Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-05-01
PAVING BRIGHAM STREET.
A Resident Objects on Account Of Ex-
pcnse TO the Poor Man.

To the Editor;
Tho EFFORT Of tho wealthy residents
to have brigham street cas-, paved
should not be pushed. for the very sui.
iloient reason that the poor residents
have not tho means TO do II.
In tho firEt place tho requirement
that the nbuttcrn shall pay tho bill II
outragcoualy unjust. n they had the
sole use OF the street after II was
paved. then II would be right for them
10 pay the Gust. Hut. as II N. the resi-
dents, especially the poorer ones. do not
Use the street once In u hundred times.
l mlEnt say once In "a thousand times,
that Tho general public does. Therefore.
nothing could be moro equitable than
that the general public pay the expense
OF paving the streets whore II In necer-
sary that they be- paved. Hut equity
does not rule. unfortunately the ten
doncy OF modern civilization, especially
In this country. IN to make the poor
pay the taxes. No far aa Is possible.
" the street Ia 10 be paved. the poorer
renidentH must mortgage. or sell, OF lose
mcnt. II viii take the ordinary poor
working man fve 10 ton years 10 pay
the hill, u Indeed he II fortunate
enough 10 be able TO pay at all. II no
cannot pny. he viii be- squeezed out
by his richer nclEhbor. and very likely
he win have 20 80 away with nothing,
not even home. For II n far easier
to mortgage than 10 release the mort
FiRe
There has already been spent on
brigham street east more than $4,000.
80 II n understood. and 10 very little
purpose. The taking down OF that little
hill between Fifth and skin East IN
reported 10 have cost 100000, ana now
the street there n often In worse cons
ditinn than before the operation, being
almost a bog much Of the time, The
street thcrc was low'sed tweniy-four
To- thirty inches below tne lowered side
walk grade AMI the dirt hauled away.
I measured IL .nyarlf when II was done.
Then dirt wuH hauled back 20 MI up
the excavation. A few months later
several hundred more loads were
brought back, aH thN rnnd WA too low,
Tina, was scientific road making. More
like scientific toinfoolory Hut a new
party had come into power, and the cry
virtually was, "lioorah, there's plenty
~ money O. spendi" That was one OF
the ways In which the city finances
sank. IN less thaE a decade. from
msaey In hand 10 two or three millions
In debit and tax rates became doubled,
trehlrd, and quadrupled, although the
population II said 10 have trebled, u
not uuadrupled,
Even now the west end Of brigham
street east, after all this expenditure,
II a long pool OF sluah. because n Is
made NJ level there 10 no drainage,
| Nor can vehicles mss. az they used 10,
| frlm the north 20 the south side Of the
street Tor several blocks, More sclcntl.
| iic rpadmakng, Now another biz ex-
I pcnse IL urged on the same expensive
Z street.
| II il strange, passing strange, that
D rlnh annaliI lac 90 ~ 90.
] pressing the poor working man and
adding a. the poor mans burden an
/ much ~ possible. The only consolation
/ the poor man has II the standing prom
lso that Whatsoever man sows. that
! also shall he reap, sooner or later. tho
ccpted.
| a BRIGHAM STREET RESIDENT.