Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-16
HONEY MELTS MOVING SNOW
Street Commissioner Flynn Says Elk
pense is Heavy.
TWELVE HUNDRED PER WEEK
Insists He Must Save His A%pprOpriR-
tiOn for Spring and summer, In
stead of Spending Most Of
IL First Month.

street Commissioner Tom Flynn was
asked concerning the present condition Of
the streets OF Omaha and what he intends
to do about It.
"All that can be done Is being done"
said the commissioner. IF we are to
have any money left for taking care OF
the streets in the spring and summer. a
minutes figuring will show this condition:
The total sum available will be possibly
1000 for the whole year, but we can fig
ure on only about $500 with certainty.
At present we are spending 81, 200 a week,
which is about the amount we ordinarily
spend per month at this season OF the
year. We have twenty-five teams at work
and four gangs of men. TIL teams cost
us 500 a day, and 81 a day per man. with
the salaries of four foremen, make up the
balance.
Now, 1 could easily mass all these teams
and men on one street. or at any one par.
ticular point, and make a great showing;
but that would not be a fair deal, We
have so many calls to answer, so many
places where immediate attention is de.
manded, that the men and teams must be
distributed to the best advantage. Take
the alleys, for instance. Since the heavy
snowfalls immense quantities of snow and
| Ice nave Deen llTOWn lTOh the TOOLS anu
the sides of buildings into the alleys. That
stuff must be removed. so that business
men and teamsters can have the use of
the alleys.
Danger from Piled Up snow.
Men like John L. Kennedy, Charles Kar-
bach and other owners Of buildings, in
Guiding the city officials, have been urgent
in their demands that the alleys be cleaned
Of snow and ice, so that they will not be
flooded when the thaw comes later on.
They are entitled TO protection. and any
citizen who has taken a look into the alleys
in the down town district knows that tre-
mendous damage must ensue to business
houses IL the piled up snow and ice Is not
removed.
TT costs money to remove snow. to say
nothing of frozen material, from any one
street or any one alley, but this depart
ment cannot go ahead and spend half of
its appropriation in a few weeks.
There is where the law is weak, as has
often been pointed out, in not giving the
council any authority to meet emergencies
such as we are facing now.
II notice by The Bee this morning that
in New York $500, 900 has been spent since
the first of the year in taking snow from
the streets, and that $sOO,OOO more will be
spent before the result of yesterdays storm
is cleared away. Compare that expense
for two or three weeks clearing work with
Omaha's total appropriation for a Year and
it will not be difficult to arrive at the con.
clusion that our city charter needs somt
drastic revising.
Must Do Some Worrying.
With an allowance permitting an aver
age expense of $1,000 a week throughout
the year, the street commissioner is com.
PEELED to do some worrying over the best
method of distributing his expenditures
No one knows the existing condition better
than l do, and no one knows the extent OF
street and alley territory to be covered
any better. We are hauling off the streets
and out OF the alleys an average of ovel
$50 loads a day right along, yet the i'm
preston made on the accumulations ii
hardly noticeable to the passerby. In &
week we have moved and dumped int
sewers more than 1900 loads.
IF we could have hired enough team!
and men to move 100000 loads there would
still be kicking. 1 do not want to shirk an!
responsibility that is Justly mine, but l d.
desire the exact condition of our funds Il
be known. Lack Of sufficient money fol
/, emergencies is the key to the whole situa
ton