The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-14
WOULD SAVE
THOUSANDS
TO THE PARK
Use for the City Street
SWeepings.
SUPERVISORS URGED TO ACT
A NEW PROVISION NEEDED IN
THE CONTRACT.
Large Sums Spent for Loan That
Could Be Saved Without Extra
Expense to the Munich
cipality.
A NEW PROVISION NEEDED IN
THE CONTRACT.

Before the present Board Of Supervisors
goes out of office it will have the letting
OF the contract for sweeping the streets
for two years. The contract under which
the work is being done expires December
l, and It is likely that the new contract
will be awarded before that date. This
contract is one Of the juiciest plHms in
the gift of the Supervisors, the cost to
the city averaging, under the present
contract, $11,500 per month.
There is no complaint at the cost; 1t is
doubtful if the work could be done for
any less, but if the Supervisors see fit
they can save the taxpayers something
like $25 900 a year in awarding the new
contract, besides earning the gratitude of
every person who visits the city's big
pleasure ground.
For years the Park Commissioners have
endeavored to secure the street sweep
ings for Golden Gate Park. The reclaimed
portion of the park is in constant need
of new soil. II is all made ground,
the original surface being fine white sand
such as is seen in the western part that
is not under cultivation The made
feet, and the trees and flowers ana
shrubs and grass plats demand fresh fer
tiliZing material all the time. Every year
the Commissioners devote every cent of
their appropriation not actually demanded
for other purposes to the purchase OF
lean, and they seldom are able to buy
more than enough to replenish the part
already under cultivation. Consequently,
the reclamation of the sand dunes nearer
the ocean progresses exceedingly SLOW.
This loan costs rs cents a yard and within
the past three months, the Commissioners
have expended $4,000 for that purpose
alone, all of which has been devoted ca
tirely to repleniShing the soil east OF
Strawberry Hill. This was absolutely
necessary, as many of the trees and
shrubs began to show signs of decay for
want of proper nOuriShment, and 1t was
essential TO have the loan spread in time
so the winter rains would mingle 1t With
the wucnout soil underneath
What the Park Commissioners want and
what Superintendent McLaren has sought
TO obtain for years, is the refuse that is
gathered daily from the streets and which
the city pays to have removed. This mat
ter has frequently been brought to the
attention of the Supervisors in the past
and several years ago a hard tight was
made in the board to have the sweepings
carried to the park but so far nothing has
been done. The preceding board, of which
A. b. SpreckelS, now one of the Park
Commissioners, was member, inserted
a clause in the specifications governing
the present contract, providing that the
contractor must deliver the sweepings to
any point designated by the Commission
ever request should be made through
the proper city authorities for such
SWeeplngS, the Commissioners to pay the
extra cost OF transportation, provided
there is any difference in the cost between
the dumps and Golden Gate Park. The
specifications further provide that the
the sum of 81 for every load of sweepings
diverted from the park when there re-
Quired.
These provisions have never been en-
forced, although there has been urgent
need OF the sweepings all the time. Com
missioner Spreckels and Superintendent
McLaren both say that the street sweep
ingS would make fertilizing material far
superior to the loan they are now COM
PEELED to purchase, for while the sweep
ings are almost pure manure the loan is
a mixture of manure with clay and sand,
which IS allowed to decompose. These
gentlemen estimate that there is enough
of the SWeepingS to cover all the cult
waited parts of the park as frequently as
they require it, besides leaving a large
ern sand dunes each year. The extra cost
of hauling to the park would be an in
significant item they would gladly pay,
and they would still have practically all
of the S25 600 they now spend annually for
loan to use in other improvements.
Commissioners would readily find place
in some convenient locality in the park
where all the SWeepings could be dumped,
and the park employees would distribute
it wherever needed under the direction OF
Superintendent McLaren. It would not be
necessary for the contractor to haul it
to all parts of the park, but only TO the
one dump provided
There IS one point the Supervisors must
consider, and that is that the proposed
garbage ordinance provides that all
Street sweepings shall be cremated. If
they will eliminate that clause and make
ii mandatory upon the successful bidder
for the new contract to deliver the sweep
ings at the park, that magnificent resort
will soon show the beneficial results of
man. woman and child is interested In.
and all should work for it's success.