The herald., 1896-01-23

maps of territory not before MAPPED and
four new sewer district maps.
This office should have copy of all
deeds in which the city is either grantor or
grantee, as we are frequently told by out
side parties of a street having been opened,
and upon investigation find that the city is
the owner of the property of which this Of
flee has no information.
There should also be map compiled
showing all of the rights of way for zanja
or other purposes which the city owns, as
it is frequently necessary for the city attor-
ney to know of the existence of such,where
suit has been brought against the city to
quiet title, and failure to reserve such
rights may result in serious loss to the city.
The maps, protiles, papers, etc.. are still
indexed in a sort of loose-jointed, rambling
way that causes serious and expensive de-
lays when trying 10 arrive al information
that pertains directly to the daily work of
this Office. new system of indexing is
very essential. In addition to the lack Of
office help, there is another reason for this
state of affairs, which is the insufiiciency of
room to file maps, etc.
The cement testing department has
probably done more for the city in ex-
change for the amount of money expended
than any other, says the report. 1t has
protected the public works from the use of
inferior qualities of cement that otherwise
would have been unavodabIy used.
The holds of vessels in which the foreign
cements are shipped are sometimes flooded
during storms. To save this from becom-
ing a total loss the cement that has become
set is returned, reground and ''doc ored"
with lime, which makes it marketable un-
less it be tested 10 detect the fraud. &C.
ment that has once taken its initial set and
is then broken and remixed loses from 40
to 60 per cent of its strength. The inquirer
is having series of tests made developing
the action and durable results of different
brands of cement under different cond-
tions, the knowledge of which will be of
eIelt practical benefit.
All cements are tested in the warehouses
and receive the mark of the cement tester,
if up to the required standard, and all ce-
ment taken from the warehouses and used
in our public works must be SO marked.
The office has adopted system of daily
reports that shows the condition of all pub
lie work in reference to this department
that makes it practically impossible for
any amount of poor cement 10 be used, or
to he used except in it's specified proper
tons, without being detected.
THE OUTFALL SEWER
For the first time, sewage was sold from
the outfall sewer last season. The new
valves on sections 3 and 6 were in place SO
that the sale of sewage commenced about
the st of June, otherwise the receipts
would have been greater, as the irrigating
season commences much earlier.
BY the construction of these valves the
sewer isplaced in condition to method
icaly and reli ably deliver the sewage upon
the ground to be irrigated.
The cost of maintenance will. for future
seasons, be but little in excess of that of
the past season, while the receipts will be
Quadrupled when the sewer reaches its
present capacity, which is one-haif of its
ultimate capacity.
When the sewer districts that have re-
Gently been completed and the ones that
are now under way are connected with the
outfall, there will be sufficient sewage de-
Gvered to more than double the receipts
for the coming season.
The amount received for the sale of sew
age for 1895 was $327S, and the cost of
maintenance was S2137 .O3.
There we're 24.S4 miles of sewers laid
under the Vrooman act last year, and there
were 2.52 miles of sewers laid under
private contract.
The total length of sewers laid to date is
OF. .02 miles, as follows: Laid previous to
1895, 69.66 miles laid during 1895, 27 80
miles.
GRADED AND GRAvELED STREETS
There were 5.12 miles of street graded
and graveled under the Vrooman act, and
there were 5.32 miles of streets graded
and graveled under private contract dur
| ing the year, making total OF 1876
| miles as follows: Previous to 1895,
l27.1S miles; during 1895, 1O.44.
There was no paving fully completed
during the year. except Clay street, which
has been classified under uncompleted
work, as the certificate of acceptance has
never been issued, owing to defective con-
| struction; there is O.94 of e mile of such
work under way. The length of paved
streets thus remains the same as for the
previous year, .S2 miles.
There were 4.3c miles of sidewalk and
$50 miles of curb laid under the Vrooman
act; there were g.. miles of sidewalk and
7.l5 miles of curb laid under private con-
tract. In addition there. there were 1852
miles of sidewalk and 40 miles of curb
| laid under permits from the street super
intendent, of which no detailed statement
can be made.
The total length of sidewalk and curb
| laid during 1895, sidewalks, 23.77 miles:
curb, = l.35 miles.