Putnam patriot., 1911-05-05
Street SpriakiinS

One must eat peck of dirt durin
 ones life Is the old saying, and it hs proved to be so in this city the pas . two weeks, providing more than on . peck does not contravene the rule, a
 most people who have been about tn
 city's streets the past two weeks bega
 on their second peck long ago. The. have also had their eyes, ears an'
 noses filled day after day with browr
 oily dust. IL has been a most unplea
 sant experience and as most peopl
 wanted to blame some one for the an
 noying situation they immediately
 turned 10 the mayor and members o
 the Common Council and these gentle
 nen have had one hard time of it.
 Mayor Gaynor of New York uttered
 a truism when he said recently: "We
 in office have to take things ss they 1 come and often be misunderstood
 when we are pursuing the fbest course
 and doing the most good" The mem-
 bers of the present city government have been untiring in their lsbors to serve the best interests of the city
 They have had duties thrust upon them which have entailed great re- sponsibility. Duties which no other
 council has had, and which no other council will have. Every mem
 Der has had his work to do, but the
 bfnnt of the labor has fallen to the
 highway committee and they have gone about il cheerfully and as un- plainingly as though their remu- neration was commensurate with their duties And IL is upon this oVer-wOrked committee that street sprinkling pn- marly falls. We say primarily mean ing primarily az far as the council Is concerned, but really primarily the matter rests upon the shoulders Of the public and it is the citizens them selves that are fundamentally respon. sibe for the situation.
 Last syear petition to have the streets oiled was presented to the coun. cil and che .wishes of the petitioners 1 carried into effect. This year when | the matter Of sprinkling was first | brought up in the council some | months ago il was learned that there | was some opposition to having oil | used another year. It was thought by the council that if oil was used again that another petition would have to be brought in to make iL legal so that assessments icould be collected. As the time drew nearer and nearer for The actual neei of settling the ques- lion the council members began ask Ing one another whether the citizens would again express their wishes. The attitude, as they expressed L. was, that "lt Is up to the people to lay what they want in the matter of | treel sprlnkling, not to the couneil.U And the council waited for an ,expres lon Of the people but waited in vain. ( They waited as long as they could, possibly too long, and then called the pecial city meeting to make an ap- ( 'ropriation for sprinkling. Not half ozen abbutters of the streets to be prinkled took interest enough in the natter to appear at the meeting and ote lthe appropriation or express a 1 reference as to lthe material they {, esired to be used on the streets.
 At the last meeting of the council 1 ! onditions had become so bad and so numerous that the coun- c Il took the matter into their own T ands. The highway committee rought the question up and brought
 up imperatively. They said that ne situation must be met and met at nee. All but one of the council bought the best results were obtained y using oil and they said their 1inions were subtantiated by nearly r cry person whom they had inter. eWed upon the subject The result II as a vote of the council to have the oi ghway committee purchase oil for is 'eet sprinkling purposes. Had the liens come forward as they did q P' ar ago, and as lthe council had m )unds to believe they would this tn ar, at an early date the delay would co ve been aVerted:
 But the oil has been ordered and re- oi. Is in sight. During the days be. pr the oil can arrive the highway ar have made arrangements to foI inkle temporarily with wnter, al- 'V' ugh owing to the oily condition of o streets complete relief cannot be oe o acted. f,S 'hese are substantially the facts thatiSas Ve caused the delay in street sprink k'au. <, and for which the highway COZ "",N' tee and the council have beeuFout tue tly criticized. The council and shn the people, and the peopArs with jm- the council, and in theethst shei un. "iius oleW ana the ~ waited
 .~.- le waited