Charlevoix county herald., 1915-04-24
Bv FRANK KoESTER.

BY FRANK kOES En-
The lack of system and want OF tech
nical training on the part OF many
American officials in charge make
street cleaning unnecessarily expensive.
leave the streets In a bad condition
and cause the cleaning to be carried
out I'm disagreeable insanitary way.
In foreign cities engineers specialize
ON this subject. Street cleaning has
been reduced to a science, and economy,
efficiency and the comfort and con-
venience of the public are considered.
The purpose of street cleaning Is to
remove as quickly and as cheaply as
possible all foreign matter In the streets
and thus to conduce to the health or
the public by minimizing the circula-
ton Of germ laden dust.
The cleaning of streets should be car
ried out In systematic and thorough
manner. The cleaners should proceed
I'm crews with the necessary apparatus
both to clean the streets and the side
walks as well, If necessary, and the lay
out of the work should be such that no
member of the crew needs to wait on
the progress of the other, but all pro-
coed simultaneously, and when they
have passed through the street the
work will be done. The method or
piecemeal street cleaning, with the
householder sweeping dirt into the
street the street cleaner sweeping 1t
into piles and the piles being removed
| a. cd q
} first on one side Of the street and then
on the other of some piece Of street
cleaning apparatus, results in contin-
ual stirring up of dust to the great dis
comfort and Inconvenience of all con-
cerned. while the street never really
gets cleaned.
The number of men i'm the cleaning
J crew depends on the kind Of machinery
used. AS no machine is capable Of
J reaching all parts Of the street, GER
tain amount Of manual sweeping Is
! necessary. especially when the side
walks are cleaned in conjunction with
the machine sweeping, so that. as indi-
Gated. the whole width of the street
will be cleaned at once
In order that such cleaning may pro-
J coed with efficiency and dispatch, and
consequently with economy, the streets
must be practically clear of traffic, as
the presence of vehicles. especially
those standing at the curb, greatly de-
lays the work of the crew.
AS the operation of such crew also
: | fro nd hn
2 fers to see the streets clean, rather
y than to see them being cleaned. 1t Is
essential TO select suitable hour for
cleaning. German cities have conduct
j.. ed numerous tests for finding out the
: most favorable hour. The city Of Ores
den adopted the practice of cleaning
the main streets In the early morning
hours, beginning about 4 o'clock and
i finishing the business sections by .
# o'clock, some 20 to 80 per cent Of the
4 entire street area. The cleaning of the
;. remainder of the streets proceeds i'm
mediately after the main streets are
finished, and the whole city is cleaned
! by o a. IN.
The Early Morning Plan.
The advantages of the system are
z that the cleaning can be carried out by
daylight and is consequently better
y performed than when carried out I'M
n der artificial light, that the workmen
are more efficient as day workers than
n as night workers, and that during the
4 early morning hours the traffic Is at the
:, minimum.
No refuse may be placed on the side
walk. but must be kept on the house
II holders premises In such places as viii
l. not cause annoyance to the neighbors
AS the street cleaning crews may be
It expected at a fixed time daily the
At householders are able to make their ar
il rangements accordingly, and thus the
whole proceeding is carried out In the
most expeditions and convenient man
ner.
&c Most Urgent Duty.
10 Perhaps the most urgent OF the du
D ties of the street cleaners Is the re
moval from the streets of the carcasses
of dead animals, not only on account
" of the unsightliness OF such objects
but also because, especially in summer
is they are a menace to health. Singu
e. larry enough, in many American cities
;s including those constantly exploiting
their civic Improvement plans. there II
v lack Of cooperation between the po
u lice, to whose notice such matters nat
urally first fall, and the street cleaning
departments, so that the carcasses re
main often for days before being re
moved.
ur ~ would certainly seem a Decessar,
is preliminary to street planning to have
q the streets free of such impediments.
Street cleaning machinery consist
Iprincinallv OF three classes-sprinkling