The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-03-20
GAIT LAKE HIGHWAYS.

SALT LAKE HIGHWAYS.
1t seems that some of the councilmen
don't like The Herald's pictures Of
State street conditions. Neither does
The Herald like them. They are in
teresting as illustrating the kind Of
management the street department of
this administration is giving us. but
they are not pretty as advertisements
of municipal incompetency, nor are
they calculated to promote admiration
for the men who have left them in
such condition.
In the selection Of State street as
a horrible example. several objects
were in mind. 1t is the main thorough
fare into the city from the south: it
carries more travel than any other
street in the city; it is conspicuous in
the eyes of visitors, who always pass
that way to see the City and County
building If any street in Salt Lake
deserved and needed special attention,
it was State street; and if it was in bad
condition, the other streets might
reasonably be expected to fare even
worse.
The contract for paving State street,
Main street and Fourth South was let
over a year ago. The property owners
have paid their money for the work
and the cash is in the bank earning
somebody, not the city, a profit in the
way of interest.
West First South, which was con-
tracted later, has been paved promptly.
Why?
The Big Cottonwood work was pushed
by the same contractor. P. ]. Moran.
fast enough for him to claim $3.50 bon
us for completing ahead of time.
Why?
After the State street contract was
let, the same contractor completed
big job at Garfield and let the city's
work go undone Why?
The telephone company and the gas
company dug up State street and filled
the trenches so badly that a team is
i'm danger and a wagon is sure to stall
II either attempts to cross these
trenches. The street supervisor. Jake
Raleigh. whose duty it is to protect
the public streets. permitted these con-
tractors to ruin the main thoroughfare
of the city without protest or effort to
remedy the evil Why?
Councilman HOLIDAY very properly
calls attention to the frightful condi-
ton of Fourth West street, where
heavy traffic is crippled by bad roads.
He might have included Second South
beyond Seventh East; in the same cat
egory belongs First avenue, the let
tered streets crossing ii. Second avenue,
and nearly every dirt street in the city |
where the gas and sewer contractors |
have ruined the roads with impunitv.
50 that travel in any direction off paw /
ed streets is dangerous and costly to |
any vehicle.
An expenditure of $4,000 or more /
would not suffice TO repair the actual /
damage done the streets by contrac- |
tors; twice that sum would not serve 4
to meet the cost of Raleigh's negli- /
genee. Further, the city may expect /
- -Ae-h NeA-AAeASO suns vi It's HANDS Tor ]
injury TO teams and vehicles if it con-
tinues to neglect the repair of the dead |
falls that await traffic in a hundred
places around town.
The fact is, and the entire
administration knows it. even Raj
eigh, that the streets of Salt
Lake would disgrace a Sanpete ham,
let of a hundred persons. They are
the ridieule of every stranger who
comes here. particularly as they con-
trast with the pretentiousness of the /.
city in other respects. The money that
is spent on them. outside of paving.
is dissipated. wasted. thrown away
through ineompetency or worse
If a few Photographic parallels ON
these conditions serve 10 arouse the
TO same sort Of action. the
money and space is we'll spent. Nor
viii talk such as Blacks serve to re-
move public attention and criticism
from the unacceptable fact that the
blame for these conditions rests on the
81 American" administration and its al
legged supervisor Of streets. Raleigh.