The San Francisco call., 1899-11-03
MARKET STREET
MUST Be SANDED
TO SAVE HORSES
Wet PaVements Traps
for Drivers.

It is not uncommon in the early morning
to see half a dozen horses lying on the
pavement helpless in the space of two
blocks on Market street A slight mos-
ture or a fog makes the pavement almost
as slippery as glass to the feet of horses
not shod with rubber. Hundreds of driv-
ers avoid the bituminized pavement, be-
ing actuated by fear for their horses. So
many accidents take place that the need
of some public action is evident The Call
this morning offers the suggestion that
Market street should be sprinkled with
sand whenever it is necessary to make
the pavement safer to drive on. Yester-
day many persons who have a wide
knowledge of horses and are largely con-
cerned in the use of them were inter-
! viewed concerning the necessity of using
sand freely. One and all declared that the
remedy needed to improve the lot Of
| drivers had been discovered by The Call.
Secretary Charles Holbrook of the So
ciety for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals was enthusiastic for the use of
| sand He had seen six horses lying upon
| The only way that the animals could rise
was by having blanket thrown down to
give them a chance to get a footing. They
| would try repeatedly to get upon their
| feet unavailfngly. Much time would be
| lost, much unnecessary suffering inflicted
| upon the horses by the repeated falls fol-
| lowing their struggles to get up. 1t had
been necessary to kill some horses because
of such accidents on Market street.
plan was W. H. Fuller of the Overland
Freight and Transfer Company. Sand
would save the lives of many horses
| said Mr.. Fuller. Every morning be-
teen Third street and the Palace Hotel,
! 1 see three or four horses lying down on
| the pavement. All sorts of business men
are seriously inconYenienced, You see,
when the pavements are wet there is
| nothing for the horses feet to take hold
upon. 1 am heartily in favor of ,ne plan
| suggested by The Call and it will be very
popular with all owners of horses In the
| city
! street when it is wet is just what ought
| to be done. There is plenty of sand at
the beach and 1t ought not to cost much
for carting in. 1 know all about the
| danger and inconvenience of the pave
ment Wnen 1T is damp. live out on
Octavia street and come down Golden
/ morning. Some days l have to get off
| the street to be safe. We lost one horse
that fell when the pavement was slip
| perry
Thomas F. Noonan is the president of
! the Draymen and Teamsters' Union,
which has a membership of is and en-
said Mr.. Noonan, when 1t is wet and
when 1t is only little damp. One valu-
able horse, to my knowledge. injured by
| Slipping on Market street, had to be shot.
The Call has struck good idea in sand
]. W. Murphy, proprietor OF st. Georges
! stables on Bush street, said; Sand is the
| only possible remedy for the slippery
footing on the. Market street pavement
when 1t is wet"
]. H. Leary of the Olympic Club sta
bles, SOB Suffer, said: Sanding would be
a very good thing. for 1t would let the
horses get a foothold. By all means let
us have the pavement sanded when it is
". Garhart, foreman of the st. Law
renee stables said: ''The idea is a first
! class one. The horses can't stand with
| out having something done. Sanding is
| the proper act. One of the valuable
horses stabbed here fell and was injured.
l saw four horses down on one block this
-iAi Alex tis.i eMcCord Of the Fashion stables
said: 'I saw four or five, horses down on
the pavement on one block to-day:
| heartily indorse the idea Of The Call
about the use of sand. 1t will do the
| business.
sand is employed successfully to make
| nayements safer in London. There is no
reason why it should not do well here,