The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-05-20
Failure to Appropriate the
Amounts Regarded as Abb
soluteIy Necessary for the
Work the Chief Cause.
Estimates of Commissions
ers, Based Upon Close
CaIcuiasion, Invariably Cut
Down in Committee.

washington is that the streets are not
well cleaned. Whatever may be said of
the comparative superiority OF the Capt.
tai City in this particular, it is true the
payements are not as free OF filth or
the public spaces as clean of waste pa
per and other debris they ought to be.
II is not the purpose OF this article
TO discuss the merits OF hand cleaning
over machine sweeping or flushing.
Those are details of department admin
istration with economic involutions
that do not particularly interest Che
public. The main thing is the pave
ments are not clean. Every wind that
blows carries the dust into the eyes OF
the pedestrian, and watts it into the
houses to the distress of the Clearly
souls who preside there. Parks and
parking are Uttered with paper; banana
peels, orange skins, apple cores and the
like are a common sight, and drifts of
sand accumulate in quiet hooks and cor
ners with every high wind.
Shortage in Appropriations.
There Is no cloaking the fact that the
condition of the streets and public
which the District or the United States
Government is responslble-are not kept
in good condition. Observation tends to
the belief that cleanliness is not in-
creasing.
The blame for dirty streets does not
rest primarily upon the District authori-
ties, but upon Congress. For years the
Street Cleaning Department has urged
larger appropriations; the District
Commissioners have included them in
their tables of estimates; the question
has been argued at length before the
committees of both houses, and when
the appropriation bills have been I'm
.shed they have been invariably many
thousands of dollars short of thu
amounts thought necessary for the work
of cleaning the streets. The result has
been that with the increase OF the pop
ulation of the city the extension of
streets and the larger area Of pave
ments 10 clean there have been increas
ing accumulations of filth which could
not be removed from the highways. The
municipal authorities do not pretend
TO say matters are not gradually going
from bad to worse.
Some of the Cuts.
few facts relative TO appropriations
accompanied with the sums asked for
since 1900 will serve to illuminate the
situation. In the fiscal year ended June
80. 1900, the appropriation was $155. 900.
of which Sal 900 was spent in the actual
cleaning OF streets. avenues, alleys, and
unimproved streets. For the next fiscal
year the Commissioners estimated that
S169, 400 was necessary an increase of
s14,4 400. The Superintendent of Street
Cleaning said the increase was required
for the extension OF the hand cleaning
service. which had met with universal
acceptance That year, SO7. o0O, 900 square
yards were cleaned by hand at a cost of
sos. 900.
For the next fiscal year, Congress ap-
propriated $3.50 900, OF which s139, 900 was
spent in actual street cleaning. That
year also a deficiency appropriation
was allowed OF Sc. 240, and at the end of
the year it became necessary TO suspend
operations for three days owing to de-
hcienoy of funds. Hand cleaning was in
creased to 413. 765. 900 square yards. the
cost being about S68 600
For the next fiscal year the Commits
sioners asked for s225. 900 and $3.50 900
was appropriated. In the appropriation
bill for that year a clause was contain
ed that the fund should be apportioned
go that there would be no deficit, and
no cessation of work.
Suspension of Work.
For the current fscal year, $3.50 600
was asked and the appropriation was
again made $4,000. with the same con-
ditions as in the preceding year. This
year IT became necessary TO suspend
work on every third day in January and
February, in order TO piece the appro-
printion out 70 the end of June
The authorities recognize they are
left with too little money TO clean the
streets properly. Instead of $3.50. O00, of
which about 1925. 900 only can be devoted
TO cleaning the streets. the balance be-
ing required for sprinkling. salaries.
and other expenses the appropriation
should be s250.0o0. of which 5000, 900 ap-
proximately could be spent In cleaning
operations. That sum would bring about
much better conditions
For the past two years there has been
no increase of money available for
street cleaning, although many streets
have been paved. alleys extended. and
tho area TO be cleaned increased by 8
per cent.
All Sections Treated Alike.
Mr.. stutler is opposed on principle TO
the cleaning of streets in one section of
the District to the neglect of those in
some other section. An effort is made
80 to arrange the schedules as to give
every part of the District the same at
tention, other things being equal. This
policy will be pursued. The authorities
prefer the whole city should be dirty
than that the thoroughfares lined BY
the mansions of the rich should be swept
clean and the poorer parts of the city
neglected. This accounts for the grad
uaI but sure deterioration IN the GEN
eral cleanliness of the District
Under present arrangements a large
part Of the paved streets is swept once
svery twenty four hours. at night. They