The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-09-10
PAVING SANITY NEEDED.


The proposal TO Introduce rock asphalt paw.
Ing In Tulsa impels Tho World to sound
warning The city wants and deserves lower
paving prices. but without lowering the quality
OF paving. Indeed the quality should be raised.
for Tulsa has suffered quite much from poor
paving ~ from hight prices.
while The World cares not n fix for any paw
Ing eonccrn--ls disposed to believe that all
paving concerns should be watched very care.
fully n'the ctys interests are not TO suffer--it
looks with considerable apprehension upon the
evident disposition OF the city officials to intro-
duce new paving material ms n means OF solving
the paving problem, instead OF adopting more
rigid system OF inspection and higher grade OF
specifications.
The entire city was amazed recently whom n
prominent member OF tho administration. after
trip OF investigation, returned with the mes
sage that brick paving is the best. This an.
nouncemcnt came at time when the city was
Just completing Job OF surfnclng over brick
paving. and while there remained several blocks
Of brick paving that one lodges as n pestilenca.
Brick is not a satisfactory paving material for
a city.
Bartesvlie has many streets paved with brick,
streets that thousands OF our citizens are ia
millar with These streets compare to the main
thoroughtares OF Tulsa precisely as the town OF
Bartlesville compares to Tulsa. However durable
brick paving may be It Is far from agreeable TO
urve over ana we feel Will not bc satisfactory
30 Tnlse's citizens
The World does not wish to prejudice anyone
against the use OF that Oklahoma paving mnto-
rial known as rock asphalt; does 1t want
this city TO deliberately make a mistake that
may cost tho property owners hundreds OF
thousands OF dollars. what II suggests Is that
the most careful investigation be had before
rock asphalt ia adopted n paving material
other communities have experlmented with this
material; let us profit by their mistakes. Tulsa
not so very long ago, we are told, experimental
with II. Unless there has been a emarkable
change in the method OF laying this material.
why should we make another mistaken
Again referring to Bartlcsvlo. that city some
years ago spent many thousands OF dollars in
experimenting with rock asphalt. One OF its
main residential thoroughfares was paved with
this material II Immediately began blowing
away. The property owners refused to pay their
assessments. the matter went into the courts and
before a final determination was had, the street
much worse than Il had been before paw
Ing that the second Job OF paving had TO he done.
And the property owners were compelled 20 pay
the costs OF both.
1t may be that new method OF handling this
material has been discovered which overcomes
previous objections, but we insist that Tulsa
should not experiment There paving mate
rials OF proven quality In this city the prin-
clple trouble has been improper and dishonest
execution OF specifications plus improper speci-
ficatons.
The real cost of paving is not 10 be discovered
In tho first cost, shoddy stuff l. always the most
expensive Paving laid here 10 years ago re-
mains the best paving In the city, II was laid
according to government specifications and
under a system OF inspection which tolerated no
coiluslon between paving contractor and nspec-
tors such paving at even IS yard s far
cheaper in the long run than the light base, i'm
properly surfaced paving since laid at even 81
"A yard,
We believe that the citizenH OF Tulsa want
better paving instead OF cheaper paving and
we believe the absolutely best paving for this or
any other city is asphalt paving with at least a
sx-inoh concrete base, mixed according TO gov
ernment standard and poured on a grade that
has been effectively settled.