Evening star., 1901-06-26
STREET CLEANING STOPPED
WORK SUSPENDED BECAUSE OF
LACK OF FUNDS.
Half Days Sweeping Will BE Done
Saturday-MOney Available
Next Monday.

The work of cleaning the streets of the
capital city of the nation was suspended at
noon today. because of the failure OF Con-
gress to provide funds sufficient to enable
the cleaning to be carried to the end Of
the current fiscal year, June 80, Sunday
next.
The superintendent of street cleaning.
Mr.. Warner Stutler, notified the District
Commissioners last week that unless there
should be rain on three secular days be-
tween that time and July 1 the appropria-
tion would be exhausted and the cleaning
would have to be stopped. Rainy days the
work is not carried on, and it was hoped
the elements might come to the rescue and
provide the deficiency help which was de-
MED by Congress. Since Mr.. Suffers state
ment was sent in the only rain which has
fallen has descended during the close
watches of the light, and has therefore
been of no assistance whatsoever.
Confronted by n Dilemma
Mr.. Stutler this morning took stock and
found that the appropriation would permit
of but one more day of labor. To meet
the unhappy conditions in as practical a
way as possible he decided to suspend
work at noon today, reServing an amount
sufficient to carry on a half days work
Saturday next and thus give the streets
fairly presentable appearance for Sunday.
The new street cleaning appropriation be-
comes available Monday morning and
during all of that day the white wings
Will be exceedingly busy. The Commits
soners are forbidden by law to create de-
ficiency. and therefore there is no way in
which the cleaning work can be carried on
at this time with q prospect of Congress
providing for the Indebtedness which would
necessarily be incurred.
The order stopping work at noon today
30 ,3z
braces practically every prominent thor
oughfare within the city. 1t was decided
to allow the machine sweeping to be pur-
sued to finish today and not to call out
that force on Saturday, as will be done
in the case Of the hand cleaners.
stutIer Praying for Rain.
The cleaning Saturday will probably be
done in the forenoon, as it is reckoned the
streets will be in fairly undesirable con-
dition by that time, the lapse of cleaning
continuing all of this afternoon and
throughout tomorrow and Friday. Super
intendent Stutler is still, however, a living
eXemplification of the fact that hope
springs eternal in the human breast" and
is of the opinion that rain may yet inter-
vene to ameliorate the street cleaning con-
ditionS.
In providing for the cleaning and sprin-
King of streets for the present fiscal year
Congress reckoned on winter of the usual
type. with snow and Ice in some quantity.
1t was known that rainy and snowy
days the work of the street cleaning force
was at a standstill. and it was thought the
appropriation of $3.50 900 would carry the
department through to the coming 1st of
July.
The past winter was an exceptionally
mild one, however. and there was mini
mum quantity Of rain and little or no
snow. The street cleaning, as a result,
was carried on nearly every day. The
work Is paid for on the per diem basis, and
the fair weather soon made great inroads
Into the supply of greenbacks at the Com
missioners' disposal
Congress Did Not Give Enough.
A deficiency was foreseen and Congress
before adjournment was asked for an ad-
ditional appropriation. The amount re-
quested was cut exactly in half in confer
ence. After this partially adverse action
by the legislative branch of the govern
ment the weather still continued good
and the forthcoming period of unclean
streets results.
The rainy spell Of some weeks ago, which
called forth unpleasant comments on the
weather by numerous citizens was consid-
cred in the nature OF Intervention by
providence by the superintendent of street
cleaning, for If 1t had not been for the
weeks of rain at that time the appropria-
tion would have been exhausted some time
since and conditions, it is believed, would
have been serious indeed. While the rain
continued to fall the streets We're kept
fairly clean and the cleaning force was
a reS