The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-04-11
.BENNET T'SPLAN TO
ENDDUST NUISANCE
Alderman Wants City's Street
Cleaning Department Put
to Work OIL Broad.
NO CAMPAIGN D oc U M EN- T
Merchants, Whose Stock Is DAM
aged, and Shoppers. Too,
Seek Permanent Relief.

Abolition of the dust nuisance on
Broad Street Will be the slogan of AL
dcrman Bennett In u paper which he
Is preparing to introduce In the Board
to- morrow night. He proposes to In
struct the street Cleaning Committee
to purchase the necessary equipment
to have the shopping section of Broad
Street thoroughly flushed every night
during the summer months. MI Ben
nett Is in earnest in following UP the
subject. and means to push for imme-
diate action, backed by a large num-
Der of Broad Street merchants, the
stock In whose stores is being daily
damaged by great clouds of dust which
blows in with every customer
Mr.. Bennett Is n "holdover" Alder
man. and does not come up for re-
election at this time. So he says that
he cannot be accused of making cam
paign material or catering 20 the mer y,
chants vote He is a member both OF
the Council Committees on Street
Cleaning and on Water, and is fami-
liar with the conditions In each de-
partment. The city has the water 10
wash the streets, he says, and II mas
the men and the mules. II may re-
duirc flushing machines to DO me
work properly. but IL so. they should
be secured at once, and 1t is his pur-
pose TO Insist on immediate actloh.
Want Permanent Relief.
The plan of street flushing this
porary expedtent. as the Broad Street
merchants will not be satisfied until
some form of smooth and dustless
paving is laid on that great thorough
fare Already tho Committee on
Streets is looking into the advantages
of the bitulithic paving, and City En-
gineer Boiling is in correspondence
with parties who make a business of
coating old granite paved streets with
q preparation of asphalt. a great
Of ,yprlk has rprpnTly
done in Greater New York, apparently
at no great cost.
The patron OF the ordinance has con-
suited a number of proprietcrs OF the
every instance the report is that their
ANIMAL loss from dust amounts to a
heavy tax. Delicate fabrics spread out
for view and sale arc daily injured,
and often bring much less than their
cost. The merchants claim that the
resulted In recent years In rapid in
crease in rents of the desirable loca-
ton. values and taxes have advanced
accordingly. and au insistcnt demand
is now TO be made on the city Tor re-
lief.
To Urge Special Service.
In past years private companies have
done moro or less street sprinkling at
the cost of such property owners as
would agree by the block to hire them.
And the Street Cleaning department
sprinkles in front of it's machine
brooms. But 1t Is contemplated by Mr..
Bennett that special provision be made
for the shopping section as a conces-
sion to tn ienterests of all the pub
lie which deals in the great stores. lie
would have special men detailed by
the Superintendent of street Cleaning,
with special flushing wagons. such as
are used in the large cities of the
North. to clean and wash the surface
OF the street and the adjoining cross
streets each night: not allow the dust
to accumulate and then rise in great
clouds when the machine sweepers
come along. Several Councilman who
have been approached on the subject
agree that the merchants on Main and
Broad are entitled to relief, and that
pending the putting of Broad Street n
proper condition AID the paving OF the
dusty cross streets leading to 1t. the
regular flushing offers the best solu-
ton.