The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-07-02
IMPROVEMENT
OF THE STREETS
Complete Statement of What
Has Been Done on The
City Streets.
HARGElT ST. TRAMWAY
THE SEABOARD AIR LINE Gull
VERT SHOULD BE ENLARGED.
THE SIDEWALKS MUST Be PAVED
The $50, 900 Bond Issue Will Grade and Curb
twenty Miles Of Street Besides
Doing Other Work.

The following report was presented 10
the Board of Aldermen at their regu-
lar meeting last night;
To the Honorable Mayor and Board OF
Aldermen:
Your committee on streets submit
herewith the following report:
The work on our streets has been
going forward unusually well since oul
last report. as will be seen by the
amount of work which has been nc
complished which is given in detail M
the end of this report. We are eX-
ceedingly gratffied at the manner i'll
which the work is progressing, and
while we have had many difficulties with
which to contend, and may not have
pleased everyone in prosecuting the
work on the streets, yet we feel that the
general results have been good and sat
isfactory, and that the people of the
city will appreciate our efforts. and CON
clude that we have done the best that
we could under the circumstances. In
prosecuting this work there are great
many things which confront the com
mittee which never suggest themselves
to the mind of the average citizen unless
he has been so unfortunate as TO have
gone through the same experiences which
we often have to encounter.
In the first place nearly every citizen
of the town has ideas of his own i'll re-
gard TO the manner in which the work
on the streets ought to be done; what
disposition ought to be made of the
street forces. and especially how the
street in front of his property ought to
l. .s4t. 4.
compelled to listen patiently to all of
these suggestions and endeavor as far
as it can to comply with the wishes OF
every citizen. 1t is absolutely impossi.
BILE TO accede to the desires of every
man concerning improvements contem
plated in front of his individual property.
The Street Committee is therefore com
PEELED after hearing as many sugges
tions as they can to put them all togeth-
er, and then Gull from the general lot
a plan which will advance the best in
terests of the city, and ut the same time
meet the wishes of the greatest number
of property owners concerned. This
sometimes is very difficult task
Then, again, nearly every man in the
city who pays taxes feels that some i'm
provements should be made in front OF
has property, or ut least in his neigh
borhood. The Street Committee can
understand and sympathze with this
feeling, and we are doing the work in
as many places about the city as we
possibly can to advantage, but it is
sometimes bad plan to divide the hands
into too many different squads, and We
are endeayOring to push the work as
rapidly as we can III the hope that we
may be able to do some work in every
part o. .--e city before the close of the
present city administration.
We stated in a former report that we
beneved that with the $4,000 bond is
sue we could grade and curb twenty
miles of street besides doing other worl;
in connection Herewith such 4
matchmaking, putting down street
crossings, paving gutter lines and keep
ing the bitches of the city in proper or
der. We still believe that the estimate
made at that time was not too large.
This will enable MS to reach out into al
most every community in the city, ant
we believe that at the end of the pres
ent city administration our people will
be gladdened by the fact in seeing every
prominent street in the city graded and
curbed, and we will then have good side
walks all over the city.
We believe that the accomplishment OF
this purpose will add to the prosperity
of our town, and the genral comfort
and convenience of its people more than
anything else.
1t will cause our people to take Il deep.
or interest in their property and give the
outside world much better opinion 81
the capital city of the State.
The Street Committee would be glad
TO adopt every plan suggested, and tc
push the work i'll every part of the town
at once if it were possible to do so. but
it is realized that this is an impossibility
we trust the people will be as patient as
possible with MS. The majority of our
people have been very kind and con
slderate, and they have aided us very
much with their words of encouragement
and the hearty manner in which they
nave complied with our requests.
HARGETT STREET.
Fearing that our position has benn mis-
understood in regard to the Hargett
street tramway, we desire to make the
following explanations:
We did not break ground on Hargeit
street until after we had placed orders
for the railroad iron, cross-ties and other
material for laying the track
We then commenced to grade the
street in order to expedite matters n,
much as possible, thinking the rails
would soon arrive. The rail was pur
chased from an Atlanta firm, and wa,
"A part of the track taken up between
Southern Pines and Pinehurst.
We placed an order for 100 tons OF
this rail on condition that we be per
mitted to inspect and select it. Our
order was accepted, and then it wa.
that we commenced TO grade on Harget,
street and placed an order with tn,
North Carolina Car Company for tw,
tram cars.
Our Honorable Mayor visited South
ern Pines TO inspect the rail after hay
ing wired the Atlanta firm to send +,
representative there to meet him, they
agreeing to do So The Atlanta firm
did not have representative there an,
the Mayors visit was unsatisfactory