New-York tribune., 1920-02-20
Police to Make
Snow Removal
Gangs Do Duty
K2nlon Says He Will Use His
Brains Instead of Shovel
to Clear City; Firemen Aid
Patrolmen as Overseers
Contractors Get Blame
Street Cleaning Department
ON Own Resources; Mac
Stay Not Found at Office

Fire Chief John Kenlon assumed the
role of general IN command of the
clty's army of snow fighters yesterday
IN the reorganized campaign to make
tho streets passable to traffic.
He called the first meeting of the
newly appointed Snow Removal Board. .
OF which be is head, and, after admit
ting that conditions in the city were
"intolerable," set about devising means
OF remedying them. His main task, he
sa1d,. would be to direct the work of
the fighters, obtain additional men and
see that they were kept on the job
during the hours for which they were
PAID. Policemen and firemen will be
used as monitors for this purpose.
=. Arnold B. MacStay, Commissioner of
Streets, took part in the conference
and indicated that the regular work of
the department would be carried on
as usual. Chief Kenlon denied that
ne had officially superseded the Street
cleaning Commissioner, b,s repeatedly
SAID ne would command TIE men who
are expected to serve in the present
crisis.
MacStay Had Nothing to Say
II would prefer to have it said that
l had brought up reinforcements," he
said.
Commissioner MacStay could not he
reached at his office during the after
noon. When inquiries were made at
the hour appointed by him for seeing
lntervlewers, his secretary said he
would be out indefinitely and referred
inquirers to Chief Kenlon.
One Of the first moves of the snow
directing body will be to call upon
city contractors to provide more men
and accomplish more or give up their
contracts. 1t was charged that the snow
contractors who in years past had har-
had shown little e8ergy this winter,
with the result that the Street Cleaning
Department had been forced to rely
upon its own resources almost ex-
clusively.
The men at work in the streets yes-
terday were distributed as follows:
Manhattan 5.357
oronx ................... 1,109
brooklyn ................ 1906
contractors $40
Regular street sweepers. ........ 2. 500
Aotal ................. 1911
Yesterdays figures were pointed to
as justification of the statements Of
ofhclal snow removers that the con-
tractors were falling down on their
jobs. The $40 men they used in all the
boroughs was the smallest number en-
ployed by them since the blizzard Of
February q, and far fewer than ordi-
narily had been used in fighting a snow
storm in the past.
Directing Energy Needed
Following Fire Chief Kenlon's theory
bn
directing energy, fremen and police
men, he said, would be assigned to
gangs, if necessary, to keep workers
keyed up and working during the entire
period they are on duty.
Flremen can work within one thou
sand feet of their fire houses and ac-
complish much" he said. "Of course,
they have to keep within easy reach of
their stations, but | think they will
prove invaluable in this sort of work.
Pollcemen, too, have accomplished
much, and will be similarly used
Sewers have not been used with suf-
ticient freedom, and it must be ad
mitted that conditions are intolerab BILE.
we simply cannot permit New York to
be paralyzed again by snow storm
like this. | am going to bend all my
efforts to clean up the present snow
first, then we will consider ways of
preventing such a situation in future.
NO. said the Fire Department head
when asked if he would so out with a
pick, II think l could do that if I cared
TO-. but l feel that / will be Of more
value in the work if l use my brains
TOR directing it, and that is just what |
expect to do. l will work in the ca
pacity Of general in command of the
snow fighters"
The slight snow fiurries that whitened
the streets of the city that were not SO
covered in the morning and the heavier
snow storms that impeded traffic up
state did not prevent the delivery Of
the city's normal milk supply during
the day. Representatives of the big
milk distributors said that they ex-
pected to serve all of their customers
this morning.