The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-10-17
PUT CONTRACTORS
IN POLICE COURT
Street Committee Seeks to Get
Rid of fragrant OBJ
structions.
REQUIRE PAVING REPLACED
Engineer Told to Proceed If
Necessary Against De
partment Heads.

distractions to streets by building
material and negligence of both con-
tractors and city departments In re-
placing paving after eXcavating in the
highways were discussed by the Street
Committee last night at length. Both
We're held to be matters of police reg
ulation. In the enforcement of which
the polio Department has been neEll-
gent. and u letter was ordered sent to
the Chief of Police calling his atten-
ton 70 the situation.
MIR. Lynch specified two-story OBJ
struction at Seventeenth and Grace
Streets. the obstruction eight steps
high over the sidewalk in front Of the
Kaufman building at Fourth and Broad
Streets, a place in First Street which
has been used as "A dumping ground
for old brick for the past sixty days.
in which time no work has heen done.
and other points. all in violation OF
city. Mr.. Lynch asserted. must have
climbed over the kaufman obstruc-
tton-there was usually an officer sta
toned at Fourth and Broad Streets
yet not once had this contractor whose
violation of the ordinance was such
an Inconvenience to the public. bsen
reported TO the Police Court.
Broad Street near the City Hall,
piled high with material, which in the
course of construction cannot be used
for many months. was cited. as was
Capitol Street. where two-thirds of
the street is used by builders in direct
defiance of ordinance, while the police
sleep at the switch" The commit tee
unanimously ordered vigorous letter
sent to the Chief of Police. calling at
tention to those matters
Streets Left Full of Holes.
Mr.. Adams brought up the matter
OF failure of contractors TO replace
streets in proper condition He called
attention to Main Street in front of
the new Travellers Building, recently
repaved by the city at great expense.
and now patched and full of holes
where conduit workers and others
have made excavations and failed to
lay the required concrete foundation
for tho paving. City Engineer Boiling
said that he was In Il position to force
rcpaving in such cases with city con-
tractors. but that he had found 1t i'm
possible to make the City Gas and
Water Departments repair the streets;
that they were the most nagrant of
tenders.
Cant you put them in the Police
Court?" asked Mr. Lynch.
Yes. / could. il you want city de-
partment heads treated That way"
Then do It." was the answer. The
committee Will back you up. and after
few stif fines, Superintendent
Knowles and Davis will be more care
full. The Electricity Department should
be required to make repairs also be-
fore the year elapses in which they
have their contractor under bond"
Notified Dozen Times.
II have notified Mr.. Tramord in
writing not less than a dozen times"
answered Mr.. Boiling, "of those holes
in the streets. and urged that he re-
quire the contractors to make repairs
before the bond expires, but nothing
has been done"
Then put Mr.. Trafford in the Police
Court at once, along with Knowles and
Davis answered Mr. Lynch. II sug-
gest that 1t be made the sense of this
committee that the City Engineer is
required to report such Violations of
ordinances to the Police Court in every
case"
This was adopted. as was a sugges-
ton OF Chairman Adams that the City
Engineer designate a man from the
Street Department TO inspect streets.
follow up contractors and all those
given permits to dig in the streets, and
see that they make proper repairs. and.
where sinks are not repaired, press
prosecutions in every case
Manager Graves. of the Standard OIL
Company, requested a rehearing of the
former action of the committee in re-
fusing to pay for unsatisfactory street
oiling. on report of the City Chemist
that the samples submitted did not con-
In or Of n
On later analyses the samples were
found to have traces of the asphalt.
ana the matter was referred to the
city Engineer for further inquiry and
report, though several members of the
committee stated frankly that the OIL
ing had ben failure. changing merely
the color of the mud. and that what.
ever the chemists final report. they
would oppose paying the bill
Mrs. Franklin I'll.