The record-union., 1894-12-14

new system it would give us graveled
streets remarkably free from mud all
winter, and the value and comfort of that
consideration cannot be measured by 500
block.
One of the citizens who was active in
promoting the experiment of yesterday
writes 10 the RECORD UNION as follows =
NO doubt each taxpayer in the crowd
To-Day saw al once the great saving such
work Will be, Tor the city ought 10 adopt
lle system unless something better comes
10 the surface as a result of the agita-
/ lion that our experiment is bound to
| bring forth.
second street was graveled sometime
In the seventies l remember, and does
hot seem 10 have received much attention
since. 1t was made and turned
loose to shift for itself. 1t has led
hard life, as shown on its face,
ana 1t IS shame that any street
should be allowed to remain full of chuck
| holes so long. 1t can be readily seen that
where the holes wero smaller in diameter
than the width of the machine it was inn
! possible to get up all the mud, but the
street is vastly improved.
our idea in getting the machine at
/ work was to provide something that could
remove the mud, but not the gravel, The
machine without the additions made by
| Mr.. tairman Will do excellent work on
dirt roads where it matters but little ii
| part OF the roadway is plowed up or
| planed down. Where, however, there are
| only few inches or more of gravel that
we don't wantto remove, something has
to be used that will cut no deeper than
the mud.
The rigid hardwood bar works TO per-
lection wherever the grade of tie street is
| perfect, Tor 1t can be set to plane OF any
desired amount. 1t can be shifted very
| quickly by the operator, but OF course
no quick enough to conform TO small ir-
regularltles OF the roadbed. Ii is un-
doubtedly just the thing for all the gray
! eled streets, and will take off as much
mud as will be necessary.
NOW that 1t mas been proven beyond q
doubt that machine process will work,
let the Trustees put enough money into
| the street fund and clean the streets up
| before the first of the year. Applica ions
were made to-day 10 us for all the mud
| that was scraped up. But it has to be
taken away sometime, SO we do not count
| its removal in our experiment. We put
our money up to show what can be done,
and are satisfied. Our thanks are due To
! Superintendent Murray and Mr.. Guten-
| berger for aid, and to Engineer Farman,
who took OFT his coat and worked hard 10
| prove that scientific road knowledge is
worth having.
Il would like to add that if the new
plan is adopted, after further trial per-
haps, and the mud should become too
stiff to be worked to advantage, use
might be made Of the fire-plug3 we have
on every block, and a very little soaking
would render the mud plastic enough to
be handled 10 the best advantage by tue
machine. In fact, we could by the use of
the city water regulate the consistency OF
the mud to suit the machine and be en-
tIrely independent OF rains. But, once
the streets are cleaned, the task OF keep
ing the mud off by our process will be
very light. The hardest work will be In
the first cleaning, obviously"
The RECORD y MON suggests the fur
ther advantage of the machine in being
the means of having the cutters cleared.
Outside the paved streets the cutters are
now choked with mud, and will be all
winter unless the scraper is used, for then
they will have TO be shoveled out.