The evening herald. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1906-1942, 1919-01-28
Member Of the Associated Press
TUESDAY, JANUARY ~, 1910
STREET WORK IN KLAMATH
FALLS

Let us hope that this city is not
going to continue the poi;cy of hap
hazard street improvement tia, it
has followed in the past. The indi-
cations, judging from the acton Of
the city council last night. are. that
unless someone with a strong hand
and a stronger spinal column than a
jelly fish takes the matter i'll hand.
We will this year. as in the past.
sauander thousands of dollars aud
have little to show for IT when next
winter is upon us.
For some unknown reason there is
active propaganda among som. OF
the council for the improvement of
the streets with cinders. Why this
material has such active and around
the-corner support We woI,d like TO
know, for The Herald is not to quiet
ly stand by and see any such Job
put over on the property owners OF
the city. Mayor Struble sounded a
rote Of warning that the council had
better heed, il II does not find itself
all ready to proceed with street i'm
provements and have no money on
hand. for, as the mayor wisely said,
no bonding house in Christendom will
advance a dollar for a street i'm prove
ment that will be gone long before 1t
is paid for. And bonds will hare to
be issued If any practical street in
proving is done.
The cinders have demonstrated
their impracticability this year. even
though they have been but little used,
and the city engineer realizes this.
having expressed himself to that ef-
feet at the council meeting last even
ing. Another phase Of the cinders
is the impossibility of keeping them
out Of the homes and OF the side
walks. Those who have had to walk
in the few places where they have
been laid will testify to these two
facts. They are carried on the shoes
and must eventually reach the house.
and once carried onto the rugs and
carpets. their peculiar construction
will keep them there. When they
are dry, the wind will carry the fine
particles into the home, and these
will have the same action as sand
paper when the furniture is busted,
and the men who were responsible for
their use would come in for a con-
demnation they would not soon for
get
IL these considerations were not
enough to condemn their use, the
fact that they are in no way perma-
nent is sufficient. The day of tenn
porary improvement is passed in the
community where intelligence guides
the administration Of affairs. What
ever work is done on the streets of
klamath Falls should be of a perma-
nent character. This does not neces-
sarily mean that they should be COW
cred with permanent pavement; but
that which is done should have in
view hard surfacing. We have dis
cussed this problem with a large
number of people and officials, and
suggested that when street is i'm
proved that 1t should be prepared in
exactly the same manner 1t would
when paving is to be done. Then
surface II with rock, or macadamize
It, as It is usually called. having the
finished grade two or three inches
below the official grade, These
streets could be kept in good condi-
tion at small expense until the time
came when the property owners
wanted them hard-surfaced, when all
that would be necessary would be to
lay whatever paving was to be used
on top of what we had. This plan
has met with unanimous approval,
by those who know any
thing about work of this character,
and until a better method is sug-
Kested The Herald will advocate such
The city administration must not
ose sight of the fact that the tax
payers cannot be burdened with ex-
street improvements at this
line, unless they specially petition
for them. We have the example OF
iedf0rd before us for q warning
That city IL forced to take over hun