The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-06-05
GRANITE OR Mud.
No Decision as to Which Of the
Three Shall Pave Main
Street.
Citizens Meet In Council Chamber
to Talk Over the
Matter.
Expressions Of Views From Property
Owners, But NO Conclusion Arrived
At ON tho Material.

OWo0Tb, sSut No COuCluB1On ATTlvou
At ON tho Material.
The meeting Of Main street property
holders at the city hall last night to con-
slider what kind of paving material should
be used on that t~horoughfare was not very
largely attended, nor were there manye x-
pressions az to preference. John Is. Wilson
presided and William Harrison was score
tary. Others present included A. NJ.
Hotter, w. g. Bailey, H. M. Parchen, +.
Prof. G. C. Swallow. Mayor Kleinschmidt
and Aldermen Steele, Resce. Hanley,
Weber, Harrity, Connolly, Lissner and
Hartwig werc also present.
Mayor Klsinschmidt was the hrst to ex-
press his views. He said he preferred
wooden blocks, because they were more
noiseless than, if not 80 durable al, granite.
Properly laid, a wooden pavement would
last ten years and keep smooth n even.
On the great t~horoughfares OF London he
had encountered more pavemcnts Of wood
than Of any other material. In st. Louis,
whore wood had been taken up to make
way for granite, the latter was again being
supplanssd by wood.
Prof. Swallow said that if the citizens de-
cided ON granite they would decide moth
ing. There were several kinds Of granite.
Some would last five years, some would not,
while some might last . hundred years. He
explained the competitions Of the several
kinds Of granite and said there was q mate
rial IN this vicinity superior to either. It
was a stone known a. trachite, which would
not wear smooth like granite and would not
crack with the heat. At the same time he
would rather have q wooden pavement. A
wood called heckmetack. or ~tannarack or
cyprus, found in Missoula county, or the
1 5ea f =. q The sg %ooi u. wGu in t ias' .a nt' times a.
Mayor Klsinschmidt read a letter from
Alderman John w. Thompson, who had
on the material preferred. Alder
man Thompson in his letter said:
''As the agent and owner Of $50 feet of i'm
proved property on Main street, ! am IN
being the most desirable material for paw
ing Main street. I resided continuously
for over thirty years in the city OF Pitts
burg, Pa, where every conceivable GLASS OF
paving material has been Experimental
With. Comprising plank roads, oobblestone,
NlVuOl0U1S AOSubVs CNA SAAo0f o0HAOA
and granite blocks, involving IN outlay Of a
million dollars, in consequence of which
experiments have ceased, and granite
blocks for years past have been su%psrceding
all other class OF material, especially on
such streets where the grade and the varied
Contrasting the various kinds Of material,
we find that plank roads rot In . very short
time; oobble stones are irregular, noisy and
damaging to horses feet; Nicholson, locust
and cedar pavements rot in a short time,
and besides are not adapted to heavy traf-
fc; brick is unservioeable; asphalt is lam
aging to horses feet and very noisy, and in
case Of relaying pipes, it cannot 20 removed
without great labor, nor replaced as evenly
az before. When the grade and varied traf-
flo of Main street is considered, granite
blocks, of all material, is best adapted to
the paving of Main street, and fol
shs '' best .da .pssSn': to horses os ;'sf feet,
and in case of relayinR pipes the granite
blocks can be removed and replaced with
out very much trouble and expense and the
pavement preserve its original even sur
face. True, it may be . little noisy at first,
but q little noise will do no harm on Main
from Main street the noise will be greatly
deadened. Another strong argument in ia
vor of granite, is it's proximity to Helena.
The haul would not exceed ton miles, while
in the case of other material a haul of nun
dreds of miles would be involved, besides,
in adopting granite, We would keep oul
money at home instead Of sending it else
where. Let us pave Main street, by all
means, but in any event lot us avoid any
experiments, but rather profit by the ex-
perience Of other %cities."
A. M. Hotter said he had not had any
great experience with ~pavenlents of any
kind. He had been born and raised in q
%oruo ruhoro tho orfc ~oro nroUiko
If they could not have anything else on
Main street except granite he preferred te
have the place as it now is. Horses on
granite paveuents were ruined in nc time.
He did not know what was the best mater
ial, but" he concluded, ''give us anything
but granite"
The mayor read a letter from Henry M.
Hill. of CLANCY, who said they were making
a paving brick near there which he thought
would answer the purpose for paving Main
street. The brick was very hard and the
CLAW for making it was abundant.
H. M. Parchsn SAID the paving question
would resolve itself into a matter OF stone
or wood He had preferred granite, but
was now on the fence However. he favored
the home material, which was Just as good
ms any to be had. A thorough Investigation
should be made of whatever material was
used.
City Engineer Reeder said there was nc
QuSbOloA ia AlS AiA NOOue vAo AuAApAlluy
of granite. He did not think wooden
blocks laid on an inch plank would last.
But with a foundation of six inches of con-
+ crete he thought it would last ten
years and would be replaced oheaply,
Brick for paving had only been in use
about five years, and he did net think the
! city was rich enough to afford any expert
ments. He also suggested that, whatever
material was used, n maintenance clause
should be put in the contract.
Alderman Steele suggested that the prop
erty holders should decide, In proportion to
the front feet they owned, what kind of
pavement they wanted, at. they had to pay
for it.
n. G. Wallace thought he might be II lit
tie slow for the others, but he had come
from a place where they had macadamized
streets that had lasted a thousand wears.
Alderman Fuller read, for the benefit OF
the meeting, a synopsis of the decision OF
the supreme court of the United States,
holding that the street railway company OF
Sioux City was bound to pay for paving be-
tween its tracks and for II foot on either
side.
Mayor Kleinschmidt said the council
would be guided in this matter by the
views of the property owners and by the
experience of other cities. On the legal
question. however. he could say that the city
WAS now in a position to pave Main street.
The owners of 3,7W feet had signed which
was GOO moro than Il majority.
1t was decided to call anothe meeting
for Monday night, when il is expected to
have some information from other cities.