The New York herald., 1921-02-23
SUN AND TRACTORS
RID CITY STREETS
OF SNOW And ICE
Holiday Proves Great Aid in
Restoring Conditions
After Storm.
TRAFFIC NEAR NORMAL
ThaW Makes 1t Possible to
Dump Great Piles Into
the Sewers.
PRAISE FOR MACHINES
New Loader Does Work of
Many Men, Says Commis-
siOner Leo.
PRAISE FOR MACHINES

When New York city goes oack TO
work this morning after the holiday
there will be good hard pavement un-
ings and under horses hoofs and the
wheels of motor trucks in most Of the
principal business streets and avenues
of the city.
Profiting by the slackness of traffic
Yesterday the men and machines of the
Street Cleaning Department accom-
plished much in the stiff fight to re-
move a foot of snow from the $500
miles of New York streets. The city is
by no means rid of the snowfall and
street cars and vehicles will be i'm
peded for days, but the city can do
business. About $4,000 men, of whom
1884 worked in Manhattan, Brooklyn
and The Bronx, and 1,433 trucks We're
busy yesterday.
Last night Commissioner John +.
Leo praised highly the work OF the
5000 regular employees of the de-
partment and also the willing men
among the emergency workers. He
gave much credit. too. to the ma
chimes employed this year for the first
time. The business of cleaning thou
sands of miles of streets is a ma
chine job ne made plain. The man
with the pick and the shovel cannot
be dispensed with as yet, but the
tractor and the five ton truck have
come to stay.
"A little tractor costs the city S2,lsz'
n big, track laying tractor s4.2oO and a
five ton truck s5,4ss." he said. II want
to say now, as emphatically as can
that those machines have paid for them
selves already in saving to the city.
Praises New Machines.
A new machine. known as the Baroer-
Greene loader, did great service yester-
day afternoon on lower Fifth avenue,
and last night was still on the job. Com
missioner Leo said the machine was
timed to scrapc UP forty cubic yards OF
solid snow piled in the centre of Firth
avenue and dump it into carts in thirty
ter work than gang of pick and shovel
men can do.
The sun, which came out after a
feeble effort at another snow fall yeste--
day" morning. did much good work in
melting the snow. During the afternoon
il was hard to find a dry spot anywhere
IN the city. Proflting by the thaw, street
cleaners in various sections flushed great
masses of snow into the sewers. At
many points it was dumped into the
,nanholes To-day the hard hitting trac-
tors will be attached 10 ploughs and used
to pull snowbanks to the manhoies where
men will do the rest
Railroads and elevated and subway
lines were running on normal holiday
schedule yesterday. but street cars ana
buses were still somewhat delayed.
BrooixIyn's street car lines with one or
two exceptions were running, and in
Statsn Island trolleys were also in opera
lion except on the municipal Manor road
line and the Richmond Light and Power
Companys Bulls Head line. City Island
avenue is clear n The Bronx.
Officers and men OF the Fire Depart
ment went off twenty-four hour duty last
night az o'clock when the alarm sys-
tenn ran the "4-4-4-4" signal. The two
platoon system then again went into ei-
feet. Commissioner Leo announced last
tight he planned TO clean UP the West
side to-day from Fifty-ninth TO 1lOth
street because Of the number of ten or
twelve story buildings In that section
which have no fire escapes, as they are
OF so-called hreproof construction The
precaution is taken so fire engines may
not be impeded in reaching hres wnich
might become dangerous to human life.
He also asked that householders see TO
II there is a clear space around hre
hydrants.