The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1922-01-06
Good Streets.

This paper holds no brief for tenn
porary street or shiftless work OF
any kind. All city improvements
should be as nearly as possible per-
manent. More than this, we do not
believe there is single candidate
for mayor or alderman in Union City
now running who does favor cheap
4 street construction.
We do not profess to. know what
4 kind of streets we need or how to
| build them There are too many
men without the proper practical ex-
perience ready to tell us how to
build roads and streets. Men like
this should not be too ready to adj
wise or to impose upon the city with
something immature when so many
failures have been made and so much
at stake. 1t is wrong.
But we do not believe anyone is
wrong whom he finds other ways than
the commonly accepted plan OF let
ting street work to an outside con-
tractor, very often man or COM
pany who is either accustomed to
taking large profits or graft. Other
cities, especially the larger ones,
have their own street departments,
which are complete with equipment
and men who understand street con-
struction. These men arc employed
at salary to do The work and the
city enters the market and purchases
its own material. In this way there
is calculated to be much less danger
of swindling or graft. AS member
of the Beard of Mayor and Aldermen
would not want to take the respon-
sibility that is incurred in letting d
contract for one Hundred thousand
dollars or more in Union City.
The thing which appears to us to
be very important is for the city to
have control of it's own affairs-to
employ its own men and to do its
own work. There are a number of
advantages in this, very important
item being the keeping of the Money
at home. We are thus relieved of
the risk end odi;1m of being at the
mercy of a lot of grafters. And you
can't get ahead of the CRATER, it !
doesn't make any difference how ma
ny iron-clad bonds or checking sys-
TENS you have. OF course there is
the chance, on the other hand, of the
skilled street foreman standing in
with the supply companies. But the
market is large and this risk is nom
inal. Another advantage of the
home-construction system is that the
street foreman is a citizen, or should
be, for there are lots of streets to i'm
prove and it will take time to do it.
And then this foreman should not
only be technical man but one who
wears blouses and is not afraid of
work He should be a practical
street construction boss, after the
manner of the section boss on the
railroad The railroads understand
the game of construction They do
not have to resort to contracts. The
city should be the same way We
should have well organized street
department first and then we are
prepared to build good streets.
Another advantage among those
we are trying to point out in home
street construction is not small one.
1t is that the work is done under
home management Home people are
employed or should be and the money
is kept at home.
As much as street work is needed
in Union City, seems to us that it
would be economy to enlarge and
equip the department. This would
be no disadvantage to anybody. but
would on the other hand afford 5et5
ter opportunities and more work III
the neairloyed. &, ~
syr1iving way we figure ouy
s the new IS In this srsl's
aVou, - cad and de- 0.ln'