The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-04-09


transferred from the receipts for sewer
assessments, and to be used for paying
awards for damages caused by widening
Washington street, was tabled for O Sec
ond reading at the next meeting.
On roll call, IL was voted that the side
walks around Hoppin and Columbia
parks DO concreted; q resolution was
also passed providing for concreting
sidewalks on Bassett, Hoppin, Elm,
South, Main, Olney, East Manning
Williams, Broad and Cranston streets, and
Oriole, Adelaide and Tabor avenues; the
petitioners were given leave TO withdraw
their petition for laying out Grove street.
The joint committee on highways sub
mitted majority and minority report
on the matter OF paving Broadway.
The former was signed by Messrs.
Vose, Freeman and Harris, and
accompanied by two resolutions. 1t
recommended that Trinidad asphalt be
used on upper Broad way and paving blocks.
on the lower portion. Tho cost OF asphalt
would be go, ,241.S5 OF which the Union
Railroad Company will pay I'll ,43L75; the
cost OF the blocks would be sl0,5l6.66, and
the railroad company would ''anto"
net cost to the city of
s66, ,Ss7.l6. The report further explained
that 1t has cost $4,000 a year for three
years to keep the street in repair and
every three years 1t costs about $4,000
to rebuild it. III asphalt Is used the con-
tractors will keep 1t repaired for five
years free and after that only charge 10
cents a running yard to keep it in order.
The minority report, signed by Messrs.
Durfee and Clarke, set forth that they be-
lieve the street TO be in better
condition than many others, and
as 1t Is purely local
benefit the abutters should stand, IL not
the whole, at least two-thirds OF the ex-
pense. They considered 1t uawise at this
time to spend the balance of,the 5000, 900
loan, amounting TO $4,000, except where
absolutely needed.
Councilman Vose then presented q sub
stitute resolution, embracing the two ac-
companying the majority report, and
went on "to explain why" again. Presi-
dent Sellew reminded the Council
that the question before ii was on substi-
tuting Mr.. Vose's resolution and then
allowed Mr.. Vcse to proceed. That gentle
man at once began to go over the whole
matter, and the chair, who was evidently
not in favor OF Trinidad asphalt for
Broadway, called him to order two or three
times, but not until Mr.. Vose had stated
that IL any part OF Broadway ought
TO be paved at all the whole ought TO be
paved at one time, from Aborn TO Barton.
The portion particularly from Dean TO
Barton had been as bad as our country
roads for the psst ten years.
Chairman Durfee told how the matter
arose in the committee. There was no
opposition to the granite blocks on the
part of any OF the committee, he said,
and he favored them for the
lower part of Broadway, but he opposed
the ubstitute resolution because ho did
not think 1t fair 10 make him vote
against something he wss heartily in
favor of.
A vote was taken and the substitute re-
solve was not accepted.
Then the fun began. Mr.. Durfee moved
the indefinite postponement OF the reso-
luton for asphalting. The avenue was
macadamized in 1891 the entire length.
He had ridden over it during the
past week and did not think
IL in bad condition, except
where the "crosswalks" were. 1t is
wide street and travel is spread over
wide area. There were mostly
residences abutting and the owners
naturally wanted 1t kept up in
fine condition. But there are nearly 10
miles of macadamized streets in the city
to be taken care of and only sl5O,o00 left
to do il. 1t seemed to him as II it was
"let US grab IL all" plan and see who can
get the most and get il out of the way.
Mr.. Vose said every member of the
Council could readily understand that
Mr.. Durfee is perfectly willing TO have
the street aspha.ted IL the abutters would
pay for it and that the rest of the
committee agreed with him perfectly
II the city would only fall into line with
other enterprising cities in the country.
AS long, however, as the Board of Alder
men had refused to concur in an
ordinance to that effect we must con-
tinue to rebuild these streets and take the
money out of the general tax, or not at
all. He told how the commissioner
of public works had stated that the street
had been rebuilt three times during the
past 10 years at cost OF $4,000
and IL cost $4,000 per annum
TO keep it in repair. The city engineer
had said it would have to be rebuilt again
this year at cost of $4,000
and in the next six years would
have to be rebuilt twice, making
a total Of 100000. MIR. Vose had driven
over broadway When the dust was four
inches deep.
Mr.. Duriee never heard the statements
accredited to the commissioner OF public
works and city engineer in the committee
room.
Mr.. John E. Kendrick then opened a
broadside of grape and canister for Mr..
Durfee's benefit. lie said there were no
crosswalks on Broadway but one; be had
lived six years on the street and knew
that since the trolley cars advent wagon
travel had doubled; mud averaged from
two to two and one half inches in
depth from curb to curb in wet
weather; for years the twelve
Councilmen from the three wards con-
cerned bad tried to get Broadway prop
erly paved without avail
Mr.. Millen and Mr.. Parkhurst endorsed
Mr.. Kendrick.
MIR. Clarke thought the citizens should
vote on whether these improvements
should come out Of the general tax or not.
Mr.. j. II. Kendrick, in answer to Mr..
Angel, told OF the durability OF asphalt in
otthe large cities where he has frequently
been. "We will have to raise great deal
OF money in the next few years TO put our
streets IN order" he said, "and we may as
"A H. ~