Evening star., 1925-09-17

fThiS Is the fourth OF series or ar
ticlcs on the condition Of Washing
tons streets. The mn udH appear
tomorrotr.J
The problem of keeping Washing
ton streets open for traffic during a
blizzard and promptly helping nature
to clear away the snow and Ice after
severe storm before II can do ir-
eparable damage to the streets and
to local business IS one of gravest i'm
portance, which has not heretofore
been satisfactorily met. The big storm
OF last January is an illustration OF
how inadeQuately and uneconomically
the National Capital Is cared for in
this regard. Our laggardness In clear
ing way for street traffic after the
storm became national sea ndal Sc
verely criticized on the floor of Con.
yress and ehpha sized by congressional
investigation.
The method hitherto employed, of
allowing nature to take its course and
practically waiting for the sun to
clear our streets, or the expensive al
tentative OF loading the packed down
snow into trucks and hauling II away
or OF examining as much az possible
into the manholes to be washed away
in the sewers. has been proved by
'
excessively expensive and prolonging
the hardship for the people while
causing incalculable loss to business
men and expense to all truck, auto
mobile and vehicle operators.
Tight.Fisted Policy.
1t seems 10 have been the general.
although unwritten, policy OF the sue
cession of Engineer Commissioners
l. l~.l
under whose administration the task
of snow and ice removal has come,
that q minimum of expense should be
incurred for this work. Although in
dividual members OF Congress and
even COMMITTEES have TRADED against
the laxnesS of snow and ice removal,
II seems to have been the general at
titude OF Congress TO approve that
tight -fisted policy. The whole official
attitude has seemed 10 be-"Why get
excited? The sun or rain will clear the
snow away before we could
Congress makes no appropria tion
specifically for snow and ice removal.
but makes a lump sum appropria ton
of about $400, 900 annually-this wear
it Is S430. .000-for street cleaning dur
ing the entire year. This is spent at
the rate OF about $40, 900 a month
throughout the year-so there is little
aNaildDle 1Or purchase OF snOW-TcInON-
ing machinery or equipment.
Whenever there is a blizzard and a
storm of protest Is made Congress
calls up the local officials and vir-
tually SAYS: why don't you remove
the snow like other cities, even rural
communities do? We're here and II
you really need the money we will
give ii to you" But the fact remains
Congress does not make the emer
gency appropriation OF 100000 or
1925, 600 needed for this work.
Opinion Not Borne Out.
Many persons, engineers, business
men and traffic authorities contend
that emergency or additional appro-
priations are not necessary. and that
properly organized and directed the
work can be done for the same money,
or less. that Is now being spent in
hauling away the snow after q storm.
But a survey of many other large
cities shows that they have all found
snow and ice removal from the streets,
or the more improved method OF fight.
ing the snow while II falls. quite ex-
pensive.
The very fact that the District ON
cial in charge OF the street cleaning
work now has a force of white
wings" daily at work on 5000. 900
square yards of street surface shows
the magnitude of the proposition.
The practical result of our delin-
quent. inefficient. uneconomical and
impractical method Of snow removal
in the past has been that
The street car compa nies start out
even with the storm, when the
Weather Bureau reports show we are
in for severe downfall of snow, and
sweep the snow of their tracks as
fast as 1t falls. or when the snow be.
gins to pile up, operating plows to
keep 1t off their right Of way. Then
along come trucks or automobiles,
quite naturally seeing the easiest road,
and as they swing onto or off the
car tracks throw the snow back on
AS a result of the District authorities
not keeping the streets open the snow
is packed down by trucks, many OF
which use heavy chains, even logging
chains. AS this heavy. traffic bumps
OFF of packed-down and icy humps and
hummocks and ridges the pavement
underneath, made brittle and more
friable by the cold, Is very seriously
damaged.
Vehicles Are Damaged.
vehicle operated under such conditions
suffers serious and costly damage
perhaps a broken spring. wheels
wrenched out of alignment. steering
gear wrecked and Il general strain on
the car. 1t means that in the deliv
cry of goods to householders more
trucks have to be used. and the cost
of operation Is greatly increased.
Everything that increases the cost
of delivery must ultimately be passed
on to the consumer, SO that failure to
4 ho nf 40
results in increased costs on the neces-
stiles of life to all the inhs bitants.
Business mems books show that the
failure promptly to fight a snow
storm means a tremendous falling OIL
in their patronage. This In turn In
creases the overhead cost. which
again must be passed on to the con-
sumer.
The District authorities and Con
gress, in their procrastination over
snow removal. seem to have over
looked the fact that only small part
Of the real damage of a storm II
shown in their calculation whether IT
is cheaper to let nature do most OF
the snow removing, even IL 1t does
damage the street structure. Care
full students estimate that the cost on
the public from wear and tear and
wreckase of trucks and automobiles
ana the lHCTedScu COSt VI Ac
many times greater than the expense
of properly removing the snow
would be.
Solution Is Offered.
As an Illustration of the constructive
criticism made by competent authori-
ties, we quote Col. James b. McChord,
United States Bureau of Public Roads.
formerly engineer of highways in
Philadelphia. who installed there the
system Of fighting the snow as 1t falls.