Evening star., 1896-07-29
CLEANING STREETS
An Early Morning Inspection Tour
by Star Reporter.
SPICK AND SPAN ASPHALT
Good Results Shown on a Pre-
arranged Trip.
T H E SPECIFICATIONS

| In view of the controversy which has
| arisen between the street sweeping con-
| tractor and certain of the citizens who
complain Of the methods employed in
| cleaning the paved streets of Washington,
| a Star reporter made a journey this morn
| Ing in company with the superintendent
for the contractor, Mr.. LaRowe, at an hour
when the great majority Of people were
| asleep. The start was made shortly after
$50 O'Clock. and the route was a devious
| one, following in a haphazard way the
| course covered by the machines in the
| northwestern section during the night The
machines and gangs leave the stables at the
| head Of 18th street at about o'clock at
| night, and the sweeping actually begins at
| 10 o'clock. By daybreak the great revolv-
| ing brushes have practically finished their
| work, and the machines may be seen slowly
| making their way back to the stables in
| batteries OF from three to nine, according
| to the width Of the street.
| When the superintendent and the re-
| porter started the force of over two hun
| dred men and more than hundred horses
was scattered over an area OF many scores
| of city blocks, extending from the southern
| part or the northwest section into the
| southwest section, or the Island" as that
| part Of the city is still known to the old
residents A shower materialiZed shortly
| U y
| vented a thorough inspection of the work
| such as the contractor and his representa-
| tive desired. Rain is the best street clean
| er known, II there is enough of 1t, and that
| which fell on the streets this morning af-
| ter the machines had done their work COM
| bined with the apparatus to do very eff
| fective job. Still the reporter was enabled
to see enough Of the streets before the rain
| came to appreciate that on this morning at
| least gilt-edged work had been done by the
| contractors men and machines.
The Tour Planned in Advance.
| Inasmuch as the inspection tour had been
| arranged in advance 1t was, of course,
| within the possibilities that orders had been
| passed along the line for the machine men
| to set their brushes little more firmly
| and to bear more heavily on the streets.
| Mr.. LaRowe, appl eciatiLg this phase of
| the situation, assured the reporter at an
early stage of the journey that such was
| rot the case, and that the results that ap-
! peared along the streets were in every re-
| spect normal and ordir airy. Indeed, on
| some Of the downtown stretches that were
] swept after the rain had begun to fall Mr..
| LaRowe contended that the best Of work
| was not being done, because, he asserted,
| the tendency OF SO much water on the
| asphalt is to make the powders and dirt
| fragments that form the street refuse stick
| to the smooth surface, from which the
| hickory brushes of the machines can hard
| ly remove them.
| One Of the complaints recently made that
| led to this tour was the insufficient use of
| water by the sprfnklers. Nc observation
| tculd be taken on that line this morning
| In view of the fact that the sprnkling and
sweeping had been practically all done.
| and that at the first approach of the rain
| the watering carts made right-about and
headed for the stables. Nature had sent
! the best known Of sprrklers to assist the
| contractor.
| Enrly Morning Clennliness.
! The trip was made at the early hour men,
| toned for special reason. Residents
| who breakfast at and notice dirty streets
| en- their way down town between $50 and
| Q o'clock are not apt to realize that the
| street was swept anywhere from two to
! eight hours before and that since then
| the dirt that appears on the surface has,
| in almost every instance, been deposited
| there since the machines went over the
| asphalt. The only way to appreciate the
| real work of the street-cleaning force is to
| get out early in the morning and to make
| an inspection before the market wagons
| the milk wagons and the bakers carts
| have begun to make their rounds and be-
| fore the servant girls have swept off the
| sidewalks. throwing into the clean gut
ters quantities Of dried leaves, papers and
| other forms of street refuse. In view of
| what the reporter saw this morning it is
| fair to assert that probably 90 per cent of
| the dirt noticed on the street by citizens
| in the morning has been placed there after
| the passage of the machines and the broom
and cart men,
| Occasionally there was a dirty spot in
| the street, unmstakably due to insuffi-
cient sweeping. Mr.. LaRowe admitted
| that these cases We're bound to occur, for
he said, the sweeperS are not perfect in
| view of the inequalities of the pavement
and occasionally little patches of unswept
| asphalt V ere encountered where the ma
| CHIMES in swinging on their routes had
missed the proper line The supertntend-
| ent. however, said that his effort was to
| Lave all of these bad spots covered by the
| broom men, who were under instructions
| to leave the cutters II they should notice
| patch of unswept pavement in the mid
| die Of the street.
Slow Work in Dirty Spots.
| Owing to the intense heat of the night
which rendered both horses and men slug
gish and slow, and also to the shower in
the morning. which made the dirt heavy
and hard to handle. the work was still in
progress in Southwest Washington when
| the reporter and the superintendent drove
| that way. The broom men were having an
| especially hard time in the cutters where
| the Belgian blocks are used, the pasty dirt
| clinging almost like mucilage to the in
| terstices of the stone. One of the gang
foremen. a man wtom Mr.. LaRowe said
| had been In the work for fifteen years. ex-
| planned that the streets were exceptionally
dirty, even for this section and for this
| eiIlc VI year, anu tHdt tne Work mad gone
| very heavily this morning.
| A force Of four District inspectors is on
duty every right to see that the work is
| well done. An inspector follows each gang
| Of sweepers and broom men until about
| daybreak. when three Of them go home
| and one. who is chosen in turn to serve
| for short period, undertakes the last two
hours of inspection alone. This morning
| this inspector made rapid time between
| Market space and the vicinity Of Blood
| field, attending to both gangs that were
| then at work. His duty is to see that the
| specifications Of the contract, which are
| hereafter given, are fulfilled, and on his
| report as to the character Of the sweeping
| depends the amount paid the contractor
| who receives remuneration by the square
| yard Of pavement covered. II the inspec-
| tor should report a square or a street as
being care'essly swept, the contractor loses
pay for that space. Mr.. LaRowe said that
1t was no uncommon thing for an entire
| street to be cut out in this manner
| Life of the Brooms.
At about o'clock the inspection had ex-
tended sufficiently far TO show that on this
morning, at least, the work done was real
~ beyond reproach. and the carriage was
headed northward from the scene of active
| operations. Mr.. LaRowe continued to ex-