Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-08-22

machinery at Its command. No attempt
was made to clean but few OF the business
say with pride that nearly 100 per cent
more Of street surface was kept in good
condition during the whole period of fire.
auently recurring storm and cold than
The unimproved alley gang was also en-
ployed in removing snow and ice from the
streets. cleaning the entrances 10 alleys
and snow from sidewalks in front of school
houses.
During the winter of 1872 the cost Of
Was snO ss s asains sG@ our
during last winter. What is true Of other
work Is equally true of this, VIZ. the an
n m appropriation is glarinsiy too small
$4,000 could have been expended on the
work Of clearing our streets and avenues
OF snow and Ice The crossings on all our
principal streets. both residence and bust
ness, should be cleared after every deep
snowfall, and / recommend an appropria-
ton of $4,000 or so much of 1t as may be
necessary for the removal of snow and ice
from our streets and street crossings.
would also urge that street railroad cor
porations be required not only to clear
their tracks of snow denominations after
every deep snowfall. but that they be COM
PEELED to cart away such snow instead Of
leaving 1t in high ridges on either side OF
II Is one thing to shove the snow from
their tracks-Quite another and more i'm
portant thing to cart IL OF.
The Sweeping system.
1t is believed that the system Of sweep
ing and cleaning our streets is superior TO
that of any other city IN the country from
both financial and sanitary point OF view
The work is done by contract for five years
from July /, 1892, at the rate of "a IA cents
per LOO square yards. This includes the
removal OF sweepings and is from Is To 80
per cent cheaper than the same work is
performed in other cities. The contractor
has employed on the average during the
past year eleven two-horse machine sweep
ers, four sprinklers, forty-two broom and
hoe men, thirty carts, and three dump lien.
To see that the sweeping is properly done.
and that the contractor receives no pay for
surface not swept. three inspectors are en-
ployed to follow the machines and report to
the superintendent every day, who also
generally rides over the route swept every
not swept, II is cut Of
The territory to be swept is divided into
Weather permitting, these routes are
swept once every week, which gives some
Of the streets three sweepings a week some
two, and others but one. Each route CON-
swept daily.
In most cities the cleaning of streets is
done largely by hand or push brooms, COM
paratively few machine syeepers being
used. By this system the best results nav
be obtained on rough cobble and blue rock
pavements, but it is undoubtedly the most
expensive system.
In Philadelphia all streets paved with as
phalt are swept by machine brooms six
times week, and, on the average one man
for each three squares OF such streets is
kept constantly employed with bass brooms
ana receptacle removing the sweepings be-
tween the hours of Z a. m. and 6 y. m.
three times a week, and still others once
ana twice month. The work is done ur-
der the contract for removing garbage
ashes, and dead animals, under the super
l.1ay fY,u lo-.o
winch system. am free TO say Is prefer
able to ours. because the work can be more
street cleaning department. IL seems TO me
is the proper one to have supervision, know
ing, as II does, more about the streets ard
alleys OF the city than any other depart
When the sweeping and cleaning Of
streets Is coupled with the removal Of gar
page, etc. as 1t is in most cities. it is i'm
possible to get at the precise cost OF sweep
ing ana cleaning. And then, in most in
stances, the measurement is by the ineal
mile; regardless Of the width of the streets:
OF tne work is contracted for and done NV
the lump. But by calculations made from
oficial reports I am satisfied that for the
amount and manner Of work done the cost
or sweeping and cleaning the streets and
anevs or Washington is from % to 30 per
cent less per 1000 square yards than in any
city OF the country.
Other Cities.
Our neighboring city. Baltimore. used but
X.
however, was 30 satisfactory that the COM
missioner of street cleaning recommends
that four be used the present year During
1892 1873 men were employed in sweeping and
scrap1ng, and SiNty-One carts We're used TO
remove the dirt The work of sweeping and
cieanlng and removing the garbage and
ashes was done by the city, under the di-
rectfon Of the commissioner, at a cost of
1892 for the year 1892
To clean PHILADELPHIA the civ council has
appropriated ss17 .S93 for 1893. The New York
city street cleaning department expended
1900 in 1892; Boston over $500 600 Buffalo
pays - cents per 10000 square .eet for
sweeping asnhalt pavements and eo cents
FOR stone. while In Chicago the price per
lineal mile is $3.50. regardless of width of
street Paved alleys are cleaned at the
same price. In Albany the contract price
FOR sweeping granite-paved streets is -
cents per 1000 square yards. The cost of
OF Cincinnati is about s9.o7 per mile, the
streets averaging fifty feet in width.
The City should Do Ii.
I am decidedly Of the opinion that the
work of sweeping and cleaning our streets
and avenues, our alleys and the collecting
and dispoSing Of garbage. ashes and dead
animals should be done directly by the city;
and i most earnestly recommend that the
contract system be abolished as soon as it
can be legally done. Our material and po-
Hucal interests are under the direction of
a system of government peculiarly non-par-
ttSan in Its construction and Workings and
the political dictation and influence have
less weight here than in other cities, which
gives US a broad, open field in which to test
the work.
AS a rule the contract system tends to
cheaper and destroy effective labor. Give
a capitalist any class OF work to do because
he Is the lowest bidder and as a matter of
course, Tor his own protection, he will in
turn employ the cheapest labor to be found
not what the interests of the community
demand. In other words. the cheap con-
tractor is bound to slight his work when
ever and wherever he finds favorable op-
portunlty. The cheaper he undertakes his
task the more he will slight the work the
poorer Will be the material furnished and
the more the laboring man will suffer
True, ii would at the outset cost more for
the city to do the work of street cleaning
because of the purchase of the plant: hut
once established in business for itself the
only difference in cost would come from the
fact that everything entering into the make
up of the establishment would be the hest
the market afforded. and its employees would
receive better compensation for their labor
The great majority of the tax payers do not
desire to pinch the poor They want good
results, and would raise no objection TO
paying the small difference between the
cost of good and bad work and certainly no
of a powerful government
should hesitate to vote an appropriation
sufficient to cover the difference, realizing
that the iaborer is worthy his hire" and
that anything worth doing at all is in the
end cheapest if well done" 1t is not a
manly argument to claim that because the
procures laborers for 81 20 day-
the government should nav no
more To get his daily bread ~ oh,ain