Evening star., 1896-07-30
CONTRACTOR DAaaErr AGAIN.
He Continues to Declare That the Con-
tract system is Best.
10 the Editor 0f The Exenin1 Star:


what some eminent authority may have
said about washing asphalt streets In New
York will not show that I am not comply
ing with my contract for sweeping them
here. II the citizens Of the capital want
the streets washed and "sQueegeed' I am
ready to do that If the money is provided
for the service. I am ready to "squeegee."
I am not "restive'' at any suggestions in
the line of the work I contracted to per-
fern. and I do not object to criticism.
do object to unfair statements that are not
borne out by the facts.
You said the streets ought to be wet until
the dirt was liquefed before it was swept
up-and the very day you said it my men
and machines were ordered off the streets
because they were too wet to sweep"
Whom shall obey, the government agents,
who have had years Of experience in this
business, or the citizen who has had none?"
You say l would have you believe that
tnere Is no pecuniary advantage in light
sprinkling and light sweeping, when we
know that the use of twice as much water
would mean twice as much time lost in
filling the sprinklers, while increased pres
shorten the broom life materially and ex-
pensively."
Indeed! and that answers my statement
mat there Is no pecunlary advantage to
me IN such performance Why not saw
the contractor could lessen the expense il
ne oidn't sprinkle at all, and only drove his
machines over the streets without putting
nis prooms down on the pavement? 1t
woulu De stronger. but no nearer the truth.
broom lasts me seven days.
IN New York and Brooklyn 1t lasts twen-
y-1our. According to The Stars reasoning
nal eufborIt;as In Brooklyn and the munich
5nooms 5i9 down very lightly to make this
1inerence: Doesn't that look reasona bles
Wen. wen. It Isn't. The pavements in those
thav s ,ao+ no not 9 wear out the brooms. hence
same reiterate that there is no pecuni-
ary profit to me in light sprinkling and
a6ie h' 10 oroomins' oraIla and while may not be
newspaper article, stand ready to do 50
70 any one at any time
~ Inc inspectors are either honest men or
eneyx eney are knaves and fools They inspect
morning after the route ia anishad tne
they go over It again with my superin.
work 10 sd.ha, hna assistants aS Any imperfect
Mo5h Is elther done over 1t is disalIowed
ano payment therefor refused.
ne superintendent of street cleaning
rays OUT the contractors routes in Accord
the service, and all 1 have to do 10 ~ o on
over I'VE. tnem and clean them to his satisfac.
tlon Is 1t not fair to assume that of.sr
years OF experience in his duties ha
them? performing
NOW. as to the best method Of strest
sweeping. l unhesitatingly assert thai the
s.ss s, mater Is thrown the cleaner will be the
street mat Is swept; but as this would in
voive cloud of dust. more water is throur
'Ean IS good for perfect sweeping.
nave seen as much dust arise from
.hro"lng the water on a dirty street as a
macnine will make in sweepine
You say 1t is a depression to endeavor IN
shl1t the blame on Congress because the
appropriation is not sufficient to haye the
soreets % EEL M swept as frequently as they ought
sion in the right direction. Clean streets
VIII only come from sweeping them often
enough to keep them clean, and this cannot
oe zone with the money now appropriated
III another column of your paper this
evening Is an account of the sweeping as 1t
IS done, which seems to Indicate that the
contractor Is doing his duty This is the
evidence or your own reporter, and the very
greatest dimculty he found to be overcome
was the sweeping Of the streets cut off on
one night, owing to rain, on the following
hsht, and rere Is exactly where Congress
comes IN again. The money has been pro-
night. and II 1t Is not done on the night
scheduled IT. can't be done at all, for the
simple reason that no work can be added
TO the next nights schedule because of
lack OF money to pay for 1t. Let The Star
turn an occasional battery on the appro-
priating power, and 1t may help to do away
with one OF the difficulties in the way of
clean streets
AS do not intend to again occupy your
columns. and as so much has been said in
the past by anonymous writer's which /
know to have been inspired, not so much
In the interest Of clean streets as in spite
against the contractor or the government
agents, I desire to state that / took this
contract at one-thrd lower rate than was
paid the former contractor; that I employed
all the men who worked for him at the end
OF his contract. and have retained them
ever since: that my men are the best men
to be found. and have had from six to six
teen years experience in the business: that
I have the best machines on the market
conceded to be so by all the people In the
business; that have bought only the best
horses, there being no old plugs among
them: that buy the best oats and hay in
the market and feed plenty of it-in fact |
have the very best plant that money would
buy. l am engaged In a business that must
OF necessity inconvenience some one and
my aim is to do as little Of that as possible
claim that am fully and fairly carry
Ing out my contract. and that what ought
to be or might be done under some other
contract or other way OF doing the same
work has nothing to do with the service
which contracted to do.
l am prepared to prove all that 1 said
TO the query Of The Star, How about
New York city?' that the only stree.s
cleaned under the present system are those
on which a very large force of men is EN-.
ployed with hand brooms and hoes. at
very great expense; that even the present
superintendent of street cleaning stated
publicly and often that the expense was
very much greater than 1t should be, owing
to the extravagant wages paid the men
under act Of the legislature. 1t NAV Re
news to The Star. but 1t is a fact that the
part of New York which has been the
cleanest for years is the only part that has
been done by contract. and that is from
14th street % the Battery on Broadway
and the streets crossing 1t for a short dis.
tance on each side.
If comparisons are in order we can find
them at home. Pennsylvania avenue fs
scraped by contract for 40 per cent less
than 1t was done by days labor within the
past three or four years-and it must be
done as WELL as the same inspectors are
employed to pass upon 1t now as then
venture to say that four-ffths of all
the private buildings and improvements in
this city are done under contract, and bet
ter and cheaper done than they would be
by days labor-that in Brooklyn, Buffalo
Chicago. Cincinnati, Philadelphia, ST.
Louis, Jersey City, Newark, Albany. Troy-
and. in fact. nearly every city in the United
States. the contract system Is in vogue
and that as this is the fact. it will take
more than the mere assertion that The
work can be done better by days labor to
convince the taxpayers that such is the
fact. ALBERT DAGG FTP
More About Street Sweeping,
To the Editor Of The Evening Star:
I read with no little curiosity in yester-
days Star your reporters Interesting ac-