Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1913-11-28

| LIE UOoA " W din % Atlp SitJ
is one of the mot famous
streets in the World. 1t is
likewise one of the nost Inn
portant, reckoned by the num-
Der Of people whose footsteps Traverse
1t. And it is undeniably ope Of the
most interesting. having no Counter
part as thoroughfare anywhere on
the earth.
1t is the most expensive street, bar
none. Every three or four Years it
has to be repaved with planks at q
cost Of about $14O.00O-tpough the
work is done gradually. and not all at
once. The annual bill for keeping 1t
clean and in repair is $a5,O0o' As 1t
stands today the boardwslK repre-
sents an expenditure Of nesrly N5, 1000
for construction.
In reference to the clesnlng item
1t should be said that no proom or
mop is ever applied to the surface Of
the boardwalk. 1t keeps itself clean.
Swept by ocean breezes" TO quote a
phrase most dear to propr1etors of
seaside hotels), 1t is ever free from
dust, while the rain and the sea-borne
mist continually wash IL However.
four men, at $2.10 day. are Constant
ly busy at the rather CURIOUS task Of
keeping the cracks clear between the
boards-the object being 10 drain of
the wet
Always Clean and ory.
Other streets may be wet other
streets may be dirty; otper streets
may be obstructed-but tho Boardwalk
never. When snow falls 70 winter it
is cleared away with celerity almost
incredible. The thoroughfares of
Philadelphia and New york may be
wellnigh impossible, but the ocean
pathway at Atlantic City. 90 feet wide,
Is bound to be open for traffic and
dry at that. Presently the sun ap-
pears, and out come the invalids In
chairs on wheels.
AS it stands today, the boardwalk
cost slightly more than 100000 a
mile to build-the length OF 1t being
four and third miles Originally
1t was composed of planbs laid upon
the sand of the beach. but these were
repeatedly washed away py the cruel,
crawling waves. and the Joss and dis.
comfort occasioned eventpail brought
about the erection of the permanent
structure of today. Upheld by pillars
and girders which defy the tooth of
time and energy Of tpe elements.
Hyperbole aside, however, it may
be confessed that this element-defy-
ing condition is only nov beginning
to be reached through the substitu.
ton Of REINFORCED Concrete for steel
piles, which. as sad experience has
proved, are hardly moe enduring
than wood, owing to the destructive
action Of salt water apd mist-lad
sea air. Indeed, one pay. in spots,
poke ones finger an ipch deep into
the metal supports. But Concrete ap.
pears to satisfy all reqpirements ad.
mirably, and before very long it will
have entirely replaced steel in the
construction of the wood-paved road.
way.
The boardwalk. one snoald realize.
Is no mere local affair. 1t is in a
sense a national thorous ushfare-the
great summer street Of the United
States, and the COMPTON meeting
ground Of the people from all parts Of
the country. No other place in the
Union is go cosmopolitan. The Cali.
fornian is as much at pome there as
the man from Philadelphia or the cit.
lien OF Texas. 1t is the sreat health
and amusement resort Of the common
people, having the notsbie advantage
of cheapness for those who can NOT
AFFORD to spend much money, while for
the rich there are accorn modations in
luxurious and proportion ately expen.
sive hotels.
The unthoughtful psny who visit
Atlantic City. however, have little no
tion Of the more intimate peculiaritia.
Of the boardwalk and tpe beach along
which it runs. Its lapdward edge IL
fringed by row of shops Of every i'm.
aginable kind. which o6er for sale ali
sorts of merchandise. from candy to
dry goods. There are also clairyov.
ants, and palmists and Various other
dealers in the myaterious. but these
are merely incidental, for there is no
proper likeness between this roadway
and the streets Of Copey. island. Rents
are enormously high A seasons oc.
cupancy of mere widow space six
feet square costs s1,ooo. The pur.