The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-06-10

City Engineer Rundlett is making
out bill to the street railway com
pany that calls for more than $500 a
week for the three months previous to
June 1, the account being based upon
the acceptance by the company of the
rule that it shall pay for its propor-
ton of the cost of the cleaning Of the
streets it uses.
The engineer will report that the
company is willing to pay for the
sweeping of the streets, but that it
makes objection to giving assistance in
the matter of the cost of flushing the
streets, taking the position that the
washing is an extra cleansing precau-
ton that is not absolutely necessary.
Some months ago resolution passed
both bodies of the city council and was
approved by Mayor Smith requiring
that the street railway company pay it's
proportion of the cost of cleaning the
streets that its tracks occupy. The COM
pany accepted the conditions laid down
in the resolution, filing a written ac-
ceptance with the city clerk More re-
Gently resolution passed the assem-
bly, demanding that the city engineer
report monthly to the city council on
the amount due from the street rail-
way company for such work, and the
resolution is now pending in the board
of aldermen, with every chance of be-
ing passed.
Would Test the Question
There is, an apparent disposition
upon the part of the different city off,
cials responsible to bring the question
to. a test, believing that the street rail-
way company should pay an amount
for the cleaning OF the street equal to
the proportion of the different streets
that are occupied by tracks. The fat
refusal of the company to pay any
thing toward the flushing, which is
considered one of the essential features
Of cleaning the streets, will likely raise
the question anew and give the menr-
bers of the present council an opper-
tunity to enforce what was apparently
conceded by the street railway COM
pany when it accepted the order to pay
a proportion of the cost of cleaning
the streets, namely. that the city coun-
ell can compel the company to bear
the entire expense of street sprinkling
and street cleaning on all thorough
fares traversed by street railway
tracks.
Resistance Is Expected
If this rule should be enforced it is
figured that the estimate of the city
engineer that it will cost the company
$200 week under the present arrange
ment would amount to three times
what it does, or about $500 a week.
That the company would fight any such
adjustment of the ENHANCEMENT re-
garding the sweeping and cleaning of
the streets there is no doubt, but 1t is
felt by Corporation Attorney Michael
and others who have made study of
the question, that the company can be
compelled to care for all the streets
that it occupies, and some of the au-
thorities go further and say that if this
rule obtains the street railway COM
pany can be compelled to take entire
charge of the streets that it uses, in
Guiding the replacing of pavements.
Engineer Rundlett's report will be
ready in few days and will go before
the next meeting of the city council, at
which time it is expected that the re-
fusal of the company to pay its pro-
portion of the cost of the flushing of
the streets will bring the entire ques-
tion before the city legislative bodies.