to keep 1t in perfect repair pay 1o
sa city in Europe would tine new ,d second or
, ,hG class heavy traffic commercial street.
rvpvRr OPINION IN DEMOCRATIC PAPER
some time ago the attention Of " The WorlW was
attracted 30 the miserable quality of the work being
aone and after explaining that there is much az
verse comment about the manner in which the "Orh
=, paying Broadway is being done by the contractors
engaged to cement the granite blocks it sent re
porter out to get expert opinion on the SUBJECT Inc
r,sult Was the following Interview:
The New.York Roofing people are doing what their
contract calls for but during the coming wlhler Nle
public will have personal proof OF now poorly t H
rk is helnC done and how unsat sfactory IL Will De-
Taouent thaws after heavy will tend TO loosen
Inc granite blocks. The usual heavy trdlhc IN bTOsu
way will aid in this, and the water VIII percolae DC
"i Heavy css will follow, and before you know it
streets win be blstered' and broken up In dozen
places. A.. .... .,.. ,.,o,- tho thin
LAYER Of pitch or cement along the surface joints there
Win be practically nothing to keep the BLOCKS Solo ~
in place The gravel dropped between the lolnSs VII
not do it, for with the almost constant franc Jie
gravel will settle and the block having no solid ad-
hesion, will be Jared loose ..,s :, ,ouo &. .,,,s
Gravel should have been thrown between the joints
10 a couple Of inches. Then about one inch and
gravel aa Should have been added until the top was
reached then the joints cleaned out about one-half
an inch deep and pitch poured in and gravel scat
There would have been a sOlid durable pavement that
wound have lasted for years 49,
Now from Bowling Green to Thirty second ST., which
Is the distance called for by the contract TO be paved
there are about $50 600 square yards To do the
Pitch shon a be used 70 one square yard, bw the
present contractors sometimes make one gallon do
Tor thirty square feet. With No. or No. g pitch,
worth gallon, II Is easy to see that big saw
ine can be made by using it sparngly. as is being
done.
Tie city authorities must have been of these
facts but no provision made for having the cement
tng done in a way which would have given public
Keep your eye on the Broadway paving job this
winter.
CITIZENS MAY SEE THE STATE OF THINGS FOR
THEMSELVES.
"The Worlds" expert was both right and wrong.
He right In pointing out the poor quality of the
work done. He wrong in overestimating the
length of time that would be required for the pave
ment 10 get ont of repair The only question Is
What will be left of the pavement when the frost
does begin to get in its work." However no voter
shoud wait until the frost comes and he can see the
work actually warped and twisted all out OF shape, to
make up his mind that II is OF poor quality and dis
grace to the city. If he IS unwilling TO take the esu
mOny Of "The World" or "The Advertiser" or The
Tribune, let him go and inspect the work himself Let
HIN 60 to tie places The Tribune has already pointed
out, let him 60 to the southwest corner Of
City Hall Park and try to stumble over the pave
nent there, let him 50 almost anywhere along the
line OF completed work, and compare what he sees
with the ideal finest pavement in the world" that
lammany Hall has been promising all summer long
he Tecompense for unnecessary delays, slow work,
blocked Streets foul odOrs and untold private annoy
ance and loss If the comparison is not enough to
make him 20 to the ballot box on Tuesday next and
cast vote against the corrupt and greedy organization
that 11px
peuated on the taxpayers Of this town, then 1t is
probably because his Democracy is so rock ribbed |
that ing can stir IL.
would be amusing If ii were not pitable TO see |
tho attitude taken toward this question by the news
paper whose dead and apparently forgotten proprietor
once refused bribe of 100000 10 refrain from pub
fishing the truth about the rOtenness and corruption
OF the very orSanization-no whit less rotten and
luPt now than 1t then-that it is now supporting.
On Tuesday morning The Times" attempted TO parry
the force of the Trbune's plain statement about the
attest Iammany methods, exomphded in the new
Broadway pavement, with this Oft hand remark:
The scarcity Of Republican campaign material was
'hO~n Yesterday in article In the Tribune declaring
NAT the pavement In broadway, between Bowling
1!eeh ana JOhst opened TO trdIic only fOl tnight
~, was already In need of repairs, and that this
ohdlton was Of political significance, implying tho
'rtetpaylng works.
THE TINES" AGAINST ITSELF.
Of course it hurts the tender susceptbiHties of The
ZINES 70 have even an insinuatiOn made against the
"hucal morality Of its Tammany friends or the thor
uehgong, business-ke quality Of their methods
u course 1t Is cruel TO quote "The Times" against
'Seh and It's Nmmany allies, but probably THE
lnes' now has too thorough contempt for its own
oppressed opinions to take any stock in them. II
nay have few readers left, however, who will re
member that only few weeks ago 1t freed its mind
"a lie subject Of the politics In the new Broadway
'S'enent job follows:
49,. ~ generally supposed that the work Of private
~ siOns is done without the waste and inetciency
- se apt 10 characterize work done under public
rs'Aiy but II Is said that in The construction Of |
III CsSie road in broadway under the direction of !
oan D. Crimmins the TamInany method has fun |
ms ny. In fact, the men, according to report,
~ tSeo a. 10 the street Cleaning Department and
N department Of Public Works, on Recommendation |
: asIhnsny politicians. This accounts for the slow
Losfess that Is made and the eXsspeIating delay in
.g BOad~ az OF the intolef able obstruction. This
gSc seem 10 be costly aud INSTANTANEOUS for the