The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-03-30
MEMS FURNISHING DEPARTMENT,
It.
Eastman Bros. 81 Bancroft.
attended to at once.

ATTENDED TO at opoo'
DIR. Seth G. Gordon followed Mr.. Small
and addressed the committss at some
length, He said that he had been riding
over the streets Of Portland thirty-four
years and that the Improvement In them
WAS not commensurate with the amount
of money SCENT on them, he said that
he realized that we have large mileage
Of streets to care for, but the trouble was
that by trading In the city council they
had tried to spread their money over the
entire city at once and had made no real
good showing in any one part OF it. he
agreed with Mr.. Small that the thing TO
do was to make permanent improve
ments, something which would last, even
II, in so doing. some streets had to be
nagl ,oted temporarily. He said that the
city council had been the victim OF job
berry In putting down its wooden paving,
its asphalt and this had COST the city
SlOO. 900 for which there Was nothing to
show. He said that he was sorry to say
there WAS not one single mile Of good
macadamizsd pavement In the entire
city. 1t had all been done badly. There
is not one piece of matchmaking that lie
what can be called dry road.
DR.. Gordon said that the new commits
sion he approved of as 1t had done much
better work than the street commission
system had brought about.
"Ths trouble mas been." said Dr.. Cor
don, "thAt the city has allowed the street
railways to monopolize Its streets too
much without putting up the fences be-
hind them which they had taken down.
Grove street over which I have to drive
sometimes Ii q disgrace to the city.
There are double tracks in that street
end the street ON either side Of these
tracks Is In bad shape. The street rail
road ought to be made to fix up this
strest and make 1t passabis. This should
be done either BY direct taxation OF by
some other method. The city should not
be forced to pay out dollar to improve
Grove street or any other street which the
street railroads have made almost I'M
passable."
DR.. Gordon went on to say that his
coaohmAn whom he had employed for
eighteen years Is o Dane who knows
sumething1 about building roads. The
coaohman had often called his attention
to the tact that the streets were improp-
erly built. with the center lower than the
cutters. The Dane said that the men
who built thsse streets didn't have COM
mon sense and DIR. Gordon said he
sgFeed with him. DR.. Gordon said the
streets should be rounded mp in the center
so as 10 drain well. DIR. GoTdon said
there wasn't an approach to the city
which was not monorolized by the rail-
roads. DIR. Gordon sAid he didn't know
Of . single mile Of good streets In the en-
tire city. "The trouble rs We don't do
well what We do and NE don't do any
thing that viii last. he also fald that
the country reads were constantly being
improved but not so those Of the city.
Mr.. o. p. T. Wish said the wheelmen
were taxed for their wheels and that this
money should be put back into streets
that they could use with comfort.
Mr.. wilford Chapman said the matter
Of good streets had become an issue. The
people demand them and are going to