Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-07
MAYOR URGED TO SUPPORT
MUNICIPAL STREET CLEANING
Expert Claims 1t Is Practicable Well as Necessary and
Ciues Reasons
BY AN EXPERT ON STREET CLEANING

NN JULY 80 the Mayor exercised his
" optional right expressed in the new
charter and advertised for contract bids
for street cleaning and the collection
and disposal of municipal wastes. He
also asked for prices on new and used
equipment. Proposals will be opened
on September 10.
Contract work is based on a new
division of the city area into thirteen
| instead of the former nine districts.
Printed specifications have been issued
to prospective bidders on three sched-
ules. 90 Schedule l covers street clean
ing by districts for 1921; schedule. 2,
the collection and disposal Of ashes
and rubbish by districts in 1921. while
schedule 3 includes two, plans for the
collection and disposal of garbage {:
First. collection and disposal in one
contract for the year 1927 and second,
separate collection by districts or for
the entire city in 1921. with disposal
alone in one contract for one or five
years. Schedules covering the furnish
ing of equipment have not yet been
! issued.
THE most important change in the
L specifications is the Encouragement
of the existing nine districts into thir-
teen districts. OF greatest interest Is
the dismembering of the happy hunting
ground of the Largest street cleaning
contractor in the world" the present
third and fourth districts, which arc
cut in twain by Broad street and. with
a strip of territory added that now lies
north Of the fourth district. are made
into four new districts. the third,
fourth, fifth and sixth. This is prob.
I ably less disconcerting to the proud
possessor, of the above title. Senator
Ware. than might be at first imagined
because the specifications permit as
many as four districts to be given to
any one bidder; and the four new dis
tricts are larger than the present dis
tricts which he holds.
Among the other changes in district
lines. it is Of interest to note that RoX-
borough and Manayunk together form
new district. the twelfth. separate
district, while the sparsely settled
northeast territory is set apart as the
thirteenth district. as distinct from the
Frankford area, which now becomes the
new eleventh.
TT HAS been intimated for some time
l. at City Hall that the districts were
to be increased in number to provide
greater competition in bidding. Whether
new competition will enter is doubtful
in street cleaning at least, in, view Of
the certainty that municipal work, i
postponed in 1921. will surely come IL
1922. Furthermore. the specifications
provide that the contracts may even bt
terminated on October l. 1921, at th'
option of the city. Under such con
dtions new contractors may be un'
willing to enter the field and to inves
in plant and equipment for only ont
years work.
Evidently the city is not definitely
counting on the entrance of new com
petition. With four additional districts
to handle by contract. the city has ap'
parently sought to avoid any of tht
work going begging by permitting more
than the customary two districts to bt
given to one bidder.
Such an arrangement was probably
necessary also to insure that the 'larg
est contractor" would put in bid.
The rearrangement of the districts i
; logical development in the work. l
is doubtless advisable for matters o
administration to keep them within
certain population or street mileag
limits and to maintain the several dis
tricts at approximately the same values
l 1t is to be hoped, however, that thi
, new arrangement of districts Indicate
, carefully prepared plans for municipa
operation, since it Is much less importan
to increase the number of districts /
e contract work is to be continued thar
0 if municipal work is to be undertaken
And it is advisable to secure cOntrac
/ prices, so long as they are being asked
, on the same areas for which municipa
operation is being planned,
I THE detail specifications issued foI
| l. street cleaning work in 1921 ar,
; relatively uninteresting. A discussion
! of such specifications is quite asid
from the main issue and might throw
Q Ia fog around more important consider