The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-19

Together, these make a very full and
comprehensive showing of last years pub
The business depression that existed
throughout the country last year added
many embarrassments to the work of car
rylng out the general plan OF pubic I'M
provements heretofore inaugurated. On
the one hand, there was a strong desire
make rapid progress in the line of street
and sewer construction which had been
,na on ad plan at 5a the
times were prosperous; while, on the
other, some of them favored postpone
times should get better These PROPOSE
lions were both carefully considered. Sew
eral considerations finally united to prompt
reasonably rapid continuation of the
work already begun. A comprehensive
sewer system had been laid out and SO far
constructed as TO preclude change OF the
plan much delay in its final completion.
Several prominent streets in which sewers
Were to be constructed needed improving,
which could not be done until the sewers
were built These considerations made 1t
necessary to do a great deal of sewer
had already been assessed for. the improve
ments made in 1892 and 1898 demanded that
plete the general system of street and
sewer construction already commenced
should be proceeded with. A large number
ment BY furnishing them work they were
relieved from the humiliation OF asking
for charity No doubt the money ras s fro
their earnings of last year has preventesd
suffering in many hundred households
of the money paid by property owners last
year for improvements made to their prop,
erty would doubt have been donated
to the charity societies to prevent hunger
in the families of these laboring men DUR
ing the past three months If the public
work referred to had not been done.
By securing active and honest COMPETE
tion in all classes of public work the cost
greatly reduced and It ,bese feVor
able conditions then prevailing And,
finally, it was considered that the 10 per
it possible for property owners to meet
their assessments without unusual dlf1lcul-
ties, even in hard times. Taking all these
things into consideration, | do not beneve
that any more public work was done last
year than the circumstances called for
and the favorable conditions in the prices
of labor and materials justified. The ag-
gregate amount of public Improvements
made in 1894 was mucn greater tna IN. III
few thousand dollars more. owing TO the
competition secured and other favorable
tables presented by the city civil engineer
and chief clerk of the assessment-roll
bureau with their res pefa Tfpor'e eonst
tute a very interesting resume OF last
years work. L trust you will order these
tables printed with the other documents
presented.
I will refer to only a few special items,
exhibiting reductions in the c4s COST 81 sqs worn Tn
iSea there were $50 miles of asphalt pave
ment laid at total cost OF $500 g i,, or
laid at a cost of s6O3.743, of ss1,SOS mile le;
The average cost per square yard IN 1873 SIS
low as s1.7O, ending at s194. The average
for the whole year was about go open
competition was not secured for some time
after the years work commenced. The en-
gineer estimates the net saving TO the
property owners on the asphalt tb t o
the previous year, at $4,000. More than
half as much pavement was laid in. 1894 as
in 1893 at little more than One-thlrd the
cost On account of the variation in the
size of the numerous sewers constructed
no comparison can be made on the basis OF
feet or miles, but the engineer estimated
that a net saving of $4,000 was, made dur
prevailing prices of the previous year. In
1898 there were q miles : OF gravel streets
ad de. f ,pr ss Is or s St mile While
is the greatest reduction made in any class
history history. In 1871 there were miles Of brick
$50. 7a5 a mile, while in 1893 the city built
S.1s miles at a. total cost of $l61,299, or
mile more m Was IN 1854
than the year before at s2,S57 less cost.
lie wor of eyerv iS kind rhe cd aadns
property, including sweeping and sprink-
ling, was less. than one. and a quarter mil
streets and sewers alone, as has been many
times asserted by those who have opposed
public improvements. Estimating the aver
age cut in prices at 20 per cent. the
work let during the present administration.
mate, there was saved to the property
owners the work done during the year
1894 at least $4,000.
The engineer has put into his report
all work completed during the year, some
items of which do not appear in the report
of the chief clerk of the assessment roll
bureau, for the reason that the rolls were
not approved until after Dec, 81. This makes
an apparent discrepancy in the two reports,
but none in fact exists, the records of
their offices agreeing in every item, as they
assure
1 recommend the passage of an ordinance
regulating the cutting into improved streets
fixing a sufficient fee to pay the cost of
replacing the same, as suggested by the
Board of Public Works and the engineer
in their reports / understand that such
an ordinance has already been prepared.
also respectfully recommend that your
honorable body will carefully investigate
the question of the probable cost of hav-
ing prepared accurate copies of all city
plats and, if not too great, that you will
provide the means to procure such plats
for the assessment roll bureau. 1t has been
exceedingly difficult for the bureau to get
along without plats of its own and it cannot
do so at all much longer. feel sure it
will be money well spent to procure these
plats as early as possible The recon-
mendation of the engineer that complete
survey of the city be made, with a view
to permanently locating original monu-
mentS and thus furnishing data for a cor
rect map of the city, should be considered
in the same connection.