The record-union., 1896-10-03
MUST NOT DELUGE STREETS.
Judge Davis Says II Constitutes a
Nuisance.
A Sudden Check Given to an EVIL
That Has Been of Long
Standing.


will of street sprinkling contractors Tor
10, these many years, but Police Judge
Davis has declared that even the auto
Gratis of the water tanks are amenabie
TO law and decency, just the same d.
other people.
A. l.. Rosas was on trial yesterday Tor
committing a nuisance on n street, De
tween Sixth and Seventh, by HoodlnS
the street with water on the south SIDE
The testimony showed that Rosas mas
control of the work OF sprlnkhng part
of that street; that In many places the
houses and the trees shade the south
side of the street for the greater part Oh
the day; that the street sprinkler III
those places puts on an unnecessary
quantity of water, making mud, thlck
and deep, often as deep as IN stormy
weather, and that it is dragged by
wheels upon the crossings; that not
withstanding such flooding the sprinkler
the next time ne makes his rounds de-
posits another volume OF water upon
the mud, which serves to make the
water stand in places from one to two
inches deep for days; that water so put
on Wednesday morning is still standing
upon these places; that such acts in
commode dWellers on the street OBJ
struct the free passage of vehicles ana
is a nuisance; that since the arrest OF
Rosas his sprinkling carts have skipped
as they Should-these muddy spots,
and that the carts are so constructed
that this can be done; that flooding the
street is not sprinkling 1t.
Rosas. in his own behalf, testified thai
he acts under the direction of the Super
intendent of Streets that that officer
tolI hi IN
freely on the shaded sides of the street,
that he was not aware that to so
sIrinkle was a nuisance, and that he is
ready to obey the orders Of the Street
Superintendent.
Witnesses were listed to be summoned
to testify that on account Of such
sprinkling as that complained Of it is
often necessary, if one would avoid
driving in the mud and SluSh, to go
around ten or fifteen blocks in order to
get a distance of half a dozen blocks TO
find routes that are Sprinkled and not
flooded; that the SprinklerS have
taken their contracts very low and put
OF large quantity of water at one time
SO as to haul off their teams and employ
them otherwise; that ] and K and
other streets are sometimes 50 wet early
i'll the morning and early in the evening
that horses slip and fall and passage
across the streets is through slush; that
this is not necessary and is nuisance;
that the same order of sprinkling carts
are used in other cities similarly Stu-
ated and it is not found necessary to
wet the streets as is done here, but that
fine sprinkling more frequently applied
az ods any such nuisance as is here
complained Of: that the system here i'll
vogue is a matter of sarcastic and un-
favorable comment by visitors to the
city and is injurious to the good name
of the city.
Among such listed witnesses We're
some of the most prominent citizens of
the city, including the Chief of Police,
city officials business men, drivers of
vehicles, wheelmen, commercial solicit
ors and others. It was, however, not
deemed necessary to call these witnesses
to the stand in this case, but they will
be summoned in the next case that it is
found necessary TO bring.
Judge Davis said the case was proved;
that the act complained Of is a nui
sance: that while Rosas is not the con-
tractor he has by his own admission
control of the sprinklers in the district
to which the complaint referred; that it
would make no difference if the Street
Superintendent had not instructed RO-
sas not to food the street and not to
maintain mud and water holes where
the places can as easily as not be
skipped.
The court said it had often noticed
the nuisance, and was surprised that it
was not suppressed. He often thought
1t was due to righteousness or 10 lazi-
ness. He would find Rosas guilty. but
as the prosecuting witnesses had stated
that the purpose was to test the matter
and not punish Rosas financially. but to
secure abatement of the nuisance, he
would suspend judgment, with the un-
derstanding that if Rosas did not abate
the nuisance he would be brought in
and punished severely.