The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1907-04-19
STREET excavations.


Some lime ago The Bulletin sur,
gested that an equitable method be
adopted BY the city authorities for dis.
posing Of the material which is exca-
waited from the streets where improve.
ments are made. Under the improves
ment ordinances thus far passed The
material is taken possession OF By the
city and contractors arc required 10
remove 1t from the improved street
70 any point thar may be designated
by The city authorities, nor to exceed
two thousand feet from whtre ii Is
excavated. This method Is giaringFy
unfair in its operation 10 the owner
Of properly on the street whnece Tie
material is removed. He Is first tax,
ed VI pay for placing the material
on the street; then he is taxed foe.
excavatlng II and again for remoyias
Il 10 some other street. But the mos
irritating feature of this process Is
that the material is used TO fill some
other street free OF cost TO the own
efs OF properly on that street. For
instance: The material excavatel
from Twentycighth S rect in order to
pave that street had pcen paid for by
owners OF property on that str ct
when II was placed there: In the paw.
Ing OF this street these citizens were
again faxed for tho excavation and
again for hauling Il away, and il was
placed on Tw ntyninth street which
needed fill ng, free Of cost 10 the own
ers of property there Thus the citi
zens on Twenty-eighth street wera
taxed three lines for handling the
same material. the last time for the
benefit of the people on Twenty.nlnth
street. who paid nothing at all.
The Bulletins suggestion was that he
material 10 be excavated in building
the big sewer. and in making any 9th
or street improvements hereafter. be
sold TO the highest bidder. The money
fhas obtained could be devoted 10 gen
eral street repair work, thus giving !
the public as a Who'll some benefit |
from the transaction.
Another method which may be even
better taan this has been suggested /
II is that when bids for any street
improvement are advertised for II be
stipulated that the excavated material /
shall belong to the contractor TO be
disposed of by him to his own best
advantage. Al first thought this prom.
osition looks unfair. but when ana
lyzed II seems to offer the only
method by which the owner of the
property abuting the street proposed /
TO be improved can be given the direrg 1,
benefit of the disposal of the material.
or be saved al least the cost Of exca.
waiting and removing the same. after
having ben previously taxed to place I
II there. The contractor in making ,
up his bid for any Improvement pro. {
posed to be made must under the :
now in vogue. take into ac- !
count the cost OF excayating and r. ,
moving the material and he makes I
his bid accordingly. compelling the I
owners of property along the proposed !
improvement to stand the cost. Under I
the method here suggested the con /
tractor wonld eliminate this cost from 8
h's bid. taking the material as a ,
stand-off fer the excavating and re I
and make his bid on the i'm II
prosenient correspondence lower. a
Thus the property owner will get the Ii
benefit of the material. in the way II
lower assessment for the improve
menf This method Is pursued in c
other fiiies end has the appearance {
II fairness. The contractor takes the il
and disposes of II 70 the .
ses; advantage for himself. making a