Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-23

IL
teachers presence. so they leave early in
the afternoon, shoulder to shoulder, q
valiant, stout-hearted little band.
Snow. and still cold. The good house
wife is all a-bustle with her teapot, her
eldest daughter Is solicitously keeping the
great oven heated while Farmer Jenkins
himself sweeps the road In both directions
from a convenient window. Pretty soon
mis- vigil is rewarded. Floundering ludi-
crously around the turn comes sleigh, but
before he can form the words the Jingle of
the bells has caused the pot to be cl7pped
on the stove and fresh wood to be fed to
the already blazing fire. Then, as the horse
staggcrs up to the gate the farmer and his
hired man spring out. the one hustling the
occupants into the house, the other leading
the animal TO the barn, there to rub It down
and other wise renew Its strength for the
miles still to be covered
Given Best the Home Affords.
Absolute strangers are the travellers, but
they are placed in the easiest chairs before
the roaring fire. Cup after cup OF hot tea
is poured for them. Robes and wraps are
cleaned of their burden of frozen dust. The
big slab of marble is reheated in the ample
oven, carefully rewrapped and with words
Of cheer, travellers and beast are sent on
their way, after which preparations are
made to receive other half-frozen men and
horses that the day may bring forth.
Snow, blown and swirled about until, IN
long stretches, the main road shows frozen
wheels ruts, and elsewhere great drifts
from fence line to fence line. completely
blocking travel. The pathmaster Of the
New York state town, the road supervisor
Of the Illinois township, somehow notifies
the farmers that he intends to open up the
road. Ayerse as many farmers are to
working Off their road taxes, as well as to
paying them, yet when the summons come
to fall to on certain drift they assemble
with shovels and tackle the mountain of
c1,c xybf wit a zqSf that fnSnreS
the small boys to trim the sides OF the cut
particularly smooth
Or the road may be too badly blocked
with drifts, and the pathfinder or super
visor decides to open up temporary pas
sage around the drifts through some mans
fields Does the farmer object strenuously?
As a rule, he is the first to be at tearing
down his fences, and perhaps his own team
of oxen drag the homemade snow plow
that scrapes off enough of the fall to make
travelling. if not comfortable, at least pos
sible ,nss
Snow-and a realizing sense of the nu-
merous benefits 1t confers impartially on
one and ALL undoubtedly makes the coun-
try-side look with healthful philosophy on
the many detrments and suffering that in
variably come in its train.
The City Dweller and Snow.
But the city dweller, sadly out OF touch
with beneficent nature, is apt to look on
snow as thing accursed-except when he
is fortunate enough to be guest in q
moneyed friends cutter in brush in the
park. Snow blocks the trolley tracks, packs
on the third rail Of the IL" lines, causing
him to be from an hour to a full morning
late at his Office. Up goes his coal bill,
% to 90 cents a ton, because of increa Sed
expense in hauling. His truck horses slip
and fall, frequently injuring themselves be-
You'd further usefulness and involving him
In tedious civil suits for damages with the
city. His clerks and assistants straggle
in, way behind the clock, from the sub
urbs His business becomes disorganzed;
out-of-town orders cannot be delivered
promptly, because of inert railroads, to
say nothing Of local delivery difficulties.
And when he turns to the telephone and
the telegraph, realizing that he cannot de-
pend upon the mails for important COM
munications, he discovers that the wires
have gone down under the weight of the
crystallized dampness. He frets lest his
house catching fire, the smoke eaters will
not be able to force their way into his
street in time to save his roof-that, IL they
do, the fire plugs will be hard to reach be-
cause of snow. And yet, this very snow
fall, elsewhere. melting, will make large
tracts of deserts blossom as the rose" and
In his own city 1t Is tightening even now
his portion of philanthropy burden by Civ
ing needed employment to thousands and
cheer to many man fighting desperately
for self-support and self-respect.
$2,OOO,O 600 for Snow Removal.
Except for the reasonable profit that
went to the man who had the contract for
removing snow from the streets OF New
York city last winter two million dollars
lined the pockets of the men who shoyeled
the whiteness into great mounds In the
streets and carted 1t away to the water
side. From five to ten thousand men and
as many as six thousand carts-an that
were available in the city and surrounding
suburbs-were used to remove from LOO
miles of street all the snowfalls of more
than two and a half inches each AT one
period these thousands of human and
wheeled instruments were employed stead
lily. day and night. from February to
March 20, six weeks In cold cash 1t cost
the city to remove this, its worst snow
storm. over three-quarters of million dol
lars.
When 1t is said that 1900 miles of street
We're cleaned of snow, 1t is meant that the
Ito miles of streets named to be cleaned by
the bureau of snow removal of the depart
ment Of street cleaning were cleaned a. suf-
hcient number OF times to make the total
number of miles of street cleaned from curb
line to curb line reach LOO. From New
York to Chicago, by one of the two great
railroads running thence, the distance IS
only 0O4 miles. Fifty-five million square
yards OF surface were cleaned, and 18,0O0,
900 cubic yards of snow removed The con-
tract price of removal per cubic yard, va
ried from Sh cents to II cents per cubic
:
places. These figures do not include the
snow removed by the street railway COM
panies, under the terms of their respective
franchises, nor that carted off by the regl1-
lar employees of the department of street
cleaning after the aches and garbage of the
day were removed.
That the city's business may be inter-
rupted as little as possible. when snow
OF contract depth falls, 1t Is removed from
all the streets below 14th and from practi-
caliy all the streets between 18th and 59th
streets. while such important arteries al
Broadway are given attention tile greater
part OF their length-Broadway being
cleaned right down to the asphalt from
Bowling Green to 10th street, seven and
one-half miles distant. And from Bowling
Green on down to the Battery the Island IS
swept clean.
Longing for a White Christmas.
And yet. though contract snow begins
falling late In the afternoon. and because
OF the wonderful organisations of snow buJ
reau and contractor. the workers behold II
heaped In mounds all along Broadway from
Bowling Green to 2sd street when they go.
downtown next morning. many curse the
snow and all connected with It's removal
The reason7 It has not yet been removed
from In front of their respective places OF
business. Snow brings out any unreaeon,
any blind se56ehnHS1, that may lurk In