Evening star., 1909-09-03
KEEPING Big CITIES CLEAN
METHODS OF CLEARING RUB
BISH FROM THE STREETS.
How the Work Is Done in Paris
and Berlin-Broad Ways Swept
by Machine.

| From the Engineering Digest.
| Paris is one of the cleanest and most
beautiful of cities many of its streets
| being built in accordance with wise and
| comprehensive plans. Many of the bOule.
| wards which run through the heart of the
| city are ia feet & inches in width and
others are wider. The Avenue de rOpera
| one Of the largest streets, is 90 feet {
| inches wide and has a roadway of SO feet
| inches. The Avenue des Champs Elysees
has a total width of 233 feet and a road
| way Of SO feet 6 inches. This may be
| compared with 5th avenue in New York
| 100 feet wide with a roadway of 40 feet
| and Broadway. 50 feet wide with road
| way of a. feet. Trees, gravel footways
and benches are features of Partisan
streets.
are charged with the construction and
maintenance of streets and sidewalks as
we'll as with sweeping the streets and
sidewalks, sprnkling the roadways. re-
moving house refuse and removing dirt, ice
and snow from the streets.
The work is done by branch Of the de-
partment of public works. The technical
skill required is drawn from the national
governments Corps des Points ct Chaus-
sees and from a corps of engineers be-
longing to the city service. Many of the
streets are parts of national highways
and the total cost of maintaining and
cleaning is largely borne by the govern
ment.
The street cleaning operations are per-
formed by the city with the exception of
the driving of carts. of sweeping ma
chimes and Of sprinkling wagons which,
with the horses employed in these opera
tions. are furnished by contractors. but
the apparatus belongs to the city. The
horses, carts and drivers of the refuse
carts are furnished by contractors and
the material collected belongs to them
The streets are generally swept by ma
chimes and the sidewalks are cleaned by
hand brooms. between and Z o'clock a. m
when the vehicular travel is light The
streets are first watered by sprinkling
carts and then promptly swept by horse
brooms, and then men with brooms or
shovels or, IL the weather is wet, squee-
gees, pile the material.
Role Of the Contractor.
House refuse is collected by contract,
but with the aid of one ragpicker and two
helpers in the employ of the city. Rag
pickers.. generally women. overhaul the
refuse on the sidewalk during the opera
tions of the street cleaning department
before the collecting carts arrive. After
the carts have passed, the cutters are
cleaned of tn wastes collected by the
street cleaninc operations. Street dirt
which can be shoveled is hauled away in
carts: the re. is flushed into the sewers.
Gutter f1us -ng is one of the most prom
inent featur of Paris street cleaning, the
water beir, obtained from hydrants con-
cealed beneath the sidewalks. When the
water Is turned on 1t usually flows in one
way or the other along the street accord
ing to the grade, but If the grade is in
sufficient for this purpose, the direction of
flow Is regulated by temporarily damming
the gutter by means of coarse cloths. AS
the water advances. it spreads out over
tne dry surface. picking up large amount
OF dust and solid matter. which Is carried
INTO the sewers by the assistance of an
-attendant armed with a long-handled stiff
broom. who sweeps into the gutter such
dlrt as is visible from the sidewalk and
from the street for a distance of eight or
ten feet from the curb
The principal cleaning which the streets
receive is done by horse-propelled brooms
with bristles of split bamboo which are
capable of sweeping 7.175 square wards
per hour with the horse walking about
% miles per hour, or an amount Of
sweeping equal to the work of about ten
men.
Horse-propelled squeegees are employ-
ed on asphalt and wood pavements They
are of simple design. resembling common
road scrapers. with the scraping edge set
like a machine broom i'm an oblique direc
tion to scrape the refuse to one side
These squeegees are useful in rainy
weather and when the dirt on the streets
can be sortened by sprinkling carts so
that il is ready to be moved like mud
Softenng by sprinkling followed by
squeegeeing or sweeping with rotary