New-York tribune., 1912-12-28
sMechanical Sweepers Approved.

years.
sMechanlca Sweepers Approved.
'rhc Emerson street sweeping ma
chine. TO which | suppose the commits
sioner refers. is not perfect by any
means, but following the tests made with
it by the department, there appear To be
be great possibilities in it. Its use un-
doubtedly would save the employment OF
great number OF men i'm some Of the
districts. and these men could be added
to the force Of hand sweepers on the East
Side and other congested districts, where
mechanical sweeping is not practical The
best auto truck so far produced is the
one turned out at the state prison at
Sing Sing and recently Experimental
with here. but that does not keep down
the dust as such a machine should. 1t
seemed to work very well, however The
trouble is that one side has TO be wholly
opened when filling. and that makes dust.
There should be some method invented 50
that the ashes and waste are mechani-
cally distributed i'm the body Of the truck.
But perhaps that will come later. Every
cart in use now is provided with cover
for the refuse. but you see very few OF
them in actual use about the city why
not insist that the ones we have are used
instead of getting new ones, as the COM
missioner suggests
Il have always advocated night clean
ing as much as possible. The big problem
of the disposition of ashes, garbage and
refuse by the Street Cleaning Depart
ment has never been worked out as IT
should be- All Of the refuse should be
concentrated in one place for disposition
| instead Of separated and reduced in two
! or three different places as now. 1t Is no
secret that the equipment Of the Street
! Cleaning Department is antiquated and
I, uneconomical, and has been for years"
WINS Makes Suggestion.
William NJ. WINS. a member of the for
mer city Charter Commission. said that
! Commissioner Edwards's suggestions We're
good. but doubted that they could be car
ried into effect properly under the present
| lack of cooperation Of the different CITY
departments. He said
There is plenty Of room for cleaner
| streets but we can't have cleaner streets
under the present condition of our popu-
lation without having a better enforce
ment Of all the public ordinances. There
will have to be better cooperation be-
| tween the Police Department. the Health
| Department. the street Cleaning Depart
ment and the borough presidents to carry
out these suggestions. one of the reasons
| that argue against il Is the cross-division
and subdivision OF power in the different
departments and the inability TO get bu-
reau cooperation. The next thing re-
quired is an absolutely up-to-date plant.
[ 1T would cost Sl5.C000pO or $20,oo0,o1o. bls
| it would be. economy to make the OUTLAY.
provided the human element was eff
cient. 1t would include a better mechan-
! ical plant entire. better hauling plant and
a generally better equipment The result
! Commissioner Edwards IS aiming ut
would be cheap at any cost. but the ques-
/ ton is whether il can be carried out under
present political conditions. / don't be-
lieve any one can give us cleaner streets
unless the plan along the lines suggested
! by Commissioner Edwards is adopted.
| Robert Grier Cooke, president of the
! Fifth Avenue Association. said that ne
considered the commissioner hard
worker. a good listener and man VINO
| sought counsel and advice whenever pos
/ sible. lie said that one OF the great dill
cultics in dealing with such municipal
: problems is the fact that the public has
no adequate idea Of the working details
of the city departments. and he com
mendcd Commissioner Edwards's sugses-
/ tions Of educating the public In mat
respect.
Motor trucks. street sweeping ma
| chimes and other mechanical devices sug-
gested by Commissioner Edwards have
| long been needed" he said. 1T is d
pleasing suggestion that the gangs Of
| sweepers on the East Side and In other
! congested districts are to be increased
and the work done at night as much as
! possible. ] have always believed that the
work should be done ia all parts of tn"
city at a time when it intcrferes least
WIN traffic and the people wherever pos
siblc. Mr.. Edwards is in a particularly
good position 90 bring about the best
work i'm his department.