New-York tribune., 1896-12-03
STREET CLEANING ~ VIENNA.

Commissioner Warng used his eyes 10 goon
purpose while abroad. and his article on "S'rcc'
Cleaning in Vienna" in the current NUMBER oi
"Harpcr's Weekly. the first Of series on MS
observations in European cities. abound III SUE
ceslivc comparisons with the condition oI aiiarS
in New York. only the central part OF the AUS
tran capital is cleaned by the cliy own l"fcc'
The rest is partly or entirely given over To cop-
tractors The sweeping force cannot compare
will, our own Many of the men are OLD. lack
industry and are unkcmpt in appearance. AS
they are paid fl cents for ten hours work while
our swecpcrs get 81 30 for eight hours work.
ono would expect the Vicnncs" cleaning 10 he
much chcapcr The cost of cleaning. sprinklinG
and removing snow per nile there is about S6'.
while the cost here of simple cleaning. exclusive
Of snow and sprinklng is S7l 90 The work Is
we'll svstcmatzcd the better streets are swept
several times Il day: bnt the men are not as
faithful as our own disciplined force. our best
paved streets tholgh not so well paved as theirs
are better cleaned. and our worst-paved stree,>.
with a pavement thar would no; h. tolerated
anywhcrn in Europe" are cleaner than the aver
age OF all except the best in Vienna.
In comnaring the pavcmcnt> of the two cities
Colonel Waring brings uS information which
Works. The Vcnne>c pavement il much more
uniformly good than one secs here There i
les asphalt there bui the almost universal
cranilo blocks are NOR" regular ana NOR" close
" laid They are pcrfcct Sincll cubes. which.
when in piles. stani almost rs true n bricks.
Their faces are smooth anl their edges sharp.
and they are laid on true concrete founda-
,joo in diagonal rows the lines of their opposite
.t,,l., ,r.., i. f,,.
Joints do not average more than quarter Of an
inch and the surface ~ t" street j. Halter than
with Us. while the clirbs are lower and heavier
and the sidewalks carefully lad. often with the
same blocks aS the street. The grooves rail i
universally employed. and of better pattern
than ours. The two sides of the rail al~ equally
high and equally broad. and the croov" is mar
rover than the narrowcst carriagc-whrel. 80
that the rail offers no obstruction 10 vehicles.
The Introduction Of SUCH rail into general Use
here would make street cleaning easier ana
more perfect promote the durability Of adjoln-
lng pavcmentS. and save wear ana tear on
vehicles
The sidewalks OF Vienna are always clean,
and the officials repor' that they pay no aiien-
ton 10 them whatcvc- The houscholdcrS sweep
them twice day and. cXccp in winter. sprinkle
them. as matter Of course. just as they sweep
the floors of their own houses And. most won
derful to relate nobody in Vienna ever spits on
the sidewalk. Colonel Warlng says:
frequently persons turn aside 10 spit in
the street: never saw one spit on the sidewalk.
I mention these deciatiOns from the cherished
practice Of my native land. not because am
"un- American but because ii my purpose
to learn what / could and :epcrt what learned.
o for some Viennesc lcaven in New-York.
Our street cleaning appears to be as good as
theirs. We can stand it if they do have better
pavements. Only do let us fight the habit that
with us makes all prbic places disgusting.