Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-25

CLEANING THE srREKrs.
A cs.nparsssn ee the osse ana Resuls. Here
and In New York.
A sfAa reporter today had talk with Maj.
A II. q Davis rsistivs TO the cost Of main
tanning the strss<swsspine and cleaning de-
partment Of washiAeton compared with several
Of he largest estiss in The country. and also
with reference - The cleanliness Of the streets
in comparison With thoss Of other cities. Citing
cities where the cost Of this service ID from IS
TO 50 per cent greater than it 10 here for the
same amount Of work, and where the streets
are in infinitely worss oondisiOa at any season
| of the year than here, he referred to New York.
where the ssfeetswsspine department cost the
taxpayers Of that city 81, ls7, 467 for the year
partment for the same period
But the area Of street surface swept in New
York is many times larger than ours, is it not?'
Certainly, not, however, because the area Of
| streete 10 very much in excess OF ours. but
from the fact Inst the streets Of that city are
than Is per cent Of ou9 receive daily sweep
ing, and more than haifNof them are swept but
once . week The number Of square yards
swept there during 1899 was l,los,055, 1853
against ls4, s42, s2s swept here. While but little
more than 81 times the surface was swept
than twelve times - much ss ours did. Put
ting IL another way, IL the city of New York
had only paid in the same proportion for sweep
ing and cleaning that Warrington did she
would have saved the snug little sum Of $685.
267 for the year in question"
What makes this big differencsg"
well. there the sweeping and cartng and re-
moval OF ashes and garbage are done by the
sweeping department BY the days work. Here
the health department. by contract, removes
away their ashea Then il costs nearly else. 600
TO cart away the sweeping Of New York city for
that year, while here the contractor sweeps and
carts away the sveepings at a cost Of Pan cents
per thousand square yards. Then the cost OF
administration, or salaries Of offcials. was
ell6. l09 per annum there instead OF SIC, 800
| - here"
"Thep you believe in the contract system so
far a. the work Of your department is con-
cerned?'
AS a rule, yes, although certain class of
work cannot well be done BY contract, because
it Is impossible to ascertain its quality and
quantity, such. for instance, rs the cleaning Of
| unimproved or unpaved streets and alleys,
which Is now done by days work. New York
has no alleys or unpaved mud streets to look
| after, while here for the fiscal year OF 1892 II
| cost S29, Gil or one-quarter the whole amount
allowed BY Congress for sweeping and clean
| ing the city to keep these places clean And,
by the way, the Importance of keeping these
unimproved sections In good sanitary condi-
ton, especially in the warm months. should
not the source Of contagious diseases.
nor will cholera prevail on them to
any alarming extent should il visit
Us, although they may not be swept
and cleaned with desirable frequency. but the
alleys and unimproved streets, where germs OF
dieaas and anA bid,Du oh ~
| vigiantly watched and scrupulously and sys-
| tematically cleaned. Believing the policy in
auRurated and pursued by me last season rela-
| tive to these places to be the proper one shall
| adhere to 1t the coming season. The city viii
| be divided into four districts, In each Of which
will be placed sufficient force Of men. horses
and carts to keep the unimproved streets and
alleys in good condition. Except In cases Of
| great emergency the men will not be required
to work outside the district to which they shall
be assigned. thus becoming familiar with their
duties, understanding the requirements Of the
people and possessed of a commendable pride
to make theirs tho model district Of the city in
| point of clesulinesa."
How about the improved or paved alleys?'
"They are swept and cleaned by hand under
contract at a cost for 1892 Of s4,92s. When
tell you that the aggregate area Of these alleys
Is 1900. 200 square yards you may form an
| idea of the amount Of work required to keep
| them clean, and can well understand that no
contractor has got 'cinch' who does the work
| at the figures given"
cleanliness with those Of other cities in the
country
TO borrow the language of gentleman who
has Travelled extensively and been in many Of
| the largest cities In this country and Europe,
| The dirtiest street in Washington is cleaner
| true, most Of cur streets have the beautiful
asphalt pavements, but 1t ID an error to suppose
they are, therefore, easier to keep clean than
the cobble-stone pavements 30 predominant in
other cities. A street laid with cobble stone
| may be very filthy and vet the dirt will not be
seen, because it is broken up and hidden in the
crcvices, while the filth and dirt that cole ,ts
| on the asphalt is not only constantly in sight
but most Of it is hattened out, worked and
driven iuto the surface by every passing
vehicle until it becomes almost part Of
the pavement itself, when no broom
| under heaven and nothing short Of
shovel and hoe can displace it. No, while our
| streets may not At all times be IN as cleany
condition as we would like to see them, under
| the circumstances, considering the meager
pared with what other cities lavish in the same
| direction. seems to me the wonder should be
not that they are not cleaner, but that they are
kept as clean - they are. One thing is certain
whom the contractor fails to sweep q street be
receives no pay for it, although it be scheduled
4
paid. The amount Of work done every day is
ascertained by two inspectors of the sweeping
| department, who follow the machines and re-
| port the streets swept, the quality Of the work
and the contractor is paid accordingly at the
end Of each month.
The New York's Engineers Licensed.
Secretary Of the Treasury Foster has granted
licenses to the engineers Of the steamship New
York, although it was contrary to precedent.
because they were not naturalized citizens Of
the United States. Upon the representations
Of George Uhler, president Of the Brotherhood
Of Marine Engineers. however, the Secretary
decided to assume the responsibility and issue
| the license. These engineers can now run this
| steamship under the American flag
| -------<O>-
| An Entertainment for Charity.
An entertainment for charity will be given
at Odd Fellows Hall southeast on Monday
night in which some of the participants will be
Miss Hattie Meads, soprano; Miss Pauline Ise-
man, violinist; Mise Sue H. Wilson. vocalist;
Mr.. George Scott, comic singer; Dr. Frank
White, recitationist; Straton. Skies and VIII
marth, muaioal trio; Misses Jost, Atkins, Belt,
Burroughs. Storm and Bliss. Mrs. s. E. Hor-
| ton and Mrs. J. n. Hodges, who will have the
| supervision OF the entertainment have been
| indefatigsble in their exertions and feel that
they have secured the best possible talent and
/ hat thu Aft vill Ia =