Arizona republican., 1915-08-17
Where the People
 May Have Hearing
PAVE PHOENIX STREETS
To the Editor of The Repuh.: m

Pave Van Buren street from one limit of the city to the other; pave Sc enth avenue from the city line to Van Buren street; pave Grand avenue from Van Buren street to the state fair grounds; pave the entire unpaved portions of Monroe and Adams streets fir their entire length; pave all of Jefferson street; all of South Central to River Hside park; all of First and Second streets, all of First and Second ave- nues: all of Fourth street and Fourth avenue; all of Portland and Mckinley streets and what have you done? Busted the whole of Phoenix, says the knocker. Yet. the knocker as us ual, would be wrong Of course it must be admitted that this amount If pay ing would be going pretty strong It is true that it would cost the citizen some money; out here is about the manner in which it would be returned to him:
 saving Of s50.o0 in repairs per an mum on each of 2000 automobiles, $100,- 0O0.90
 Estimating 2GO0 cars and allowing them an average value of sS00.00. with life of three years and adding two years to each car an account of smooth streets with a value of s107.00 per year. gives, s24.000.0O
 Saving by city street department in grading rolling, dra gging and repair ing the streets named herein for the period of one year. $S.000.00.
 For 500 teams (and this is pcrha ps half of them) engaged in draying, ex- press, hauling, etc. add SIPS per day per team for extra tonnage for one year, s225. .O000O
 For speed, efficiency, saving in re- pairs and consequently less fire loss let us add for the fire department the small item of $1O.OOO.0O.
 A total saving of s557 00OO0
 There is great but unnamable sav- ing in decrcased draYage, express and auto rates. Owing to sanitary streets there would be another unestimable saving in doctors bills.
 These are not one half of the items which could be named and which would still further show expenses decreased and values increased. The matter of tonnage in teaming should be double what I have shown it. The fire de- partment item should be s50.000.00 and If the dirt streets named herein were properly treated at the present time the cost would be $25. .G00.00 instead of sS0OO.0O.
 | Using however. these conservative figures we find that paving would bring us a saving of s557. .O00.00 the first year. A such a rate (and it is un- derestimated) the paving would be actually paid for in less than fifteen months
 When pavement is placed in front of 2 Phoenix property the value of that property immediately increases 40 per I cent in value. The value increases that much whether you receive it imme l diately or not.
 Pavement increases the tempera- I ture from 15 to 20 degrees; Pavement it's cost and maintenance, figures so | high that it will take 20 years before | values will be such that we can come out on it: "A village like this has nc business with paved streets or other metropolitan airs
 I heard the three quoted statements | made during the past week. Now there are not many who are prepared to ac- | cept or refute such statements and the | unfortunate part of it is that such ut | terances, coming from seemingly intel | lgent and well do men have weight | with those who do not know, or per | haps. who do not care; but who are | voters. Such statements are not us l ually brought out by either facts. study
 or experience. They are generally ranl | puesses: but more frequently they arc statements taken from others ant l largely exaggerated.
 That "15 or 20 degrees of heat" fol instance; we may as well explode that
 theory" right now.(
 It is official that during the past ter
 days, Assistant City Engineer Perkins in order to disprove the heat" argu
 Ineat made a correct and theoretica
 test and has the data on hand to prove that he found the temperature on tn
 paved street to be exactly one degre'
 higher than that of the dirt street som'
 blocks distant MT. J. B. Girand, cit!
 engineer, would no doubt be pleased t' furnish any applicant with official in
 formation on this subject.
 | There is a little paving in Phoeni7
 and dirt street in abundance and l your thermometer is rot too old O
 otherwise out Of commission you migh
 get out and verify these figures fo
 yourself. The reason paved street i
 hotter than a dirt street is becaus
 vour paved street is usually crowded I with buildings so that the air is shu
 out-if more streets were paved ther
 would be more buildings.
 As a rule, if you are able to owl
 property you are able to improve it.
 say. as rule, and it is true. The bi' T kick usually comes from the owners Q I unimproved lots. Those who are hold
 ing property and depepding upon tn | work and thought and progressivenee | of others to build up and improv
 around them. thereby adding value t
 their property through no effort O
 their own That is why good man
 reople believe in the single tax idea I Feeding off of others is what 1t is
 Sloth. indeed. And ti:ere are the kin'
 of fellows who fight against all pro
 gressive measures which pull at the1 heart strings, that is to say, thel l purse strings.
 I "A village like this has no bushes | cfr fc Well it will al