The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-09
AS CLEAN AS A PARLOR
BOARD OF WORKS SCENTS A "NIG-
GER IN THE WOOD PILE"
And Now Declares that the Streets
Are Well Cleaned and Pneu-
MATES Are Unnecessary.

Members of the Board of Public Works
and the mayor have come to the conclusion
that the present STRENGTHENING contractor
is fulfilling the terms of his contract and
that ne will keep the streets clean If let
alone They have personally inspected the
work on several occasions recently and have
found it perfectly satisfactory-aS we'll done
as under any other contractor.
A conclusion has also been reached that
the complaints lately made against the work
have come not so much from a desire for
better work as from a desire to stir up sem
timent in favor of the owner of rival street
cleaning machines Formerly STRENGTHENING
cost the city 40 cents for each ten thousand
square feet, each sweeping. Competition
brought this down to less than half that fig
ure, but it took the work away from the
machine for which the cry is now going up.
The present contractor is doing the work for
14S4 cents. 1t has been argued to the, Board
of Works that the people demand the pneu-
matte sweeper and it is said that the bid of
the owners of this machine was only a
quarter of a cent higher than that of the
present contractor.
On the other hand, 1t is argued that the
present contractor compelled the owners Of
the pneumatic sweeper to come down to the
low price they bid; that If the board should
go back to the pneumatic sweepers and let
the contract to the owners of them at a
price higher than another bidder, no matter
how small a difference there might be in the
bids it would be only a question of time
when the Accent mark would be reached
again. The pneumatic sweeper is a monopo-
ly. 1t cannot be purchased for use in Indian
apolis at any price; nor can 1t be rented. If
it is used to clean the streets of Indianapolis
it must be used by the people who control it
and at their own price. 1t is claimed that
their own price would be an exorbitant one
if it were understood that the people and
the Board of Works would have no other
sweeper.
In the meantime, while the discussion of
street cleaning is going on, the present
sweeping contractor is improving his sys-
tenn. The latest inspection of the city off,
Gals found the streets in an excellent con-
dition. 1t was seen, in drive over a street
Immediately after it had been swept, that
almost every particle of dust and dirt had
been removed. If the same street was not
clean several hours afterward it was not
the fault of the contractor, and, likewise
on streets which are swept only two or three
times a week, if they are made clean when
swept IHelE Subsequent CollultloH 10 the
fault of the contract and not of the con-
tractor
All these facts are being made clear to
the city officials and the latter are growing
more and more friendly toward the con-
tractor. They are also coming to the con-
clusion that there has been a great deal of
Misrepresentation regarding the condition of
the streets. Members of the Board of Works
and the street sweeping inspector have
made trips early in recent mornings through
the city's improved streets and they find
that, in many cases, after the sweepers
have thoroughly cleaned the streets serv-
o'clock and sweep the dirt off the sidewalks
and into the streets Most of the improved
streets of the city will again be inspected
this morning. A determined effort is being
made to have the streets kept clean and do
Justice to the contractors or know the rea-
son why.