Full text of "The American city"

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Volume XXIV

January — June, 1921

PUBLISHED BY

THE CIVIC PRESS

TRIBUNE BUILDING, NEW YORK

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INDEX TO AUTHORS January— June, 1921

Abell, J. B 193

Adams, John D 623

Adams, Thomas .... 287

Austin, B. F 306

Baker, E. H 79

Ball, Charles F 378

Ballard, F. W 461

Balmer, Robert 247

Bayley, Clarence E.. 132
Beard, Harriet E... 2.57

Btauvais, P. H 32

Bell, Harry J 197

Bernhard, Robert A. 395
Bigger, Frederick . . 50

Black, Z. E 307

Blum, E. Y 311

Bonnar, Benjamin H. 81

Bradbury, E. A 627

Burke, John W. 615

Burnett, L. S 486

Burton, P. T 496

Byers, Charles Alma 398

Caldwell, John S.

15, 133, 269

Campbell, Carlos C. 463

Campbell, W. C 413

Cassat, D. B 631

Caulkins, E. Dana.. 587

Clark, H. W 171

Clyde, Sheridan .... 517

Cole, L. S 128, 230

Comey, Arthur C... 154

onard, William R. . 13

le, Charles H 483

Coulter, Waldo S. . . 368

Cravath, James R. . . 150

Cunningham, J. J... 517

OeBoer, S. R 55

Deering, Edward M. 59.')

Dermitt, H. M 203

Dougherty, Donald C. 315
Duncan, John W... 375

Duncan, L. H 625

Dunn, C. F 415, 517

Duryea, Morris Jesup,

629

Engler, Irvin 4

■I'assett. Charles M.,

343, 475

Felt, A. T 3UU

Fenner, D. C 109

l-isher, W. H 415

Fleming, Samuel E. 36

Ford, George B 383

Foitdick, Raymond B. 225

trase, H. B 33

Freed, E. S 34

Freeman, T. L 35

Friedman, Herman.. 407

Gannett, Farley 280

Gavett, Weston .... 504

Gibbon, W. A 258

Gibson, J. E 159

Graham, Lloyd S... 465

Greene, George W . . 307

Gulick, Luther 429

Hager, Gerald F..., 515

Hall, Bolton 474

Hallett, Geo. H., Jr. 468

Ham, W. H 451

Harmon, W. C, Jr. 129

Harris, A. R 79

Hartwell, David A. . 24

Herdman, Hugh H. 484

Flicks, Everett 411

Hill, Nicholas S., Jr. 607

Holden, William. 197, 411

Ilolland, Clifford M. 231

Hubbard, G. \ 121

Hubbard, Pr6vost... 243

Huff, Charles H 564

(iiches, James W... 590

TaoKson, Margaret. . .
Jacobs, Philip P. . . .
Janiieson, Simms....

JeiTries, L. D ,

Joachim, Leo H. . . .

Jortnson, A. L

Jortnson, Col. Geo. A.

Johnson, George E .
Johnson, L. S

393

473

142

175
151
407

Kearney, Paul W. . . 499
Kelley, Robert F. G. 510
Ketcham, Charles M. 413
Kimball, Theodora... 584

Koch, Felix J 569

LaMotte, V. G 201

LeCocq, Frank .... 147

Leland, Arthur .... 71

Lloyd, E. B 145

Lowe, Lucy 14 1

Lurie, Harry L 373

Macallum, A. F.... 157
MacDonald, Thos. H. 494

March, Harry J 143

Mayer, LeRoy G... 405

MpKenzie, Thomas. 139

McKibben, James A. 521

McNabb, John 140

Medaries, Arthur. . . 36

Milliken, John C. . . 464

Montoliu, C 355

Munson, William L. 228

Ncwsom, Reeves J. 25

Noble, M 20

Norton. Herman J. 259

Orebaugh, R. W ... 255
Osoinach, John A.,

75, 305

Otis, Harrison Gray. 263

Oxnam, O. R 307

PaTmer, Harry F. . . 195

Parker, George 179

Parsons, Will C 260

Pierce, W. Dwight.. 379

Pldtt, Arthur E 259

Pratt, Lowell C 594

Ragsdale, George T. 374

Raitt, C. B 35

Ramsey, Leonidas

Willing 479

Rankin, Rebecca B.. 286

Raymond, K. B 141

Reardon, E. 1 83

Remington, W. H. B. 486

Rightor, C. E 527

Rigsby, R. W 469

Robinson, William A. 291

Roy, J. J. Vick 378

Ryan, Oswald 588

Sabine, Harold F.. . 63

Sanborn, James F. . 566
Schaphorst, W. F.,

361, 487, 559

Srheidker. H. A 623

Shanks, Sanders, Jr. 187

Sharpies, Philip P.. 127

Shaw, Walter A 574

Shay, George D 459

Sheaf, Frederick W. 482

Sim, George 471

Smith, Roy S 75

Spiller, Caryl 77

Steele, H. Wirt 258

Stewart, Mildred

Penrose 9

Stockly, William W. 620

Strayer, George D.. 115
Street, A. L. H.85, 183,

205, 321, 431, 537, 635

Strong, William A.. 593

Sweeney, Daniel J.. 29
Sylvester, Horace C,

Jr 417

Taylor, A. D 65

Thomas, C. H 485

Tibbetts, A. C 592

Tingley, Lewis C... 519
Tiautschold, Regi-
nald 238

Tripp, B. Ashburton. 39

Ulrich, George* J.

481

Wands, George W.. 611

Warner, E. A 315

Washington, H. A.. 348

Waugh, Frank A 497

Weissgerber, Oscar F. 164

Wells, James P 295

Weston, Robt. Spurr 119

W^etherell, Frank E. 535

Whipple, George C. 112

Whitten, Robert H.. 617

Wiles, J. B 199

Wilson, John 456

Winters, S. R 274

Withers, I. A 376

Witts, Milford 629

Wood, Major Edward

A 251

Woods, Carroll R... 311
Woodward, William

C. 495

Wooldridge. A. P... 143

Wright, Allen Henry 62

Wright, Henry C... 579

Wright, K. C Ill

INDEX TO SUBJECTS January— June, 1921

As an aid to readers of The American City in
looking up references, the page numbers of the indi-
vidual issues of the volume are given:
January, 1-107 April, 343-449 .

Feoruary, 109-223 May, 451-557

March. 225-341 June, 559-653

Accident Prevention

— -Automobile Accidents Reduced by Billboard

Sign, Omaha, Nebr 525

• — Automobile Headlight Regulations 150

— Building Regulations, Rochester, N. Y.

(pamphlet notice) 437

— Chicago Safety Council Teaches Accident

Prevention 195

— Course of Study in Safety Education (pam-
phlet notice) 211

— Education in Safety (pamphlet notice) 545

— Fire and Accident Prevention (pamphlet

notice) 91

— Flashing Lights Attract Drivers' Attention,

Rutherford, N. J 481

— Louisville, Ky., Safety Campaign 373

— Municipal Liability Denied (legal decisions)

Broken Flagstone Causing Injury at

Night; City Not Notified of Defect —

Yonkers, N. Y 87

Injurv to Bystander from F'ire Hose Reel

— Atlanta, Ga 85

Notice of Claim for Damages Must Be
Accurate as to Tinie and Place — Helena,

Mont 87

Runaway Team Causing Accident — East
Cleveland, Ohio 321

—Painted Traffic Markings 617, 653

— Records of Accidents: System for the Police

Department 615

— Swinging Semaphores for Safety of School

Children, Youngstown, Ohio 33

— Teaching .\ccident Prevention, Detroit.

Mich 2">6

— Vehicles Required to Stop at Rear of Stand-
ing Street Cars; Ordinance Valid; Cleve-
land, Ohio (legal decision) 323

— Wint-er Casualties 28

See also "Fire Prevention and Control,"
"Grade Crossing Elimination"

Accounting, Municipal and County — See
"Finance"

Aeroplanes

— Flying (iuide and Log Book (book review).. 211
- — Map from Aeroplane Used for City Planning,

Dallas. Tex. 251

— Modesto, Calif., Aviation Field 481

— Municipal Landing Fields and Airports

(book review) 89

American City Bureau

— Summer School of Community leadership. 404

Americanization

— "America Day," Pomona, Calif 593

— Boston's Comprehensive Program 521

— California Commission of Immigration and
Housing, Annual Report (pamphlet no-
tice) 641

— Franklin. Pa., Americanization School 623

—Publications on 91. 211, 327, 543

— Scranton, Pa., Americanization Class (pho-
tograph ) f>f*7

Annexation to City

— Contested on Account of Liability to Mu-
nicipal Taxation, (Georgetown, Ky. (legal
decision ) 8-^

— Kenl Estate Sale Promotes Expansion of

City. Xenia, Ohio 517

— Special Election Notice Substantial Compli-
ance with Statute — Wheeling. W. Va. —
(legal decision) 85

Assessments — See "Finance"

Baths and Swimming Pools

— Administration of Municipal Bath-Houses. . 39.'i
— Hockey Rink Combined with Swimming

Pool. Milton, Mass ..^ 119

— Montgomery, Ala., Municipal Swimming

Pool 348

— School Baths, Baltimore, Md 510

— Swimming Parties for Children, Paterson,

N. J 486

Billboards and Signs

— -Alexandria, La., Billboard of Welcome.... 309
— Automobile Accidents Reduced by Billboard

Sign, Omaha, Nebr 525

— Poster Advertising .Association 14

Bond Issues — See "Finance"
Books — See "Publications"
Bridges and Viaducts

— Knoxville. Tenn., Viaduct Adds Business

Block to City 463

— (Ornamental Bridge, in a Park in Portland,

Maine (photograph) 493

Buffalo's Memorial History 29

Cemeteries

— Cleveland, Ohio, Competition for Ideas as to

Disposal of Cemetery . ._ 592

— Fort Collins, Colo 59

Charities

— .\dvertising a Charity Campaign by -Street

Lights, Sclienectady. X. V 146

— Conference of Social Work (book review) . . 89
— Emergency Relief Organization through Red

Cross 1 77

— Lodging-Houses, Plea for (pamphlet notice) 89
— Rhode Island Welfare Work (pamphlet no-
tice) 439

— Social .Xgencies (pamphlet notice) s!)

— Social Workers' (luide to the Serial Publi-
cations of Representative Social Agencies

(book review) 437

Sec also "Conwiunity Trusts"

Charters and Charter Revision

— An Asset of the Ideal City: Its Charter.... 343
— Bonding Limit Raised; General Statute Re-
peals Charter Provision — Jackson, Mich. — ■
(legal decision) 205

— Denver, Colo.. City and County Consolida-

tion 67

— Los Angeles, Calif., Partial City and Coun-
ty Consolidation 69

— Parade Permit Required by Ordinance; -Au-
thorized by Charter Provision — Buffalo,

X. Y. — (legal decision) 209

— Sacramento, Calif., .Adopted Proportional

Representation and City Manager Plan.. 4

See also ".4ccident Prevention"

Tree Planting— 5^^ "Forests"
Waste Collection and Disposal

— Auto-Conveyor for Loading and Hauling

Ashes and Garbage 341

— Bridgeton, N. J., Report (pamphlet notice) . . 213

—Buffalo. N. Y • 465

— City Control of Garbage; Validity of Ordi-
nances, Michigan and Utah 183

— Combination Ash-and-Garbage Wagons, Win-

netka. 111 257

— Destructor, Municipal, Montevideo, Uruguay 247

— Grand Rapids, Mich 139

—Highland Park, Mich 583

— Memphis, Tenn 400

— Motorization Saves Thousands for Indian-
apolis, Ind 60

— Storm Drain's Unusual Service, Pomona,

Calif 132

Water-Front Development

— New York-New Jersey Port and Harbor De-
velopment (pamphlet notice) 329

— Reclamation Project Insured by Bond Issue,

Frankfort, Ky 407

— Sebring, Fla., Town Plan 65

Water-Supply and Water-Works

— Asheville, N. C, New Pipe Line 223

—Cincinnati, Ohio, Insured 120,000,000 Gal-
lons Per Day 569

— Chlorination Experience of Pittsburgh, Calif. 573

— Clarksburg, W. Va. (pamphlet notice) 641

— Color Characteristics of a New England

Water-Supply . 278

— Conservation Project Financed with Aid of

Chamber of San Jos6, Calif 199

— Engine Service in Belleville, Kans., Water

and Light Works ^ ^ . . . 643

— Filtration and Sterilization (pamphlet notice) 439

— Flushing of Mains, Terre Haute, Ind 126

— Harrodsburg, Ky 555

— Kansas City, Mo., Water-Supply (pamphlet

notice) . , 439

— Machinery and Technical Developments —

Their Value to Water- Works 598

— Manhole Cover for Heavy Duty 441

— Meters

Improved Construction 551

New York City's Meter Investigation.... 588

Sales 93

Statistics of Over 1,000 Cities in United

States and Canada 41

Use of Meter Boxes 620

— Motor Apparatus

Clintonville, Wis., Fire Truck Used to

Pump Water (photograph) 618

Kansas City, Kans., Water and Light De-
partment Truck (photograph) 166

Oil-Burning Apparatus 27

— New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board... 261

— Notes on Irrigation, Roads and Buildings,
and on the Water-Supply of Towns (book
review) i 327

— Perry, (Dkla., Water and Light Plant En-
larged 129

— Pipes

Charges for Pipe Extension, How to De-
termine 607

Lead Joints for Cast Iron Pipes 101

Modern Cast Iron Pipe 157

Proper Sizes of Pipes for Distribution Sys-
tems 368

Tile Pipe Breakage Caused Typhoid,

Salem, Ohio 614

— Providence, R. I. (pamphlet notice) 425

— Pumping Station Design and Operation 25

Lynn, Mass 25

— Pump Selection for Municipal Water-Works 559

— Rates for Service Rendered by Public Utili-
ties by Contract (lepal decisions) 57.'>

in Small Cities and Villages 456

— Service Box for Year-Round Use 643

— Sherrill-Kenwood, N. Y., Water District En-
larged 93

— Southwest Water Works Association, Con-
vention at Oklahoma City, Okla. 331

— Standard Schedule for Grading Cities for
Fire Insurance: Water-Supply Require-
ments 16, 133

— Steam Turbine-Driven Centrifugal Pumping

Unit 97

— Surface Supplies Open to Dangerous Pollu-
tion 175

— Testing the Effects of Different Waters on

Mains, Charleston, S. C 159

— Thawing Frozen Services, Devices for

for House Pipes 105

for Hydrants 219, 335

— Trenching Machines Versus Hand Labor. . . 13

— Typhoid Rate in Massachusetts, and Discus-
sion of Massachusetts Method of Water
_ Purification 171

— Vote for Chlorination and Filtration as a

Typhoid Preventive (cartoon) 600

— Waste Restriction, Boston. Mass 392

— Water-Main Excavation, New Bedford,

Mass ,. 599

— Westerville, Ohio, Municipal Water Plant

Helps Pay Other City Expenses 255

Weed Removal

— Fort Collins, Colo., Ordinance 59

Weights and Measures

• — Bureau of Standards Reports (pamphlet no-
tice) 439

— Municipal Testing Laboratory, Economy of. . 571

Zoning — See "City Planning"

VOLUME XXIV

NUMBER 1

NEW YORK

JANUARY,

1921

Organizations Plan for Needed Legisla-
tion to Promote Municipal Progress

DURING January the legislatures of
forty states will be in session and
there will be exceptional opportunity
for the introduction and passage of state
legislation which the cities need. Many
national, state and local organizations are
advancing the passage of bills which, if
enacted into law, will do much to permit or
encourage activity by municipal govern-
ments in raising the standards of city life.

Greater Freedom for Cities

In many states the greatest single need
is a larger measure of municipal home rule.
At the last annual convention of the New
Jersey League of Municipalities this need
was emphasized by Clinton Rogers Wood-
ruff in the following words :

"We talk of self-governing American
cities and municipal democracy, but so long
as the state legislatures have the final say
as to the form and content of city charters,
there can be little real self-government or
real municipal democracy. Most of our
cities — except in those states where the
policy of municipal home rule prevails — are
in bondage to the state legislatures. The
term and extent of this bondage vary, but
it is irksome and undermining. While we
must remember that no city lives unto it-
self alone, nevertheless it should be given
a chance to show what it can do and how it
can be developed. There is an all too prev-
alent feeling that the cities should be saved
despite themselves by some outside influ-
ence, but just so long as this opinion pre-
vails, so long will municipal politics con-
tinue in their present parlous state, and so

long will the progress of our cities proceed
haltingly.

"A belief in municipal home rule does not
necessarily run counter to the idea of the
right of the state to establish the minimums
in such matters as education, health and
police. On the other hand, the cities should
have the right to go just so far beyond these
minimums as their wishes and convictions
demand. The test of the propriety or im-
propriety of any given insistence or inter-
ference or control by the state in the local
public policy of a city should be : Does the
local policy conflict with the general public
policy of the state, as determined by the
policy-determining authority of the state
and which, as such general policy, is em-
bodied in laws equally applicable to every
part of the state? By all means give the
cities a chance to determine the form of
government and to determine the functions
they wish to exercise."

Among the reports received from organ-
izations which have written to The Amer-
ican City regarding their activities in be-
half of 1921 legislation are the following.
In each case the name given is that of the
corresponding secretary or other ofiicer of
the organization, to whom application may
be made for further specific information.

The National Conference on City Plan-
ning advocates at all times (i) a state law
empowering cities of all classes to appoint
city plan commissions, and (2) a state law
permitting cities to zone. Besides these two
laws there is little doubt that the National
Conference would advocate a state plan-
ning bureau like that in Pennsylvania, and

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

would approve in legislation the principle
of regional planning. Although it is perhaps
questionable if any existing laws on the
subject could be described as "model" legis-
lation, some might be profitably used as the
basis of statutes in other states. This is
particularly true of the Ohio law permitting
the appointment of city plan commissions
and describing their functions. — Flavel
Shurtleff, Secretary, 60 State Street, Bos-
ton, Mass.

The Boston Society of Landscape Archi-
tects is not at present proposing to intro-
duce any legislation, but it has before it
two recommendations of its city planning
committee: (i) that better means of pre-
venting bad platting be discovered; (2) that
the principle be approved of a metropolitan
commission for the Boston Region for plan-
ning and survey, transportation, water-
front development, and such other adminis-
trative functions as concern more than one
municipality.

The B. S. L. A. cooperated last year with
the Massachusetts Federation of Planning
Boards and other bodies in securing: (i) the
right for municipalities to zone according
to use, making effective a Massachusetts
constitutional amendment of November,
1918; (2) the regulation of billboards, mak-
ing effective another constitutional amend-
ment of November, 1918, providing a state-
wide regulation by the State Division of
Highways and permitting further regula-
tion by any municipality. — Arthur C.
Comey, Landscape Architect, Abbott Build-
ing, Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mass.

The National Association of Real Estate
Boards has placed itself on record as favor-
ing city planning, and also state regulation
of real estate brokerage. Four states now
have effective legislation of that sort. A
Model License Bill has been adopted and is
recommended by the National Association,
in the hope that such regulation will do
much to protect the ignorant or uninformed
purchaser of real property. The real estate
boards of various cities have been active in
securing legislation. For instance, the Chi-
cago Real Estate Board has aided in the
zoning movement in that city; the Minne-
apolis Real Estate Board, through a special
committee, was instrumental in securing
legislation for a housing code in that city,
and another bill which provided for zon-
ing. — Tom S. Ingersoll, Secretary, 630 Con-
sumers Building, Chicago, 111,

The National Short Ballot Organization
does not specifically advocate legislation in
any state or city. It is, however, furnishing
assistance to local organizations along the
following lines :

State administrative consolidation : Con-
stitutional amendments pending in New
York and Indiana to simplify the structure
of state government and to remove minor
elective offices from the ballot ; campaign to
interest other legislatures in what is being
done in New York, Illinois, Idaho, Ne-
braska and Massachusetts along these lines.

County government reform : Gathering
and reissuing all available literature on the
neglected subject of county government,
looking toward the county-manager idea.
The principal campaign will be in Michigan
and in several cities, including New York,
where city-county consolidation is in pros-
pect.

City manager charters: This campaign
has been transferred to the National Mu-
nicipal League. Aid will be given in efforts
to secure state-wide optional city-manager
laws in New Jersey, Indiana and Illinois
along the lines of the twelve state-wide
city-manager laws now in operation. Tech-
nical and publicity aid will be given to city
charter commissions and campaign commit-
tees wherever charter revision is proposed.
—Richard S. Childs, 8 West 9th Street,
New York City.

During the last year the American Public
Health Association has not been active in
promulgating state or local legislation.
However, a committee of the Association is
at work on a Model Health Code, and a re-
port is expected within the next half-year.
— A. W. Hedrich, Secretary, 169 Massa-
chusetts Avenue, Boston, 17, Mass.

The National Fire Prevention Associa-
tion writes that the only state legislation it
is advocating is an enabling act permitting
cities to fix on persons disobeying fire pre-
vention orders the costs of extinguishing
preventable fires. In some states, cities
can already do this without state legislative
permission. The Association will present
before the Massachusetts Legislature a
copy of the law now in force in Pennsyl-
vania cities of the second class. It is hoped
that legislation of this sort may become
general throughout the country as the
people awaken to an appreciation of the
economic significance of the fire waste. —
Franklin H. Wentworth, Secretary, 87 Milk

January, 1921

THE AMERICA x\ CITY

Street, Boston, Mass.

The National Physical Education Service
of the Playground and Recreation Associa-
tion of America has been very successful
in assisting states in adopting physical edu-
cation laws. Such legislation has already
been passed in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana,
Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and
Washington. The campaign will be pushed
in other states. The general program in-
cludes the provision of a state director of
adequate training and experience to assist
local communities in the establishment of
physical education programs; provision for
the instruction of all prospective teachers
in the general course of physical education ;
provision that local authorities be required
to provide adequate physical education for
all children within their districts ; and state
appropriations to aid local communities in
the employment of physical education teach-
ers. The Service is also a firm advocate of
periodic physical examinations of all chil-
dren. — E. Dana Caulkins, Manager, 309
Homer Building, 13th and F Streets, Wash-
ington, D. C.

The National Kindergarten Association
is actively pressing a campaign in about one-
half of the states of the Union, either by its
direct efforts, or by assisting other organ-
izations sponsoring local legislation. The
California kindergarten law of 1913 is used
as a model. This law provides that the
Board of Education in each school district
may maintain free kindergartens; that the
establishment of such a kindergarten is
mandatory upon the presentation of a peti-
tion signed by the parents of not less than
25 children of kindergarten age residing in
the area to be served ; and that teachers for
such kindergartens must have had at least
two years* training in a recognized kinder-
garten training school. The Association
proposed an amendment to the law, namely,
that if the average monthly attendance for
two succeeding months drops below fifteen,
the class may be discontinued for the re-
mainder of the year. Full legislative in-
formation, as well as the names of the or-
ganizations sponsoring this legislation in
the several states, may be obtained from
Miss Bessie Locke, Corresponding Secre-
tary, 8 West 40th Street, New York, N. Y.*

* Editorial Note.— An article on the subject of the
urgent need of public kindergartens, by Miss Bessie
Locke, will appear in an early issue of The American
City.

The National Civil Service Reform
League, although not at this time undertak-
ing any special campaign, is recommending
the adoption of civil service laws for states
and cities throughout the country. During
the past year the League has secured the
adoption of a civil service law in Maryland
and a civil service provision in the Balti-
more charter. H. W. Marsh, Secretary, 8
West 40th Street, New York City.

The National Safety Council is not now
advocating any specific legislation. It is
very much interested in proper traffic regu-
lation in cities to prevent automobile acci-
dents, which are increasing at a rapid rate.
As the proper handling of traffic is inti-
mately bound up with city planning, the
Council strongly favors legislation which
will give cities the necessary authority to
carry out city planning on a proper basis,
in order to provide, among other things, a
traffic system which will minimize the pres-
ent very serious hazard to life and limb. —
S. J. Williams, Secretary, 168 North Michi-
gan Avenue, Chicago, 111.

The. Illinois State Legislature at the com-
ing session will take up a number of ques-
tions of concern to the municipalities of
that state. Among them will be that of
municipal home rule for public utilities,
with the possibility of abolishing the State
Public Utilities Commission. Another ques-
tion that will come up will be that of con-
tinuing the increased tax rates which were
authorized two years ago, for a term of
three years. The Housing Commission will
present a bill regulating the construction of
dwelling houses, and probably also a bill
for the regulation of rents. The Illinois
Municipal League has taken no position on
these proposals. — John A. Fairlie, Secre-
tary-Treasurer, Urbana, 111.

As an example of the reforming energy
of the women's club movement, reference
may be made to the program of the Legis-
lative Council of Indiana Women. Two
bills will be promoted, one providing for the
employment of a full-time health officer for
counties and for cities, instead of the pres-
ent system, under which a practicing phy-
sician devotes only part of his time; and
the other a School Attendance Law, for
compulsory education to the age of four-
teen, or until the eighth grade in school is
completed. — Mrs. Edward Franklin White,
President, 5222 East Michigan Avenue, In-
dianapolis, Ind.

Sacramento's New Charter

Proportional Representation and the City Manager Plan Adopted by the

Capital of California

By Irvin Engler

Assistant Secretary, Goasolidated Chamber of Commerce of Sacramento

SACRAMENTO, the capital of Cali-
fornia, leaped into civic prominence on
November 30. On that day by a vote
of more than 5 to i — the exact totals were
7,962 to 1,587 — the voters of Sacramento
adopted a new charter which gives the city
the distinction of being ( i ) the largest city
in the United States having the Hare pro-
portional representation voting system; (2)
the largest city in California having the city
manager form of government; (3) the
second and largest capital city in the
United States to adopt the manager plan,
the other being Phoenix, Ariz.

Moreover, the general claim advanced for
the new document is that it rtiore nearly
parallels the "Model City Charter" than
does any other charter in the nation.

Of course, the one feature that will be
most closely watched by other municipali-
ties and students of municipal goverment will
be Sacramento's experience with the Hare
proportional representation voting system.
Sacramento was the fourth city in the
United States to adopt the Hare system.
One of these — Kalamazoo — was forced to
surrender it because of a Supreme Court
decision, leaving Sacramento to share the
distinction with Ashtabula, Ohio, and
Boulder, Colo. Sacramento is by far the
largest of these cities, having a population
of 66,000 and a registration of 30,500 voters.
The council is to be elected in May, 1921,
and that election will give proportional rep-
resentation the "acid test" in the United
States.

Meeting the Opposition

The new charter was adopted by an
overwhelming vote in the face of strong
opposition directed against proportional rep-
resentation. One of the newspapers opened
a bitter attack on the Hare system fifteen
days before the election, and kept up a con-
stant fire. It published articles written by
the editors of the Boulder Camera, the
Kalamazoo Gazette, and the Ashtabula Star-
Beacon, an editor in New Westminister,
and one in Nelson, British Columbia; it

quoted a resident of Ashtabula and printed
an article written by a former councilman
of that city; it claimed that the city
managers of Ashtabula and Boulder are
opposed to proportional representation, and
sent a correspondent to Ashtabula to "size
up" the situation there. This constituted
the evidence presented against the Hare
system.

The other two Sacramento dailies strong-
ly supported proportional representation
and the entire charter. The Sacramento
Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the
new charter movement, had gathered a mass
of favorable evidence, including the stand
of the Ashtabula Chamber of Commerce,
the opinions of E. O. Heinrich, former
manager of Boulder, and A. A. Parkhurst,
the editor of the other Boulder daily; also
the attitude of Harry H. Freeman, City
Manager of Kalamazoo, and, of course, the
reports of the American Proportional Rep-
resentation League, as well as the stand
taken by the National Municipal League.
This defense was reinforced by the services
of Cameron H. King, deputy registrar of
voters of San Francisco, who conducted two
demonstrations of the Hare system and
converted hundreds to the idea that propor-
tional representation was eminently fair and
just.

How did the movement start? Why did
Sacramento shake off its old charter by
such a sweeping decision? In 191 1 Sacra-
mento adopted the commission form of
government, which became effective in the
spring of 1912. Almost from the start
there was objection to the commission form.
The defects of the system, as pointed out in
so many instances, were very apparent in
Sacramento. Division of authority and re-
sponsibility, election of men unqualified by
training or experience to executive posi-
tions, and extravagance in city affairs, were
resented.

Investigation of Facts

Harry S. Maddox, who was Secretary of
the Chamber of Commerce of Sacramento,

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

kept a steady finger on the public pulse and
diagnosed Sacramento's case nearly a year
before it became recognized as serious. He
prescribed the manager plan as the remedy,
and began a thorough investigation, includ-
ing a personal visit to cities in the East and
West operating under the manager system,
and collection of data from every city-
manager community, large and small. Part
of the valuable data collected are given in
this issue of The American City. (See page
6.)

Just about a year ago the drive was
launched. Securing of signatures for the
election of Freeholders was a matter of only
a few days. The Freeholders were repre-
sentative of all interests in the city — busi-
ness, commercial, labor, women's organiza-
tions, manufacturers — and although not
pledged in advance to the city manager idea,
practically decided upon that form of gov-
ernment at their first meeting. L. C. Hunter,
manager of a large wholesale concern, was
chosen chairman of the Board. Hundreds
of charters and a mass of data were collec-
ted and gone over carefully by the Free-
holders, who labored four months without
pay, hoping only to give Sacramento the
kind of government that would satisfy the
demands of the people.

In any event, the decision was overwhelm-
ing, ranging from 3 to i in some precincts
to as high as 23 to i in others, favoring the
new charter and rejecting proposed amend-
ments to the old charter. It was the most
emphatic approval ever given a municipal
proposition in Sacramento's history.

In passing, another point which developed
during the campaign, is of more than local
interest. The opinions of two attorneys were
published by the opposing paper, declaring
proportional representation would be uncon-
stitutional in California, as it was declared
in Michigan. Ten other attorneys, however,
held that the Hare system would not con-
flict in any .way with the California con-
stitution. It is likely that this will be deter-
mined in the courts, through a friendly
procedure, before the first council is elected.

Provisions of the New Charter

Under the new Sacramento charter the
only elected officials will be the council of
nine. The council is to appoint the manager,
civil service board, attorney, police judge,
clerk, treasurer and board of education. The

board of education appoints the school
superintendent. The city manager appoints
all the administrative officials of the city, his
principal appointees being the controller
and engineer.

The councilmen will each receive $300 a
year, and as all city manager charters pro-
vide, will handle matters of policy only. The
board of education is to consist of five
members, not more than three of whom shall
be of the same sex, to serve without pay.

The engineer is to have charge of all
operative work which at present comes un-
der the commissioner of streets and com-
missioner of public works, while the con-
troller, in addition to keeping the city books,
will be in control of all finances, will have
charge of assessment and collection of taxes
and purchase of supplies. The charter per-
mits the council to use the county assess-
ment rolls for city assessments and also to
have the county tax collector collect city
taxes, making allowances to the county
offices for such service. Greater efficiency
and a very substantial saving to taxpayers
are looked for through this arrangement.

Provision for development of the city
water-front and water-works is a valuable
feature, and another is the article enabling
the city manager, through the departments
of the engineer and controller, and with the
consent of the council, to proceed with city
contract work when bids are deemed
excessive.

Such provisions as have proved beneficial
have been taken over by the new charter
from the old, others were improved upon,
and still others were inspired by the Na-
tional Municipal League's "Model Charter."
The result is a document which should not
only prove a splendid governing instrument
for Sacramento, but should be of value to
other municipalities struggling for better
government.

The first council is to be elected on May 3,
1921. The manager is to be appointed by
June 30, and the new charter will go into
operation on July i, 1921.

The movement for better government has
spread throughout Sacramento County, and
a campaign is being launched for a new
county charter providing for a county
manager. It is even predicted that at a not
far distant date there will be strong senti-
ment for consolidated city and county gov-
ernment with a manager at the head.

Is the City Manager Plan a Success?

The Question Is Answered in the Following Excerpts from Letters Received by
the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce from Cities Where the Plan is in Operation

Editorial Note. — The italics are those of the Sacramento Chamber.

TO secure first-hand information on the
practicability of the city manager
form of government, the Sacramento
Chamber of Commerce made inquiry of
chambers of commerce, newspaper editors
and individual citizens in a number of cities
where the plan is in operation. Such let-
ters were not addressed to city managers or
other city officials, for an absolutely un-
prejudiced opinion was sought.

It is a very significant fact that in the
letters of response there was a sweeping
expression in favor of the city manager
plan. In not a single instance was it de-
clared that the plan is a failure. On the
contrary, as shown by the following, there
were many very enthusiastic endorsements
of the method.

It is thus shown that there is nothing
wildly theoretical in the city manager plan
— it actually works, and it works to the ad-
vantage of all the citizens. This, after all,
is the greatest essential of good government.

Other letters were sent to cities having
the commission form of government, such
as Sacramento had, and a large majority cf
the answers voiced dissatisfaction and com-
plaint, a number stating that there was
strong sentiment for the city manager form.

Cities of Over 100,000 Population

The success of the city manager plan in
Dayton, Ohio, population 153,830, one of
the pioneer cities in the movement, is so
generally recognized and admitted that it
was not considered necessary to secure addi-
tional proof. It was in large part due to
the remarkable results attained in Dayton
that the city manager plan spread so rapidly
in Ohio and in the neighboring states of
Michigan and Virginia from 1914 to 1916.

The question is sometimes raised that
certain conditions in Dayton were respon-
sible for the great success of the city man-
ager plan in that city and that the plan
might not work as well elsewhere. This
question is best answered by the following
expressions from other cities.

During the last six years 166 cities in 25

states have adopted city manager govern-
ment, 108 having regular city manager
charters and 58 having the method in a
more or less modified form. In 1919, 23
cities took it up, and already this year there
have been 5 additions to the list. The total
number of city manager cities is now 208.
The following expressions show how it is
working out:

AKRON, OHIO (208,435)

G. P. Jones, editor. — "Remarkable results have been
secured in Akron sinc« the establishment of the city
manager form of government on January 1, 1920. In
this short time definite results, showing the value of
centralized administrative power in the hands of an
expert, have been achieved."

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. (137,634)

Arthur W. Stace, editor. — "The city manager plan
in Grand Rapids has worked out more successfully
than the old plan. It has resulted in economy in city
affairs u-ith increased efficiency, and the people appear
to feel satisfied that it is a great improvement."

Lee H. Bierce, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce. —
"We like the city manager plan because it permits of
greater efficiency. The affairs of the city are now
being conducted very much like a large manufacturing
institution would be managed. There is only one ele-
ment that is disgruntled ivith the new form of govern-
ment. It is composed of some petty politicians of
small caliber who used to run the city but are not
considered big enough to do so at the present time."

NORFOLK, VA. (116,777)

Barton Myers, President, Chamber of Commerce. —
"The city manager form of government has com-
pletely transformed conditions in Norfolk. Its superior
efficiency is so generally recognized that under 'no
circumstances would we return to the former system."

W. G. Swartz, business man. — "Wonders have been
worked in Norfolk since the city manager form of
government was inaugurated. Politics have been en-
tirely eliminated from city affairs. Red tape has been
abolished, as power and authority have been concen-
trated under one head. More public improvements
are under way at the present time than were under-
taken in any ten-year period previously. The city
manager plan has the entire enthusiastic support of
the people of this city."

Cities of Between 50,000 and 100,000
Population

NIAGARA FALLS, N. Y. (50,760)

George W. Knox, attorney. — "The general senti-
ment of the people of Niagara Falls seems to be that
the city manager plan is a huge success compared to
the old conditions. Efficiency has been greatly in-
creased. When we spend a dollar, we get a dollar's
worth in return. Under the old system our tax
rate put us pretty well to the top of the column of
municipalities in this state. Under the new sy.stem
there are only two cities with a lower tax rate. These
things have been brought about despite the election
of men to the council who were opposed to the city
manager plan. Our experience shows that the plan
works to the advantage of the people even though
men are elected to the council who are not in sym-
pathy with it. This is because responsibility is directly
placed, and there can be no 'passing the buck' because
there IS no one to pass it to."

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

ROANOKE, VA. (50,842)

Secretary, Chamber of Commerce. — "The city man-
ager plan has been effective in Roanoke for a com-
paratively short time, but thus far has been highly
successful. We feel that the change was justified and
that time will show its wisdom."

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO (60,840)

H. S. Kissell, real estate man. — "The city manager
plan has awakened in Springfield a civic pride such as
we never knew before. The humblest citizen feels
he can get a square deal with our city officials."

George S. Shaw, business man. — "VVlien the city
manager form of government was first introduced to
the voters of Springfield I was against it, but after
several years' trial I am a booster for it. We are
now getting 100 cents for every dollar spent, and have
had more street improvements, more gas, electric light,
water and street car extensions during the last two
and a half years than we could have expected during
the next ten years under the old form of government.
This is because graft has been eliminated; because the
various departments are 100 per cent efficient, and be-
cause the entire city is being run like an up-to-date
business house. I believe it to be the only successful
form of government for any city, regardless of size."

R. W. McKinney, Principal, Wittenberg Academy. —
"The city manager plan has given Springfield more
for the ta.ves paid than ever before."

WHEELING, W. VA. (54,322)

H. P. Corcoran, Manager, Chamber of Commerce. —
"The city manager plan has been successful in every
way in Wheeling. It has met expectations and is
giving efficient government."

WICHITA, KANS. (72,128)

W. E. Holmes, Secretary, Board of Commerce. —
"Wichita has now had about three years' experience
under the city manager form of government. The
plan has eliminated politics from the city government ;
has developed greater efficiency in service; is more
economical as to administration; affords an oppo*--
tunity for more wholesome, healthy and moral social
conditions, and is nvuch more responsive to the wants
of the people. It is an ideal business form of govern-
ment, as it carries out all the sound, well-established
principles that govern private business."

Cities of Between 20,000 and 50,000
Population

ALAMEDA, CALIF. (28,806)

E. C. Soules, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce. —
"The city manager form of government has proved a
distinct success in Alameda, and is so considered by a
large majority of citizens. It is a big factor in the
development of the city, lending efficiency, economy
and prompt action to all municipal undertakings."

A. F. St. Sure, Judge of Superior Court. — ^"The
city manager plan of government has proven sound
in practice in Alameda. By avoiding amateur execu-
tives and clearly fixing the responsibility for executive
acts, the business of the city has been transacted with
economy, dispatch and efficiency. We have one gov-
ernment, and not many, with an experienced expert
at the head, who has been given the power to execute
the policy established by the combined judgment of
the council. Although executive functions have been
centralized, 'one-man power' has not resulted, for the
control of the council over the tenure of the manager
removes this danger. It is safe to predict that the
city of^ Alameda will never return to the old form of
municipal government."

A. D. Oliver, banker. — "Some of the noticeable im-
provements that have come to my attention since the
establishment of the city manager form of govern-
ment have been: pronounced improvement of the
streets; cleaning up of vacant lots; uniform triniminq
of shade trees, etc. Where a decided improvement is
apparent in the matters that are most easily dis-
cernible, it is logical to assume that there i? improve-
ment in other directions. With a comhetent ^ city
manager, familiar with all details, it is much easier to
induce representative citizens' to take an int'^rest in
the city'.i affairs by serving on the various boards. T
believe that the general opinion in Alamed^i is that
the change has been entirely successful, resulting in
economy and great efficiency."

ASHTABULA, OHIO (22,082)

H. W. Luethi, Manager, Chamber of Commerce. —
"We believe the city manager plan is in line with
the idea of modern business in centralizing responsi-
bility and thereby securing the most efficient service.
It has produced splendid results in Ashtabula, has
brought about more efficient government, and the
people are well pleased with it."

BEAUMONT, TEX. (40,442)

George J. Roark, Manager, Chamber of Commerce. —
"We have recently established the city manager form
in Beaumont. Of course we have not had full oppor-
tunity to test the plan locally, but everyone is looking
forward with much enthusiasm and worlds of hope,
and there is no doubt but what it will prove all that
we expect."

CHARLESTON, W. VA. (39,608)

S. P. Puffer, Managing Director, Chamber of Com-
merce. — "Charleston is well satisfied with the city
manager plan."

EAST CLEVELAND, OHIO (27,292)

R. C. Morris, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce. —
"The city manager form of government is proving
very efficient in East Cleveland. Compared with the
previous system, there is a very noticeable difference
for the better."

JACKSON, MICH. (48,374)

C. F. Holland, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce. —
"From Jackson's experience, we give the following as
some of the advantages of the city manager plan :
centralised responsibility ; quicker action on projects;
a greater equality among all classes of citizens as re-
gards civic affairs, that is, elimination of the so-called
'pull' ; elimination of politics from city affairs."

KALAMAZOO, MICH. (48,858)

Ray O. Brundage, Secretary, Chamber of Com-
merce. — "The city manager form of government is
much of an improvement over the previous form. We
consider it a success."

MUSKEGON, MICH. (36,670)

T. A. McCarthy, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce.
— "The city manager plan is a big step forward in
municipal government, and should the people of
Sacramento adopt it, their only regret will be that
they did not inaugurate it long ago. The_ city man-
ager method makes municipal government just exactly
what it should be — good business. The one outstand-
ing advantage is that it centralizes authority and, at
the same time, it fixes definitely the responsibility for
carrying out the people's wishes. It does away with
the favorite pastime under other forms of government,
namely, 'passing the buck.' We of Muskegon feel that
under the city manager plan the affairs of the city
are conducted in a businesslike way and that the
various departments of the city are conducted upon
well-accepted business principles, with the result that
we get full value for the money spent. "

NEWBURGH, N. T. (30,272)

Frederick H. Keefe, publisher. — "The city manager
form of government has been in operation in New-
burgh for more than four years and has in every way
demonstrated that it is a very efficient and up-to-date
plan of administration of city affairs. It has resulted
in very economical administration without in any way
impairing efficiency. I feel sure that if it were again
to be put to a vote of the people they vvould unhesi-
tatingly be in favor of a continuation of it."

PHOENIX, ARIZ. (29,053)

C. H. Akers, publisher. — "T am sure that you could
not get a business man in Phoenix to go back to the
old style of government. Our city manager seems to
be the most popular man in this whole town_ simply
because the method, or used by the Commission and
the Manager, is working out with splendid, good re-
sults."

SANDUSKY, OHIO (22,897)

Portion of editorial in recent issue of the Star-
Journal. — "To make both ends meet in these days
when prices and wages have soared and income has
not increased proportionately, is no small task. Yet
this is what has been accomplished by City Manager

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

Zimmerman. Despite the reduction of revenue, the
chief item of loss being about $21,000 of liquor tax,
the city has taken care of all operation and mainte-
nance charges and sinking fund charges and had a
surplus of more than $4,000 on hand at the end of the
year. . . . We have been fortunate. We have
been able to live within our means, thanks to efficient
and far-seeing management that made every dollar
count. For this, credit is due not only to the Com-
mission, the Manager and other officials, but to the
system, uith its elimination of politics and coordination
of departments."

SAN JOSE, CALIF. (39,604)

Roscoe D. Wyatt, Secretary, Chamber of Com-
merce.— "I think it can be truthfully said that the
city manager system in our city has largely eliminated
city politics and the various evils that accompanied the
old form of government; it has coordinated the various
city departments, making them all more efficient; it has
placed responsibility upon one person — the city man-
ager — so that every taxpayer may know just where to
go for information or to make complaints. The great
majority of our citizens are satisfied that the new
form of government, which has now been in opera-
tion for more than three years, is a very decided im-
provement over the old."

WATEBTOWN, N. T. (31,263)

Ralph S. Baker, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce.
— "Although our city manager form has been in effect
for a comparatively short time, it has given every
promise of being a tremendous success. Thus far we
are well satisfied with the results."

Cities of Under 20,000 Population

ALBUQUERQUE, N. MEX. (15,157)

H. B. Watkins, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce. —
"The citjr manager form of government has been en-
tirely satisfactory in every way, and the people would
not consider going back to the old form."

AMABILLO, TEX. (15,494)

W. B. Estes, Secretary, _ Board of Development. —
"No city would make a mistake by adopting the city
manager form of government. It has been a great
success in Amarillo."

AUBUBN, ME. (16,985)

George C. Wing, attorney. — "The city manager plan
divorces the business of a city from politics. I think
the taxpayers get more for their money. I believe the
majority opinion in Auburn is in its favor, and par-
ticularly a very large majority of those who in the
main pay the bills."

BAKEBSFIELD, CALIF. (18,638)

C. F. Johnson, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce. —
"The city manager plan has been an unqualified suc-
cess in Bakersfield. It has resulted in more efficient
government, with economy in city affairs, and I do not
think that the people would for a moment consider
going back to the old order of city government."

BOULDEB, COLO. (10,989)

Frank E. Eckel, Secretary, Commercial Associa-
tion. — "Boulder has found the cjty manager plan very
successful, resulting in very efficient city government."

BBISTOL, VA. (6,720)

W. H. Rouse, business man. — "The work of the
city in connection with administration has been con-
siderably expedited under the city manager plan. It
is a happy and satisfying division of legislative and
administrative duties as compared with the old system
of committee government and a general jumble and
confusion of duties. I feel confident that under the
city manager plan the various functions of any city
will be handled with greater efficiency and will re-
spond to the wishes of the people with greater despatch
than is possible under other forms."

BBOWNSVILLE, TEX. (11,791)

Secretary, Chamber of Commerce. — "The city man-
ager plan has operated with much success in Browns-
ville."

CADILLAC, MICH. (9,734)

Perry F. Powers, editor. — "I am sure that the people
of our city regard with almost unanimous favor our
present city manager form of government. It is more
economical, results come quickly, responsibility is
fixed, and it soon gets the business affairs of a city
away from politics."

CBYSTAL FALLS, MICH. (3,394)

W. J. Reynolds, County Treasurer. — "Crystal Falls
has been under the city manager plan for about three
years. Before the institution of this form of govern-
ment we suffered an unwieldy council to manage our
affairs under an unbusinesslike arrangement that ex-
cluded any possible chance of improvement. Since the
institution of the new form of government, the results
have been astounding. I do not believe there is a
resident of the city who is not satisfied with the new
form of government."

EL DOEADO, KANS. (10,995)

Russell Fisher, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce. —
'The city manager form of government is regarded
as a decided success in El Dorado. Efficiency has de-
veloped because the plan has centralized responsibility.
This city led the United States in percentage growth
during the past few years, because of oil discoveries,
and the city officials have been compelled to do a vast
amount of emergency work. This work has been ac-
complished, I am sure, much more speedily and with
more satisfactory results than could have been accom-
plished under the old form."

ELIZABETH CITY, N. C. (10,000)

Secretary, Chamber of Commerce. — "The people in
general feel that the city manager plan has been a
success in every way in Elizabeth City."

GLENDALE, CALIF. (11,500)

R. M. Jackson, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce. —
"The city manager plan is a success in Glendale. It
has resulted in efficient government and has measured
fully up to expectations. The people are well satis-
fied."

GEIFFIN, GA. (8,240)

W. B. Royster, Manager, Board of Trade. — "Griffin
feels very proud of what has been accomplished, under
the city manager plan of government. We hope that
Sacramento will soon be added to the rapidly growing
list of enterprising communities which have availed
themselves of this remarkably successful form of
government."

HAYS, KANS. (2,339)

R. S. Markwell, President, Chamber of Commerce. —
"The city manager plan is giving general satisfaction
here. The affairs of the city have been put upon a
business basis, and a gradual reduction in the tax rate
is jn sight. We believe it is the best form of mu-
nicipal government."

KINGSPOBT, TENN. (5,692)

Secretary, Chamber of Commerce. — "The city man-
ager form of government has been a success in Kings-
port. It has accomplished and is accomplishing the
things we hoped for."

LA GBANDE, OBE. (6,913)

A. W. Nelson, Secretary, Union County Ad Club. —
"It is my firm conviction that the city manager form
of government saved La Grande from bankruptcy."

McALESTEB, OKLA. (12,095)

W. E. Harmuth, Secretary, Commercial Club. —
"The city manager plan has been an unqualified suc-
cess in McAlester since the day of its inauguration.
This has not only been true with reference to the
efficient manner in which the city's business is carried
out, but in the satisfied manner in which the citizens
feel toward the city government, exemplified at the
recent primary election, when no candidates appeared
to oppose two of the commissioners for reelection —
something unheard of before in this city. The plan
has given us an economical government without in any
way impairing efficiency. This is so for many reasons,
chief of_ which is the fact that the city manager has
no political debts to pay, refuses any hint of politics
to creep into his hiring of employes, and he alone is
(Continued on page 30)

Capitalizing Good Teeth

By Mildred Penrose Stewart, M. A. P. H.

Director, Dutchess County Health Association, New York

THE county fair was only one week off.
The Dutchess County Health Associa-
tion had had a most successful original
health exhibit the year before, and every-
body seemed to think we could do it again.
Another perusal of the Routzahns' book on
"The ABC of Exhibit Planning" reminded
us that to have a successful exhibit one must
resist the temptation to tell all one knows
and must simply get a single idea over. The
idea should be worth getting over and should
lead the spectator to realize the importance
of some definite line of the work.

One of the activities of the Dutchess
County Health Association at the moment
was an effort to obtain a travelling dental
clinic for the county. Evidently a dental
exhibit was needed — but what more stupid
than posters and models of teeth, or than
pictures and price lists of travelling dental
clinics?

With the fair only four days off, our idea
suddenly came, and from Philadelphia ! "Oh,
give each kid who has teeth in good condi-
tion a dollar," said the Chief Medical In-
spector of Schools of that town.

Telegrams elicited the information that a

dental house in Brooklyn would lend us
dental apparatus free of charge if we would
come after it. A nurse in her Ford was
dispatched posthaste, her presence on Fifth
Avenue with her muddy Lizzy piled high
with dental chair, cabinet, foot-engine, glass-
shelved table, etc., causing rather scornful
smiles but no serious disturbance.

Two Dutchess County millionaires with
sporting blood backed the enterprise finan-
cially, though we had no way of telling how
many dollars might be needed to make our
offer good; seven dentists promised to give
several hours of their time to examine the
teeth of the children at the fair.

Then came the question of what one meant
by "teeth in good condition," and the whole
place was shaken to its foundation, as no
two dentists could agree on this point ; their
discussions grew so detailed that we were
really lost in a maze of dental terms and
technicalities. We feared that we did not
dare demand perfect teeth in case we should
not find any. After all, we wanted to re-
ward the children who had done the best
possible, who had kept their teeth clean and
had had all cavities filled. We wanted to

EXAMINING A CANDIDATE FOE THE PRIZE TOE GOOD TEETH

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. l

prove to unbelievers that the mouths of
most children are in need of dental atten-
tion. Hence we decided that "teeth in good
condition" should mean "teeth clean and
with no cavities."

Dollars for Dentistry

The day of the fair came. Our tent was
decorated on the outside with enormous
painted cardboard toothbrushes and with a
sign offering a dollar to any child between
the ages of five and sixteen whose teeth
were in good condition. Inside the tent a
white-coated dentist and a uniformed nurse
stood beside the dental chair.

The crowds began to come to the fair, but
nobody came into the tent! "They'll never
give you no dollar" was the muttered senti-
ment of passing children. Finding that the
foot-engine brought terror to little hearts,
we hid that implement of torture. We left
the tent flaps always open and we captured
a Vassar girl for a barker. She urged the
children in, and, fortunately for us, the third
one to arrive had clean teeth and his two
or three cavities filled, so that we could give
him a dollar. The barker shouted this news,
and a crowd collected around us and from
then on we were kept busy. In the mean-
while the first little dollar boy returned lead-
ing five or six other small boys to try for the
prize.

The second day a small boy was waylaid
by the nurse's protest of "Look here, you
were examined yesterday." To which he
calmly returned, "Yes, but I've been to the
dentist and had my teeth cleaned since then."
We thought he deserved the dollar ! Several
such enterprising infants went to their
dentists to have their teeth cleaned or cavi-
ties filled and returned for the dollar. Cer-
tainly this showed an up-and-coming spirit
in the future citizens of Dutchess County.

One little girl received a dollar and re-
turned in the afternoon with her sister, who
was refused because her teeth were not clean.
This tragedy reduced sister to noisy tears.
Later their mother took the trouble to come
in and thank us for the lesson we had taught
her youngest. The child would not brush
her teeth and she had learned in a never-
to-be-forgotten way that brushing teeth is
a habit not to be despised and that mother
was right.

Near our tent a nurse dressed as a clown
weighed and measured children. Oc5casion-

ally, when business was not good, — though
this was seldom, as she weighed 800 child-
ren during the fair, — she would attract
attention to our tent by pretending to brush
her teeth with our big cardboard tooth-
brushes, or by similar antics. Once our
barker grew weary and her confused mind
wandered between the weighing and the
teeth examining, with the startling result
that she suddenly began to shout, "Come in
and have your teeth weighed ! Come in
and have your teeth weighed !" The in-
dignant expressions on the faces of the
crowd and an immediate thinning out of
our clients finally made her realize that
something was amiss, and she hastily
changed her refrain.

A dollar represented a good deal of
money to some youngsters. One child had
to be dragged forcibly past our tent again
and again. "But, mother, I might get it
this time," was her wail. But, alas ! years
of neglect had left her teeth in such condi-
tion that no hurried call on a dentist could
have made her eligible for the coveted
prize.

In the four days of the fair the teeth of
480 children were examined and 74 dollar
bills were given away. That meant that
out of every six children only one had teeth
which were clean and not in need of imme-
diate dental attention. Add to this the fact
that many children did not come in for
examination, because they knew they had
cavities in their teeth, and you may realize
what a serious situation confronts the
country, especially in rural districts, as our
children were indicative of the situation
everywhere. Consider the enormous variety
of bodily ills which may originate in poor
teeth. If, at the least estimate, every child
in six needs dental attention, something
should be done, and done quickly. The
cure seems to be, first, education causing
a demand for proper care, and second, the
facilities for such care.

As a step toward this latter cure, the
travelling dental clinic has been successful
in several places. This consists of a truck
containing movable equipment, which goes
to the most inaccessible parts of a county.
The dentist and the nurse who are in atten-
dance put up the apparatus in some corner
of the schoolhouse and there attend to the
children's teeth (always with the consent
of the parents).

Peoria Saves Worn Brick Streets with

Asphalt

Work From 1913 to Date Has Lengthened Life of Pavement

By L. D. Jeffries

City Engineer, Peoria, 111.

IN 1913 the first asphalt resurfacing work
over old brick was completed in Peoria.
An area of 9,500 yards was chosen on
Fayette Street, from Adams to Knoxville.
This old pavement had been laid some thirty
years and had become so badly worn and
disintegrated that traffic over it was almost
out of the question.

traffic and shows no signs of wear after
eight years of continuous service. Last year
an area of 10,000 square yards was resur-
faced on First Avenue in the same manner,
and to-day it is one of the best-appearing
streets in the city.

Main Street, 60 feet wide, with a double
track running the entire length, is now un-

LAYING A 2-INCH ASPHALT STBEET WITH 1-INCH BINDER COURSE ON OLD BRICK

PAVEMENT, PEORIA, ILL.

The car tracks are shown raised with five rows of brick paralleling the rail on the outside. T^e comer
shown has been cut back to a 15-foot curb radius

This being the first work of the kind in
Peoria, the contractor was required to give
a 1 0-year guarantee, and to date not a cent
has been spent on repairs of any kind for
resurfacing work. The resurfacing con-
sisted of a i-inch binder course and a 1-1/2
inch wearing course. The old brick surface
was swept clean and thoroughly broomed to
remove all loose dirt, and then was painted
'with hot asphaltic cement. All depressions
in the street were filled with binder course
to bring the surface up to an even grade.
This street sustains an. unusually heavy

der construction. This street contains 60,-
000 square yards outside the areas which are
paved with brick. It is the main thorough-
fare of the city, and naturally is the most
heavily traveled. The asphalt sheet was
made 3 inches thick instead of 2 1/2, as on
the other street. The car tracks were all
raised 3 inches, and the brick along the
gutter line for a distance of 5 feet adjoining
the curb was torn up and laid flat so as to
maintain the same grade in the gutters and
adjoining improvements. For all this work,
Bermudez asphalt was used, and has proved

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i,

its wearing qualities.

The cost of resurfacing has varied from
$i.8o to $2.00 per square yard for the finish-
ed pavement, or practically 50 per cent less
than a new pavement. The writer believes
it will last fully as long as a new one, inas-
much as the brick surface affords a founda-
tion which is in every way practically equal
to new concrete. This work is being done
by J. W. Bushell, a local contractor.

Curbs Cut Back at Corners

The street corner shown in the illustra-
tion has been cut back to a 15-foot radius. In
doing this the old catch-basin was removed
and a flat grating was placed upon the old
brick work. A 12-inch pipe was connected
to the old basin about 3 feet below the sur-
face of the pavement and brought in back
of the curb, terminating in a 12-inch elbow
and opening into the curb, as shown.

The city is spending in the neighborhood
of $6,000 this year for cutting back street
corners in Peoria, and about 40 corners
have been changed already. The old corners

were practically all on a 5-foot radius, and
the new ones that have been established are
all on a 15-foot radius. This necessitates
the changing of all catch-basins, sewers, and
fire hydrants. The curbs are built of con-
crete 6 by 24 inches, and the pavement is
replaced usually by the same type of pave-
ment existing on the street. Catch-basin
castings are removed, and a flat grating is
placed upon the brick work of the old catch-
basin and brought up to the required grade.
A 12-inch tile is then placed about 3 feet
below the surface, connecting with the
catch-basin and terminating in a 12-inch
tile elbow which opens into a circular open-
ing in the cement curb. This type of radius
for curb corners seems to meet the approval
of traveling automobilists, as it makes a
very much more convenient turn and adds
greatly to the general appearance of the
street.

Both the resurfacing work and the cut-
ting back of the curbs have been fostered
by Mayor E. N. Woodruff and H. J. Mona-
han. Commissioner of Public Works.

Better to Build up Good Roads by
Constant Care

IT is better to build a cheap road and keep
it in good condition by adequate mainte-
nance than to build the most expensive
highway and permit it to deteriorate for
want of care, say officials of the Bureau of
Public Roads of the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture.

Maryland, which has one of the finest sys-
tems of improved highways in the United
States, if not the best, has consistently fol-
lowed this practice. The originally improved
roads in Maryland were comparatively in-
expensive, costing only what the taxpayers
were willing to pay for. The first few years
the average cost was less than $10,000 a
mile. In some cases the work entailed con-
s'derable grading and drainage, but in
others it amounted simply to resurfacing the
old turnpikes, which had already been
graded and drained.

Generally, the roads built at that time

were macadam, 12 feet wide and 6 inches
thick. Soon the width was increased to 14
feet. Later many were widened still farther,
some very successfully, by adding concrete
shoulders on each side of the existing
macadam. This method of improving roads
makes it possible for traffic to continue un-
impeded on the road while the work is going
on.

The macadam roads in Maryland have
given very good satisfaction, but continuous
care has been largely responsible for their
success. The roads are constantly patrolled
and no hole of any size is allowed to go un-
repaired. Material for patching is kept at
convenient points along the road for the use
of the patrolman. From a relatively small
investment in admittedly low-type road it
builds up a better one from year to year,
always conserving the bulk of the previous
investment.

Trenching Machines vs. Hand Labor

By William R. Conard

Conard & Buzby, Consulting Engineers, Burlington, N J.

FOR quite a period of years mechanical
rather than manual methods for mov-
ing soil have been recognized as con-
siderably more economical and efficient, pro-
vided the surrounding conditions were such
that the mechanical equipment could be
used to somewhere near its rated average
capacity..

If the information the writer has is cor-
rect, machines for excavating trenches were
first used in this country for the purpose of
opening the ground for placing drainage
tile in areas which unless drained would be
practically valueless. By draining, such
areas became of very considerable value be-
cause usually they would produce large
crops with little or no fertilizing. From this
beginning the use of the trench machine
has spread until it is recognized as an im-
portant part of the equipment in putting in
underground structures, such as water and
gas pipe, domestic or storm sewers, con-
duits for wires, etc.

While the writer was familiar with

trenching machines, and had been connec-
ted with work where they were in use, it
was not until he worked on the construction
of the water system at Camp Dix, New
Jersey, associated with Messrs. Hazen,
Whipple & Fuller, consulting engineers,
that he had any direct experience with their
use.

At Camp Dix, as at all of the other
cantonments, it was necessary to accom-
plish certain work in the shortest possible
space of time. The installation of the main
pipe lines for the water-works came under
the writer's direct charge, and is the por-
tion of the work with which he is the most
familiar. From the first of August, 1917,
until the first of September, 1917, at which
time the first troops began arriving, it was
necessary to install some 17,000 feet of line
from the pumping station to the camp, and
about 10,000 feet of distribution line within
the camp. To accomplish this, three trench-
ing machines were employed, two being
used almost continuously, and the third

A PAKSONS EXCAVATOE USED BY THE CITY OF HIGH POINT, N. C, IN DIGGING TRENCHES
15, 18 AND 24 INCHES WIDE AND UP TO 10 FEET IN DEPTH

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

after about ten days' use being shifted over
to sewer lines. By August 29 'the pipe was
in and the water on the Hues. The average
day's trench by machine was probably about
800 feet, the smallest day's work being 120
feet and the largest 1,500 feet with one
machine, with several days of 1,000 to 1,400
feet. The digging conditions were very
good, the soil being mostly loam and gravel,
which held up well, and the weather dry
most of the time. From then until the last
of October, when the writer went on some
emergency work at the pumping station,
trenches of some 40,000 feet were dug —
most of the time by two machines, for short
periods by three, and for others by only one
— for water pipe alone, mostly with the
same favorable soil conditions.

The total amount of hand and machine
trenching at Camp Dix for mains and ser-
vices for water and sewer lines amounted
to some 375,000 feet. For this there were
670 days of trench machine work at a cost
of about $13,000 for rental of machines
alone. No record of the operating costs is
at hand, but the writer's recollection is that
it was a total of about $50 per day, includ-
ing up-keep, operators, operating, repairs
and machine rental. For the water lines
during the period of the writer's experience
the machine average was in the neighbor-
hood of 900 feet per day, and the cost per
foot of trench was around 6 cents. This
was for the opening only, the back filling
after pipe laying being extra.

In 1918 the writer was engineer in charge
of the construction of water-works and
sewer plants for one of the four large shell
loading plants that were started on the
eastern seaboard. In this construction there
was some 50,000 feet of sewer and 100,000
feet of water lines to be installed, where
the ground water was fairly close to the
surface and there was a loose, sandy soil.
On this operation one trenching machine
was used on both water and sewer lines,
but mostly on the water lines. Because of
the soil conditions the rate of trenching was
much less than at Camp Dix, running about
200 feet per day at a cost of about $40 per

day, or 20 cents per foot. Even at this rate
the cost was considerably less than for hand
work, which ran between 50 and 60 cents,
largely on account of the soil and the wet
conditions.

By the foregoing it can be seen that
trenching machines can be used to advan-
tage under widely varying conditions. As
with manual trenching, the costs vary with
the conditions, so that unless the conditions
surrounding any particular piece of work
are considered, it is hard to form an esti-
mate of average cost.

Assuming, however, average conditions
of loam, sandy loam, gravel, or clay not too
hard, and a territory in or near latitudes 38
degrees to 45 degrees north, it would seem
that a machine could be used for 125 work-
ing days a season, and that for the average
trench under favorable and open going con-
ditions 400 feet is not too much to expect as
the average for a day's work. This would
give 50,000 feet for a season. South of lati-
tude 38 degrees a season's use should be
nearer 175 days' work, which, using the same
average of 400 feet per day, would give 70,-
000 feet per year. At present prices for
labor and materials, and figuring the inter-
est on the investment, the depreciatio»7-the
upkeep and the cost of operation (but not
the original cost of the machine) for the
average machine for average work, the fig-
ures would be somewhere around $10,000
per annum per machine, which would result
in a cost per linear foot of trench for the
New England, Middle Atlantic, Central and
Central Western and Northwestern and
Coast States of around 20 cents, and for the
other or southern sections of around 14
cents.

The better plan for those figuring on the
use of trenching machines, however, would
be to work up data of all the varying local
conditions of soil, congested or open work,
width and depth of openings desired, use to
which the trench will be put, — in fact, all
surrounding circumstances that are likely
to enter into the use of machine. — and sub-
mit to persons who have had experience
with the use of machines.

The Poster .Advertising Association, with representation in over 7,000 cities and towns
in the United States and including in its membership nearly all of the billposting concerns
of the country, has suggested to The American City that any individual or organization
wishing to make complaints regarding billboards may refer its objections to the head-
quarters of the Association at 1620 Steger Building, Chicago, 111. While not every outdoor
advertising excess can be remedied, the Association is positive that it can often bring about
considerable improvement.

Standard Schedule for Grading Cities
and Towns for Fire Insurance

Part I

With Reference to Their Fire Defences and Physical Conditions

By John S. Caldwell

Engineer, New England Insurance Exchange, Boston, Mass.

Editorial Note. — This article, which will be continued through subsequent issues of The
American City, contains data of vital import to municipal officials, from several standpoints.
First, it points out the system by which the National Board of Fire Undermriters grades
cities and towfts according to their natural and artificial means for combating fire, which
thereby determine the rate of fire insurance zt/ithin the city or town. It then outlines the basis
of the schedule, the application of the deficiency scale, by which the score of a city in the
grading schedule is lowered through lack of some vital element needed for fire fighting, and
then takes up a detailed discussion of the tvater-supply. The portion of the article appearing
ill the February issue will contain the remaining discussion of the water-supply, and the or-
ganisation and effectiveness of the fire department.

IT was once deemed sufficient in the de-
termining of insurance rates for a city
or town to have a water-works system,
with hydrants in evidence, a fire depart-
ment with apparatus, equipment and men to
handle it, a fire alarm system, a police de-
partment, building laws, etc., but until
quite recently it had never been considered
necessary to attempt to go into any great
detail regarding the efficiency of such pro-
tection.

The natural result of such a procedure is
apparent. Inconsistencies brought about
fire insurance rates which were not com-
parable with existing conditions, some being
too high and others too low.

In New England the necessity for a
change was realized and in 1913 the classi-
fied system of rating for dwelling house
property was put into effect, whereby the
cities and towns of New England are graded
on a 200-point basis, allotting the 200 points
to a perfect or standard city or town ac-
cording to the value of its water-supply, fire
department, fire alarm system, ordinances,
etc., the class being determined by certain
limitations of the points allotted.

Meanwhile the National Board of Fire
Underwriters was engaged in the compiling
of a universal schedule which could be
adopted all over the country so that uniform
results might be obtained in arriving at the
value of the fire protection facilities of the
various cities and towns. In the working
out of this problem the advice of water-
works officials, fire chiefs, insurance .or-
ganizations, etc., was obtained, so that the
final result may be said to represent the

best opinion obtainable on the various sub-
jects considered.

It is, of course, not to be claimed that the
Schedule is perfect, as the practical applica-
tion has shown that various changes are
necessary to meet certain local conditions,
but it is felt that it is a forward step and is
a vast improvement over the old method.
It is this Schedule which was adopted by
the National Board of Fire Underwriters
in 19 1 6, and by the New England Insurance
Exchange in 1918.

The Basis of the Schedule

The Grading Schedule is based upon the
plan of assigning to the various features of
fire defence found in cities of the United
States, points of deficiency depending upon
the extent of variance from standards
formulated from a study of conditions in
more than 300 cities ; the natural and struc-
tural conditions which increase the general
hazard of cities, and the lack of laws or of
their enforcement for the control of un-
satisfactory conditions, are graded in the
same way. The sum of the maximum
points of deficiency totals 5,000 and is di-
vided in accordance with the relative values
of the features as given below:

RELATIVE VALUES

Water-supply: _ Points

Engine Stream Basis 1,700

Hose Stream Basis 2,000

Fire Department:

Engine Stream Basis 1,500

Hose Stream Basis 1,200

Fire Alarm 550

Police 50

Building Laws 200

Hazards 300

Structural Conditions 700

6,000

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

It is recognized that climatic conditions
affect fire losses, by reason of the frequency
of fires due to the heating hazard, by re-
tarding the response of fire apparatus, by
hampering effective fire fighting during
cold weather and storms, by the increase in
combustibility due to hot and dry weather,
and by the greater probability of fires
spreading at time of high winds. These
elements are to a greater or less degree
common to the whole country, and there-
fore no deficiency is considered in the
Schedule for normal climatic conditions.
Some sections of the country, however, are
subject to abnormal climatic conditions,
and to cities in these sections a super-defi-
ciency is applied, which will be described
later. This super-deficiency is to be added
to the deficiency determined by the appli-
cation of the Schedule proper.

Application of the Defieiency Scale

In determining the points of deficiency
to be applied to many of the items, it ap-
pears reasonable to use a graduated scale of
points depending upon the per cent of de-
ficiency, with a lesser increment for the first

is graded in per cent approximately as fol-
lows: slight 10, moderate 25, considerable
50, serious 75, and total 100. In considering
the degree of such unreliability, the size of
the community is considered; that is, con-
ditions which in a city would be considered
serious would in a small town be only mod-
erate or considerable because of the less
general probability of a fire occurring.

It was very early recognized, after the
Schedule had been applied to representa-
tive cities and towns, that the application
of the items under Fire Department pro-
duced deficiency charges in small munici-
palities which were out of proportion with
the actual experience in such localities, due
to the infrequency of fires, and it was de-
cided to deduct from the total points of de-
ficiency under Fire Department 10 per cent
for each 1,000 population below 10,000 for
certain items which were not as important
in the small communities as in the larger
cities.

After arriving at the total number of
points of deficiency, the class of the city or
town is determined from the following
table :

CLASS DIVISION

A First Class City or Town is one receiving 0- to 500 points of deficiency

A Second Class City or Town is one receiving 501 to 1,000 points of deficiency

A Third Class City or Town is one receiving 1,001 to 1,500 points of deficiency

A Fourth Class City or Town is one receiving 1,501 to 2,000 points of deficiency

A Fifth Class City or Town is one receiving 2,001 to 2,500 points of deficiency

A Sixth Class City or Town is one receiving. 2,501 to 3,000 points of deficiency

A Seventh Class City or Town is one receiving 3,001 to 3,500 points of deficiency

An Eighth Class City or Town is one receiving 3,501 to 4,000 points of deficiency

A Ninth Class City or Town is one receiving 4,001 to 4,500 points of deficiency

A Tenth Class City or Town is one receiving More than 4,500 points; or without

a water-supply and having a fire
department grading 10th class; or
with no fire protection.

30 per cent than for the remainder; that is. Let us consider in detail the various sub-

a deficiency of lo per cent in good or mod- jects which are included in the Schedule,

erately good conditions has less actual ef- starting first with the water-supply.

feet than where conditions are poor. Such

a scale has been prepared as shown below; Water-Supply

either the full scale, a multiple or a f rac- I- Appointment of Employes

111- 2- Lfhciency of Executive

tional part thereof is used, depending upon 3. Records and Plans

the relative weight or importance of the t' l^roY AiS by^DeStment

item under consideration. 6. Normal Adequacy of Entire System

/. Kehability of Source of Supply

-___ „^^.-_„ c:/->Arir S- Sufficiency of Reserve Pump Capacity

UEiaCIENCY bCALL 9 Sufficiency of Reserve Boiler Capacity

, Per Cent — ^ 10. Condition and Arrangement of Equipment

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 11. Fuel Supply or Electric Power

0% 10 25 45 67 90 112 134 156 178 200 12. Construction of Pumping Station

1% 1 12 27 47 70 92 114 136 158 180 ^ 3. Fire Protection of Pumpmg Station

2% 2 13 29 50 72 94 116 138 160 182 14. Hazards of Pumping Station

3% 3 15 31 52 74 97 119 141 163 185 ^5. Exposures to Pumping Station

i% 4 16 33 54 76 99 121 143 165 187 ^6. Reliability of Supply Mains as Affecting Ade-

6% 6 18 85 67 79 101 123 145 167 189 ,^ „ ^Hi*:^ ,, „ . ,^ , „.

6% 6 19 87 59 81 103 125 147 169 191 17. Reliability of Installation of Supply Mains

7% 7 21 39 61 83 105 127 149 171 194 18- Completeness of Arterial System

8% 8 22 41 63 85 108 130 152 174 196 !"• Reliability of Installation of Mains

9% 9 24 43 65 88 110 132 154 176 198 20. Effect of Small Mains in the High-Value District

Considered

Where quantity or numbers cannot be 2i- 4:inch Mains in System

, 1 , . .1 J r ji e ' 22. Dead Ends — 4- and 6-inch Mains

used as the basis, the degree of deficiency 23. Completeness of Gridiron of 6-inch Main»

January, ipii

THE AMERICAN CITY

•24. Quality and Condition of Pipe

■do. Electrolysis

26. Spacing of Gate Valves

27. Condition of Gate Valves

28. Distribution of Hydrants in tlie High-Value Dis-

trict Considered

29. Ditto in Residential Districts

30. Condition of Hydrants

31. Size and Design of Plydrants

32. Valves on Hydrant Branch

In order to ensure efficient operation, em-
ployes on municipal systems should be under
adequate civil service rules with tenure of
office secure, except that cases of long ten-
ure of office with an efficient organization
are considered equivalent.

The chief executive, that is, the super-
intendent or chief engineer, should be com-
petent and qualified by either experience or
education, but preferably both, to efficiently
fill the office.

Records and plans of the supply works,
pumping stations, and distribution system,
together with complete records of the op-
eration of the system, should be in con-
venient form, safely filed, indexed and kept
up to date.

Emergency crews shall either be on duty
at- all times or quickly available with an
emergency wagon loaded with the necessary
tools. At least one responsible employe
familiar with the system should respond to
fire alarms in high-value districts and -sec-
ond alarms elsewhere.

Alarms of fire should sound in some
quarters of the department, also in pumping
stations where pressures are raised or pumps
started to furnish fire service; telephone
service to pumping station shall be con-
sidered as 25 per cent of the total require-
ments, and in the event of a lack of oper-
ating force on duty, this is considered as
equivalent to deficient alarm service.

The item of adequacy of the entire system
is one of the most important in the whole
Schedule, as here one must determine as to
whether the source, including the entire
supply works, has the normal ability to
maintain maximum consumption demands
and fire flow.

In considering the deficiency under this
item, the results obtained at fire-flow tests
in the most favorable location in the high-
value district are used as a basis in making
calculations as to the probable deficiency
under maximum consumption conditions,
due allowance being made for any emer-
gency supply. The extent of the deficiency
of each part of the supply works must be
considered and the percentage of the most
serious used.

Cities are considered on an engine basis
if the fire flow available at pressure per-
mitting direct hydrant streams does not ex-
ceed actual engine capacity plus one-third
of the required fire flow, assumed to be as
waste at time of fire, and the fire flow to
be that obtained at the weakest part of the
high-value district and at time of maximum
consumption.

Allowance is also made on the ability of
a system to deliver a fire supply on small
fires direct without the use of engines, which
increases the speed of operation of the fire
department, even when full engine capacity
is available.

Following is a table of required fire flow
based on the population but modified by the
individual characteristics of construction
and hazards of the particular city or town
under consideration. This table includes a
probable loss from broken connections in-
cidental to a large fire and is based on the

formula G = 1,020 VP (i — -Oi VP),
where G = gallons per minute and P =
population in thousands, but in all cases
consideration must be given to local condi-
tions.

TABLE OF REQUIRED FIRE FLOW

.fc^"^^

*2 *j^ rt

3 >. t~

3 fe"^ u

Req
Flo\
Per
Ave

Req
Floi
Per
Ave

1,000

28,000

5,000

2.000

1,500

40,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

60,000

7,000

6,000

2,500

80,000

8,000

10,000

8,000

100,000

9,000

13,000

3,500

125,000

10,000

17.000

4,000

150,000

11,000

22,000

4,500

200,000

12,000

Over 200,000 population, 12,000 gallons a minute,
with 2,000 to 8,000 gallons additional for a second
fire.

In residential districts: for villages or towns under
in 000 population, 500 to 1,000 gallons a minute,
where the district is not congested; for cities over
this population, cr where the district is congested,
1,000 to 3.000 gallons a minute, with up to 6,000
eallons a minute in densely built sections of 3-story
buildings.

In considering the reliability of source
of supply, the effect on adequacy must be
considered for such items as frequency and
duration of droughts, physical condition of
intakes, danger from earthquakes, floods,
forest fires, ice dams and other ice forma-
tions, silting up or shifting of channels,
absence of watchmen where needed, etc.

The pumping capacity must be such that
with the two largest pumps out of service
the remainder in connection with such stor-
age as may be available must be sufficient to.

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

maintain maximum consumption and fire
flow at required pressure. For cities re-
quiring less than 5,000 gallons fire flow, the
relative infrequency of fires is assumed as
offsetting in part the probability of a serious
fire occurring at times when pumps are out
of service, and allowance is made accord-
ingly.

In cases where both low-lift and high-
lift pumps are provided and reliability of
supply is dependent on each, they must be
considered separately and the sum of the
points of deficiency applied.

There should be boiler capacity with a re-
serve of one-quarter the entire capacity, and
in any case at least one boiler must be suffi-
cient to operate all machinery and the pumps
required to maintain maximum consumption
and fire flow with allowance made for stor-
age. Nominally there must be sufficient
boiler capacity kept under at one-half re-
quired steam pressure to deliver full re-
quirements in connection with storage for
a period of two hours. With sufficient stack
or forced draft capacity, an overload of 50
per cent over the maker's rating is used
for fire tube boilers and 100 per cent for
water tube.

The following forms and combinations
of plant equipment, if of modern design and
well constructed and installed, are assumed
as approximately equal, advantages of each,
if any, being in the order of their naming :

a. Centrifugal or reciprocating pumps driven

by steam engines

b. Centrifugal or reciprocating pumps driven

by electric motor

c. Pumps operated by water-power

d. Centrifugal or reciprocating pumps oper-

ated by internal combustion engines
approved for this service ; duplicate
ignition parts to be on hand for each
engine; adequate provision to be made
for starting engines cold at least six
times in rapid succession

All equipment must be of a design ap-
plicable to the service ; service record in the
plant under consideration and in smaller
plants shall be considered and actual operat-
ing conditions observed; pumps to be free
from knock, with low slip, and capable of
operating at full speed; iDoilers to be well
set, in good condition and with proper semi-
annual inspection service; stacks to be sub-
stantially installed ; electrical equipment for
power to be in accordance with National
Electrical Code and not liable to injury by
water spray. Water-power equipment must

be accessible and properly safeguarded;
operating force to be competent.

A minimum of five days' coal supply
should be provided; where long hauls, con-
dition of roads, climatic conditions or other
causes make a longer interruption of de-
livery possible, a greater storage should be
provided. Gas supply should be from two
independent sources or from duplicate gas
producer plant, with a storage of at least 24
hours' gas supply. Oil supply should be
from underground storage of at least five
days' capacity, with force feed to engine or
boiler. Unreliability of gas or oil supply
to boilers may be lessened by proper pro-
visions for the use of coal. Water for
power should equal at all times that neces-
sary to meet maximum requirements and
should have proper flood and ice control.

Steam piping (or gas or oil piping with
internal combustion engines or to boilers)
or electric transmission lines, should be so
arranged that a failure in any line, or the
renewal of a valve, transformer or oil
pump would not prevent maintaining in
connection with storage, maximum domestic
consumption for two days and fire flow for
ten hours. Overhead electric lines introduce
a degree of unreliability which may be in
part offset by storage ; consideration in con-
nection with such lines shall be given to
number and duration of wind, sleet and
snow-storms, character of poles and wires,
character of country traversed, effect of
forest fires and ease of and facilities for re-
pairs; the use of the same transmission line
from transformer or switchboard by other
plants introduces a hazard of short circuit
or prior use of power, and may be con-
sidered as the equivalent to the use of over-
head lines in applying the Schedule.

Pumping stations and other portions of
the plant should contain no combustible
material in their construction; otherwise an
automatic sprinkler equipment should be
provided; outside hydrants and hose, inside
stand-pipes and hose, and chemical extin-
guishers should be provided. A public fire
station, if within ^-mile, shall be consid-
ered as giving about one-half protection.
If the pumping station is not fireproof, the
several sections, particularly any with high
potential generating equipment, shall be
separated by parapetted fire walls and open-
ings protected by standard fire-doors and
wire glass in metal frames. The station
shall be protected against exposures. Elec-

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

trie wiring shall be in accordance with the
National Electrical Code and all internal
hazards safeguarded. -

Under the item of reliability of supply
mains as effecting adequacy will be included
any and all pipe lines or conduits on which
supply to the distribution system is depen-
dent; suction or gravity lines to pumping
station, flow lines from reservoirs, force
mains, etc., are included, and a system may
have one or all of these as part of it. Con-
sideration must be as to greatest effect on
maximum consumption and fire flow at re-
quired pressures that a break could have.
If remaining pipes and storage cannot de-
liver even maximum consumption, allow-
ance is made for only that amount avail-
able at required pressure. In applying, all
mains which deliver from a source of sup-
ply or of storage to the high-value district
must be considered. Aqueducts, of good de-
sign and of substantial construction, such
as masonry on concreted steel, if properly
installed, shall be considered sufficiently de-
pendable not to require duplication, and no
application will be made as to the effect of
a possible break.

Under the assumption of the most serious
single break, when capacity of mains from
the source of supply is less than maximum
consumption, deficiency shall be considered
as offset by storage when the difference be-
tween maximum consumption and the capac-
ity of the mains is equaled by one-fifth the
storage after deducting fire flow for ten
hours, except as restricted by the capacity
of the mains from the storage. When ca-
pacity of the mains from the source of sup-
ply is more than maximum consumption,
the excess capacity plus 2.4 times the stor-
age shall be considered as offsetting de-
ficiency if equal to the fire flow in a million
gallons a day. The effect of a break in
suction or discharge headers, lack of by-
passing or poorly gated by-pass or arrange-
ments at any reservoir, filter, etc., poorly
arranged cross-connections, etc., must be
considered; also features which would tend
to cause or prevent an interruption of serv-
ice, such as length of line, and two or more
lines from the same or different sources or
from storage.

Deficiency for each individual possible
break is considered, and charge made for

the case giving the maximum total number
of points, including the increase due to
distance.

In considering the reliability of installa-
tion of supply mains it is assumed that they
must be in good condition and reliable;
cast iron, wrought iron, wood stave and
masonry conduit have been found satisfac-
tory, in various places and under certain
conditions ; service records and general con-
ditions must be considered. Mains should
be laid so as not to endanger each other,
and their failure at stream and railroad
crossings and other points where physical
conditions are unsatisfactory should be
guarded against; they should be cross-con-
nected and gated about once a mile, and
equipped with air valves at the high points
and blow-offs at the low points.

The general arrangement of valves, spe-
cials and connections at cross-overs, inter-
sections, reservoirs and discharge and suc-
tion headers must be considered with a view
to quickness in shutting down breaks; the
need of check valves on supply or force
mains and other arrangements to prevent
emptying of reservoirs at time of a break
in a main must be considered, as well as
ease of repair in case of breakage. If there
is more than one main and conditions do not
affect all, application is made in proportion
to the carrying capacity affected and the
degree of unreliability. ■

The arterial system includes the main ar-
teries and secondary feeders which extend
throughout the system. These feeders
should be of sufficient size, considering
their length and the character of the sec-
tions served, to deliver the fire flow neces-
sary for the district. The basis of defi-
ciency is applied by the results obtained in
the fire-flow tests and general consideration
of the arrangement.

Mains of the arterial system should not
be laid across filled ground and should have
special construction at railroad crossings
and near bridge abutments and should be
so gated that not more than ^-mile within
the distribution system will be affected by a
break. All mains should have sufficient
cover to prevent freezing, with a minimum
cover of 2 feet to prevent injury from
traffic.

(To be continued in the February issue)

The Value of Convict Labor

Road Construction in Nebraska Materially Aided by This Means

By M. Noble

Associate Editor, Highway Report, Nebraska State Department of Public Works

MANY people have heard that in Ne-
braska two prisoners escaped while
assisting with the work of building
a small part of the 4,500-mile state highway
system. The really important fact of the
matter is that nearly 50 convicts are,
through the efforts of the State Highway
Department, living and working out of
doors during the summer without causing
trouble.

During the early part of April, 1920, the
Department of Public Works, under which
the Bureau of Roads and Bridges superin-
tends the state highway work, decided, be-
cause of the excessively high prices bid on
earth excavation, to reject all bids on road
work for the four state and Federal aid
projects. It was decided to take over the
work, doing it by means of prison labor
and utilizing the surplus war equipment,
which had been turned over to the Depart-
ment. By so doing, it was thought to ac-
complish the work at estimated prices, and
at a much lower cost to the state than by
contract. Accordingly, camps were estab-
lished near enough to Lincoln so that state

officials might easily superintend and inspect
the work as it progressed.

The Convict Labor Camp

Three camps were established, at Seward,
Tecumseh and Table Rock. Each of the
three camps has an average personnel of
thirty and is established on lands rented
from farmers. Each consists of six bunk-
houses all built on portable bodies, which
are light enough to be pulled by mules from
one location to another. Two connecting
bunk-houses provide for the kitchen and
dining-room, and a third house furnishes
sleeping quarters for the road foreman and
guards, and is also used as an office. The
houses are 20 by 9 feet and have sufficient
windows for lighting and ventilation. The
diner has a built-in table in the center,
around which are low benches. The kitchen
is equipped with built-in cupboards and a
six-hole range. There are also tables of
good size and height for the use of the cook.
Equipment for each of the camps costs ap-
proximately $450, and the cost of each outfit
averages in the neighborhood of $500.

ELEVATING OBADEB LOADING WAGONS, ALL OFEBATED BY CONVICT LABOR

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

TYPICAL CONVICT LABOR CAMP, NEBRASKA, SHOWING PORTABLE HOUSES

The cook has several helpers to assist in
serving the men. The dining-room and
kitchen are screened, and ice is provided
for the refrigerators. Many of the sup-
plies are bought from the neighboring
farmers, although staple articles of food are
purchased in large quantities for all the
camps.

Each of the three camps has about 20
teams of either mules or horses. This stock
is rented from a local contractor. The
equipment for the work consists of a double
outfit at each of the camps. The outfit is
composed of tw^o Holt tractors of 125-horse-
power, two graders, two road-plows and a
half-dozen dump-wagons. It is estimated
that by using for road-building purposes the
large tractors which were given to the state
as surplus war equipment, at least the cost
of 12 head of horses is saved. The expense
of feeding the stock would average betvveen
$1,000 and $1,200 a month. The tractor
alone consumes 65 gallons of gasoline and 3
gallons of oil per day of 10 hours.

Contrary to the practice in some states,
the men do not work in prison garb, but
use ordinary work clothes. The convict re-
ceives $1.50 per day for his work, besides a
tobacco allowance and food. The state
penitentiary receives 75 cents per day per
man, and the cook and supervisors are paid
from the State Aid Road Fund. The War-
den of the State Institution is quoted as
saying: "The success of road work being
done by convict labor depends very con-
siderably upon the supervisors. Theirs is
the task of seeing to the comfort of the men,
and, in addition, they will have to be es-
pecially tactful in the treatment and han-
dling of the prisoners."

When the convicts were chosen for road

work, they were told that they were sent
out as trusties and put on their honor. The
honor system is maintained throughout, and
in accordance with this system the guards
are designated as supervisors.

The Work. Accomplished

According to estimates, over a half-mil-
lion yards of grading has been completed
by convicts in 1920. The project includes
14 miles of road between Tecumseh and
Crab Orchard, 15 miles between Table
Rock and Lewiston, 7 miles of the Seward-
York-Aurora Highway in Seward County,
and 9 miles of the Omaha-Lincoln-Denver
Highway in Seward County. In all, 45
miles of roads will be built. At the Table
Rock camp there is hard stone to excavate
in some places, and in others a kind of
gumbo. This rough work is being done by
pickax.

There is unusual interest in athletic
sports, particularly baseball, among the
prisoners, who are permitted to play local
ball teams. One evening the entire camp
was taken to the moving picture house at
the expense of the townspeople. The Table
Rock camp is composed entirely of negroes
and has proved one of the most satisfactory
camps in Nebraska.

Most of the work that is being done in
the camps is grading. This involves haul-
ing the material from cuts or for fills a con-
siderable distance. The graders are pulled
by the Holt tractors, and approximately 6
to 8 dump wagons are used. The state em-
ploys engineers to see that the grade stakes
are set correctly and far enough ahead of
the actual grading each day so that the
work runs along smoothly.

The Cleveland Public Hall

CLEVELAND recently set in place the
cornerstone of its gigantic public hall
— a building, which when completed,
will be the largest structure of its kind in
the United States. The hall is to cover two
city blocks, its roof area will be nearly
three acres, and its main auditorium or arena
will have a seating capacity of 13,300. It
will permit the holding of expositions larger
than ever held before under one roof,
and will provide facilities for amusement
projects ranging from grand opera to the
three-ring circus.

The arena or public hall proper is to be
370 feet long and 220 wide, yet in this vast
auditorium there will not be a single pillar
to obstruct the view. The whole auditorium
will be lighted from the ceiling, where the
use of incandescents with a total wattage of
437,000, or the equivalent of 218,000 ordi-
nary lamps, is being planned.

South of the arena will be a unit hous-
ing a complete theater capable of seating
an audience of 2,700, and with facilities for
a company of 200 players. The stage of
the theater unit will also be the stage of
the main auditorium and will have a prosce-
nium arch of 72 feet span, a depth of 48
feet, and an overall width of 108 feet. Fly
galleries are to be done away with and noth-
ing . but modern stage-setting machinery
used. The stage will include one section
which can be raised or lowered in order to
provide a swimming tank or an ice rink for

big spectacles. One of the notable installa-
tions to be made in the hall will be a pipe
organ of such size that a 50-horse-power
motor will be required to operate it.

To the north of the arena will be located
another complete unit of the same approxi-
mate size as the theater unit on the south.
It will be six stories in height and will in-
clude the formal lobby and some twenty
convention halls with seating capacities
ranging from 300 to 1,200. Restaurants, a
barber shop, telephone booths and commit-
tee rooms will add to the convenience of the
convention delegates.

The basement is designed for exposition
purposes, and pipe lines will be installed in
the basement ceiling to supply compressed
air, vacuum, gas, electricity, water-power
and steam to exhibitors, thus permitting the
demonstration of any kind of machinery.
Including the arena and formal lobby, 100,-
000 square feet of exhibit space will be
available. Curving runways will be built
from the basement to the arena floor to take
care of circus parades and pageants.

The exterior of the building is to be of a
modified Italian Renaissance type to har-
monize with the architecture of Cleveland's
Mall or Group Plan, of which it is a unit
occupying a section of the easterly side.
Other buildings in this group already com-
pleted and in use are the City Hall, the
Court House and the Federal Building. The
Public Library will probably be the next

THE JJIBGEST PUBLIC HALL OF ITS KIND IN THE UNITED STATES, ADAPTED FOB ANY-
THINO FBOM COMMEBCIAL EXPOSITIONS TO QBAND OFEBA

January, 1921

The AMERICAN CITY

unit of the group to go under construction.
The original plans were drafted by
former Architect F. H. Betz and F. R.
Walker, consulting architect. Mr. Betz has
since been succeeded by J. H. MacDowell.
It -is planned to complete the arena sec-

tion by the fall of 1921. The total cost of
the arena with its two units and equipment
will be approximately $5,000,000, partly
provided for through a great bond issue
campaign conducted by a Committee of One
Hundred Organizations.

The Ash-Man Enters Constantinople

IN Constantinople, City of Superstition,
the common, ordinary cur was looked
upon as a "sacred scavenger" by the
Mohammedans. Perhaps the superstition
contained more truth than fiction, for when
the dogs which flocked the streets were ban-
ished because of health measures, the streets
became the breeding-place for the germs of
all sorts of epidemic diseases, whereas these
wandering pariahs had kept the public high-
ways fairly clean. It was only when the
more progressive citizens of Constantinople
believed that there was danger of rabies
that the wily ways of the dog-catcher were
resorted to. The sacred canines were
banished to a desert island in the Sea of
Marmora, where they eventually starved to
death and where their bones were found
bleaching in the sun by war refugees.

The dogs have been replaced by some-
thing more modern in the way of public
health utilities, and, if superstition ever en-
folded the canine for the
reason stated above,
there are possibilities
that the latest type of
labor introduced by
American relief workers
may become known as
"sacred street-cleaners."
For the American Red
Cross, realizing that
some substitution must
be made for the work of
the curs, has introduced
into Stamboul, that part
of Constantinople known
as the dirtiest city in the
world, a satisfactory
street-cleaning system.

The new street clean-

mind. The accumulation of refuse in the
city had grown worse and worse, and while
the street cleaning appliance introduced by
the society seems simple as compared to
the modern means employed in the larger
cities of the United States, it has helped to
solve the problem. It is primitive but effec-
tive. Little pack-horses have been adopted.
Each pack-horse is fitted with two large
containers which hang from either side of
the pack-saddle. A native workman, armed
with spade and broom, guides the animal
from trash heap to trash heap, fills the con-
tainers with the disease-breeding rubbish,
and takes it to a convenient dumping
ground, where it is burned.

This simple method is generally applic-
able in Oriental cities, in whose steep, nar-
row streets vehicles are often almost out of
the question. Its adoption should do much
to prevent the periodic ravages of epidemic
diseases.

mg program is giving
peace to the supersti-
tious Mohammedan

Courtesy of American Red Cross

THE EQUIPMENT IS PRIMITIVE, BUT EFFECTIVE

Dustless Streetslin Fitchburg, Mass.

Pick-Up Sweeper Used — Oiling Replaces Watering

By David A. Hartwell

Commissioner of Public Works ]

FOR a number of years the cost of water-
ing and oiling streets in Fitchburg was
levied against abutting property. Dur-
ing the last fiscal year a new scheme was
tried, by which watering and oiling was done
at the expense of the general public. Also,
practically all watering for dust laying was
eliminated and oiling substituted. By doing
away with any assessments for watering
and oiling, the city's available revenue was
decreased about $12,000. Since there were
no special assessments, abutters on sprinkled
or oiled streets were not as urgent in their
demands upon the Department of Public
Works as in earlier years.

For some years past a trolley sprinkler
and flusher has been used, at a cost of
$4,000 a year. Inasmuch as this work was
limited to the streets on which there were
car tracks, and was somewhat objectionable
when there was much traffic on the street,
it was decided to eliminate this charge dur-
ing the last fiscal year.

When oil is first applied to a street as a
dust layer, it is somewhat of a nuisance, but
in the end it is much more satisfactory than
water for laying the dust in all kinds of

&■

weather. Two applications of oil during
an ordmary season not only keep the dust
laid, but are also a substantial aid in keep-
ing the streets in repair, as the oil pre-
vents a large amount of erosion in times of
heavy rain. During the last season, as there
were no assessment limitations to be con-
sidered, there was a considerable extension
of the mileage of streets oiled, even cover-
ing a few country roads. It is planned to
extend still further the mileage of streets
and roads oiled in the coming year, because
of the excellent results obtained.

The elimination of the trolley street
flusher on the principal paved street necessi-
tated some other method of cleaning, and
for this purpose an Elgin motor sweeper
was purchased and charged against the
street maintenance appropriation. In spite
of the difficulty in securing and keeping a
competent operator, the machine did ex-
cellent work on smooth pavements and fair
work on rough paving. The early morning
sweeping of the principal retail business
streets before the appearance of much
traffic, aided the patrolmen in keeping the
street clean.

ELGIN SWEEPER AT WOBK ON FITOHBTTBG. MASS., STREETS

Modern Pumping Station Design and

Operation

Metering of Pump Discharge, Use of Electric Power and Fuel Oil Make
Operation More Economical

By Reeves J. Newsom

Commissioner of Water-Supply, Lynn, Mass.

IT has been necessary within the last two
years, in order to keep abreast of the
times and to get proper efficiency in
operation, to make three typical changes in
pumping station equipment in Lynn, Mass.
A motor-driven centrifugal pump installed
in 1912 in the Glen Lewis station had been
so outgrown by the progress in design of
this type of pump that it was economical to
junk the equipment and replace it with new.

Old Station Equipment

The Walden Pond station, equipped with
a steam-driven pump, became uneconomical
and impractical to operate, and unable, be-
cause of its peculiar situation and the diffi-
culty in obtaining men for its operation, to
supply the amount of water needed, and it
has been supplanted by a new station in a
dififerent location with electric motor-driven
centrifugal equipment.

In the main pumping station, which
pumps daily into the mains and equalizing
reservoir, the coal situation has become so
involved that we have found it necessary to
change to oil as fuel for the boilers.

The Glen Lewis equipment consisted of a
centrifugal pump delivering about fifteen
million gallons per day against a 20-foot
head driven by a loo-h. p. synchronous
motor with suitable switchboard and
starter. The priming pump was of the
ordinary reciprocating type, belt-driven
from a small motor. There was no water
meter installed with this pump, and for six
years it was run without any idea of the
efficiency at which it was operating.

In 1918 the writer ran a series of tests
using a Pitot tube meter for measuring the
water, and found that at rates from 12-3/4
millions to 16-3/4 millions per day against
heads ranging from 10.9 feet to 27 feet, the
combined efficiency of the unit varied be-
tween 26 and 47 per cent. This unit has now
been replaced by a pump which delivers
about seventeen million gallons per day

106502

against a 20-foot head driven by a 75-h. p.
induction motor at 500 r. p. m. The auxili-
ary equipment is in all respects identical
with that at the Hawkes Pond station, as is
also the method of operation, which will be
described later. This pumping unit at the
time of its acceptance tests showed a com-
bined efficiency of 74.5 per cent.

The Walden Pond station, built in 1902,
received water into the suction well through
a canal about three-quarters of a mile in
length. When it was in operation, two men
were required at all times to attend to the
screens at the end of the canal and to con-
trol the flow of water. The equipment in
the station consisted of a cross-compound
Corliss engine, the piston rods of which
were extended through the cylinders, and
the pump attached beyond. Because of the
arrangement of suction canal, discharge
lines, etc., water which needed to be lifted
from one pond to another only 20 feet
higher was actually being pumped against
a 45-foot head.

This station was used to pump water
which flowed by gravity from the Saugus
River to Hawkes Pond during the winter
and spring months. Because of the neces-
sity of getting together a force of engineers
and firemen, it could be operated only when
a steady run of water of at least two or
three months' duration was assured, and to-
day, of course, it would be impossible to
get together a force of men for a short-term
job of that kind. Short flood flows in the
river could never be utilized, and the con-
sumption of water by the city demands
more than the steady spring flows will yield.

The New Station

All these difficulties were overcome by
building a new station on the shore of one
pond at a point only 500 feet from the other,
and equipping the station with a motor-
driven centrifugal unit. This location re-
duced the lift to 23 feet, including piping

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

losses, and the starting and stopping of the
plant is so simple that all flood flows can be
taken advantage of, even though they are
of only one day's duration. This has prac-
tically doubled the value of the Saugus
River as a source of supply.

The equipment in the new station con-
sists of a centrifugal pump capable of de-
livering twenty-one million gallons per day
against a 23-foot head, and is driven by a
loo-h. p. induction motor at 450 r. p. m.
This motor, as well as the one at the Glen
Lewis station, is wound to use 4,000-volt,
Y-connected current direct from the trans-
mission line without a transformer.

The auxiliary equipment in both stations
includes a two-panel switchboard, a water
meter, and a priming unit, and in the
Hawkes station a j4-i"ch mesh copper
screen of the revolving endless chain type
with suitable washing pan and hot and cold
water connections for cleaning off dirt and
ice.

The switchboards contain both electrical
and water instruments consisting of the fol-
lowing: voltmeter, ammeter, oil switch of
the remote control type, lighting and prim-'
ing pump switches, overload release, under-
voltage release, inverse time limit overload
release, the power company's watthour
meter, and a curve-drawing wattmeter; a
clock, indicating discharge and suction
gages, and recording discharge and suction
gages. On the back of the panel and wired
in series with the under-voltage release is
mounted a diaphragm suction regulator
which shuts down the pump just before it
loses water. The water meters are indica-
ting, recording, integrating instruments,
actuated by Pitot tubes.

The priming pumps are novel adaptations
of a direct-connected, motor-driven, hydro-
turbine vacuum pump, and, complete, occupy
a space only 20 x 40 inches. They are so
compact that they are tucked under the out-
board bearings of the pumps, and in
general appearance are a part of the big
units, adding practically no space to the
area which they cover.

The Hawkes Pond unit showed on its
acceptance test an overall efficiency of yy
per cent.

These two motor-driven installations are
on the supply system, where absolutely con-
tinuous operation is not essential, and we
are able, in view of this fact and the safety
devices which are provided, to operate them

twenty-four hours per day for weeks at a
time practically without attendance. The
only labor involved is the daily changing of
charts and reading of meters, and the
occasional supplying of a small amount of
oil to the bearings. This is done at both
stations by the patrolmen on the respective
parts of the reservoir system, so that there
is no labor chargeable to the operation of
the stations.

The Walnut Street station is equipped
with a fifteen-million-gallon-per-day tur-
bine-driven centrifugal pump, and two
reciprocating crank and fly wheel pumps,
ten million and five million gallons per day
capacity respectively, power for which is
furnished by two 175-h. p. boilers. There
is also a motor-driven centrifugal auxiliary
pump of three and three-quarter millions
per day capacity, for which we purchase
power from the local electric light company.
As our consumption is about nine million
gallons per day, it is essential that at least
one boiler be in operation at all times in
addition to the electric unit, and ordinarily
all the pumping is done by steam, using both
boilers.

The Fuel Problem

The coal problem has become very serious
in two ways. At times coal is scarcely
obtainable, and last winter for several
weeks we had to depend on trucks coming
through the deep snows from a city twenty
miles distant to keep our pumps going. Then,
too, the quality of the coal now on the
market has made its use very uneconomical.
The station duty has dropped as much as 30
per cent at times, and in order to keep up
steam there has had to be wasted unburned,
through the ash-pit, 18 to 20 per cent on the
average, and, at times, as high as 28 per
cent, of the coal fired. Combined with these
facts has been the ever-rising price of coal
from around $4.00 per ton to $16.50 at the
present time.

We have made a contract for oil at the
equivalent of about $9 per ton for coal, and
the price is guaranteed for two and one-
half years, and the delivery of oil for five
years. This contract is backed by a $10,-
000 bond, which is two-thirds of the cost
of the oil-burning apparatus, and the
amount to be saved is such that if the oil
company delivers oil for only a few months
we can change back to coal without loss.

The oil situation appears to be pretty

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

HAWKES POND PUMPING STATION, LYNN, MASS.
Capacity of pump, 21 million gallons daily against a 23-foot head; motor, 100 horse-power.

building, $15,000; equipment, $12,000.

Cost of

stable, however, when it is remembered that
enormous royalties are paid to the Mexican
Government on the output of oil, and it is,
therefore, vitally interested in keeping them
in operation, and, further, any interference
with the oil output would not be tolerated
by the British and American navies. The
company which delivers the oil into trucks
from storage tanks in Chelsea, Mass., owns
also the wells, the pipe lines, and the tank
steamers which bring it to this country, so
that transportation difficulties would seem
to be minimized.

The Oil-burning Apparatus

The oil-burning apparatus which is being
installed consists of three principal elements,
the storage tank, the combined pump and
heater, and the burners, with connecting
piping and auxiliaries.

The storage tank is of reinforced con-
crete, built in two separate compartments
with a total capacity of 35,000 gallons, or
about three weeks' supply. A suction pipe
comes from each compartment of the tank
and runs to the pump inside the boiler room.
These pipes are surrounded near the end by
vSteam jackets which heat the heavy fuel oil

so that it will flow. Pipes extending to the
bottom enter the tank at the same points, to
which ejectors can be attached for remov-
ing water which may collect from time to
time.

The pump to which the suction pipes are
attached is of the double-duplex, direct-
acting type, mounted above the heater,
which is cylindrical in shape, the whole
thing being a small, compact unit. The
heater is constructed like a surface con-
denser, the steam being inside the tubes and
the oil flowing around them. In this heater
the temperature of the oil is raised to about
130 degrees F.

From the heater the oil is pumped to the
boiler front, where it passes through an
auxiliary heater composed of another steam-
jacketed section of pipe which is used to
heat the oil beyond the pump when the
boilers have been banked, or when for any
reason the main heater does not function
properly. The piping is so arranged that all
exhaust steam from the heaters and pump is
returned to the boilers.

The oil then passes through a regulator
and to the burners, where it is atomized by
steam and mixed with air. The burners are

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

placed just below the location of the coal
grates, the pipes cfoming in through the ash
doors, which are entirely bricked up except
for the requisite air slots.

The regulator is actuated by changes in
steam pressure and controls the flow of oil
to the burners. The supply of air is con-
trolled by the position of the chimney drafts.
It is possible to obtain a regulator which will
also control the air, but a centrifugal pump
load is so steady that practically no change
is required in the amount of air needed,
once it has been set to meet the atmospheric
conditions for the day's run. and the com-
plication of such a regulator is not, there-
fore, justified in our installation.

We use both boilers ordinarily to carry
the load and to prevent its unequal distri-
bution and the overloading of either of the
boilers. Steam flow meters are being in-
stalled to show the respective outputs.

Dangers and Advantages in Using Oil

The dangers in the use of oil are two —
having too hot a fire, and having the fire
too concentrated. The limit to which an oil
fire can be forced is usually beyond the
safety point of the boiler, and so the output
must be- watched. If the burners are too
close to the boilers, the flame may be so con-
centrated that the rivets in the shell will

melt. A boiler setting built especially for
oil is usually very high, but a coal installa-
tion can in most cases be adapted to oil by
removing the grates and putting the burners
in the top of the ash-pits.

The principal advantages which will in
our case be derived from the use of oil are
as follows :

1. Oil is cheaper than coal.

2. It can be burned more efficiently than coal.

3. Greater boiler capacity can be developed.

4. Coal and ash handling charges will be
eliminated.

5. Variation in quality will be minimized.

6. Banking of fires can be done very much
more economically.

7. Neater and cleaner and better working
conditions will be obtained.

The burning of oil seems to solve our
problem in this station, temporarily at least,
and perhaps until such time as the eventual
solution, the development of available
water-power, will be consummated.

Under favorable conditions steam power
can be developed and used more cheaply in
Lynn than electrical power, but in the case
of the two stations mentioned above, which
are situated on the supply system and which
are operated only a part of the time, the
difficulty in obtaining labor, and the higher
fixed charges on steam-driven equipment,
more than offset the higher cost of operating
bv electricitv.

Damage Suits Against Municipalities for
Winter Casualties

IT is not amiss to call the attention of
municipal officials to the necessity of
avoiding damage suits by requiring pave-
ments to be kept clean from snow and ice.
A municipality must see to it that the streets
and sidewalks are in safe condition as far
as they can be put in that condition by the
use of vigilance.

Safety First should be applied in the
building of sidewalks. All • cement side-
walks should be roughened in such a manner
as to insure the safety of pedestrians during
the winter months. This can be done by the
municipality if the owner refuses, providing
a proper ordinance has been passed. It is
advisable that an ordinance be framed to
call for the roughening of cement sidewalks
so that contractors and the owners of prop-
erty will have due notice of the requirement.

It is a simple matter, and every property
owner should be willing to abide by the reg-
ulation.

Safety First should be applied to the con-
struction of area-ways, cellar doors, over-
head signs and awnings. Iron plates on side-
walks should be roughened and should be
examined and tested. The same applies to
all cellar doors and area-ways. Fall and
early winter is the best time for the work to
be done, for then repairs can be made before
the extreme cold weather begins. Overhead
signs and awnings are another source of
danger and should receive consideration at
this time of the year. Wooden awnings and
projecting eaves where snow and ice
accumulate and may fall on pedestrians,
should receive close attention on the part of
municipal authorities.

Buffalo's Memorial History

By Daniel J. Sweeney

City Clerk, Buffalo, N. Y

ABOUT a year ago the city of Buffalo
concluded the distribution of more
than 15,000 copies of a history of
Buffalo and Erie County during the period
of the world war, compiled by the City
Clerk under authority of the City Council.
The book, with striking cover design in red,
white and blue, is believed to be the most
notable record of a municipality at home
and overseas accomplished by any locality
in America. It is both a tribute and a rec-
ord, and will be valuable as a permanent
reference work.

Immediately after the signing of the ar-
mistice on November 11, 19 18, various so-
cieties and public officials suggested the
erection of monuments, the building of me-
morial halls, public buildings, boulevards,
parks, or recreational centers as memorials
to the boys who carried the Stars and
Stripes to victory along the Western Front.
Buffalo officials considered all these, but
finally adopted the suggestion that a history
of Buffalo during the period of the world
war be written and a copy given to each
Buffalonian who had participated in the
war as an enlisted man in the Army or
Navy, Marines or Red Cross.

Mayor George S. Buck appointed a com-
mittee of one hundred representative citi-
zens, of which Finley H. Greene, a promi-
nent war worker in the various drives at
home, was made chairman. The committee
selected the City Clerk, who was a former
newspaper man, as editor, and he in turn
selected various associate editors to engage
in the work. The greater portion of the
book was written by the editor, who, by rea-
son of his connection with the city govern-
ment, had participated in all its plans to aid
the National Government in winning the
war. Many of the records of the city's ac-
tivities were in his possession and had been
filed and indexed from time to time with
just such an end in view.

The Buffalo War History is a publication
of 750 pages, in quarto form, and profusely
illustrated with photographs and maps. It
contains a roster giving the names and regi-
mental connection of every soldier and ma-

rine, and the sailor assignments of Buffalo's
naval veterans as well. It contains a list of
Red Cross nurses, doctors and dentists, and
a sqparate roster for each of the local mili-
tary organizations which were called into
the Federal service. The roster also gives
all the citations and a complete list of the
dead and wounded, and, in a descriptive
way, in another section of the publication,
tells when and where and how the wounds
were received or death incurred.

One map shows the draft divisions of the
city of Buffalo ; another locates all the
training camps in the United States; a third
is a detailed map of the Western Front in
Europe; another shows the progress of the
Buffalo boys in the draft divisions in the
Argonne-Meuse offensive. Other maps
shov,- the progress of the io8th Infantry on
that memorial September 29th, 191 8, when
the great Hindenburg line was smashed ;
Colonel Donovan's forces of the 42nd
(Rainbow) Division in the Marne salient;
the Chateau-Thierry and the St. Mihiel en-
gagements.

The other illustrations begin with the din-
ner held at the Bankers' Club in New York
City on November 3, 191 5, to formulate
plans for national preparedness, at which
Joseph M. Choate, former Ambassador to
Great Britain, presided, and which was at-
tended by Louis P. Furhmann, then Mayor
of Buffalo. Every step of Buffalo's part in
the war ; the preparedness parades and
meetings; the assembling and dispatch of
all National Guardsmen to the Mexican
border; their return; the organization of the
draft units; their departure for the training
camps; views at the training camps and on
the trip across ; intensely interesting photo-
graphs from the air and on land, of notable
battlegrounds and of Buffalo boys before
and after battles, on shell-torn roads in
France, at work and at play; their trip
home; the welcoming parades; — all unfold
in attractive sequence as the reader turns
the pages of the book. Many are the pho-
tographic reproductions of scenes at home
while the Liberty Loan, the Red Cross, the
War Savings Stamp and other war work

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

committees carried on their labors.

The book was paid for by the city gov-
ernment. The cost of publication — over
$50,000 — exceeded somewhat the amount an-
ticipated, but the work was so complete and
so well produced that the citizens, generally,
received it with delight. The first 10,000
copies were produced at an average cost of
$3.90 apiece. The distribution was through
the City Clerk's office. Each soldier who
presented his discharge, which was properly
stamped against duplication, received a copy
of the book. The books were delivered to
the City Clerk's office in lots of 500. On
each delivery fully twice the number of ap-
plicants presented themselves as there were
books available, and on one occasion it was
necessary to secure police reserves to fa-
cilitate the delivery, more than 3,500 people
having banked themselves in and about the
corridors of the City Hall and the surround-
ing streets, seeking to obtain copies of the
book. The tremendous increase in the cost
of white paper and of labor has increased
the cost of the book, but the Council ordered

5,000 additional copies to meet the demand
of returning soldiers.

The work was undertaken at a time when
the boys were still overseas, but as they
straggled home from the debarkation camps
many interesting tales and valuable data
were obtained from them. A city under-
taking such a work at this time would be in
a position to write a narrative with greater
historical completeness and fuller details of
important events, but it would necessarily
lack the atmosphere in which the Buffalo
work was undertaken and carried on. One
would, perhaps, be more prosaic, or calculat-
ing, in the preparation of a history at this
time. While many valuable data, unavail-
able at first, could be included in a new
work, much of value would be lost because
of the lapse of time.

It seems to be the consensus of opinion
of those throughout the country who have
obtained copies of the book that the city of
Buffalo has erected an historical monument
in this publication which will be the pride
of the citizens for many years.

Is the City Manager Plan a Success?

{Continued from page 8)

responsible for the success or f^ailure of the executive
end of the government. Thus the city manager^ form
allows of the elimination of the cumbersome 'majority'
of city officials before even the smallest item can be
carried out."

PETOSKEY, MICH. (5,064)

J. Frank Quinn, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce.
— "The present form of our city government — city
manager — is superior to the previous form in both
efficiency and economy. This is the expression of
every Petoskey business man with whom I have talked
on the subject."

PORTLAND, MICH. (2,747)

Fred J. Mauren, editor. — "Portland's affairs have
been handled by a city manager for more than a year,
and the plan has given excellent satisfaction. There
is no dodging responsibility — no passing the buck.
The city's business is being transacted with greater
simplicity, more satisfactorily and with less expense
than under the old plan."

BEDDING, CALIF. (6,000)

Leslie Engram, City Clerk. — "Redding has a modi-
fied form of the city manager government. It has
given splendid results."

BOCK HILL, S. C. (8,809)

Secretary, Chamber of Commerce. — "The city man-
ager plan has been a success in Rock Hill, has given
efficient and economical government, and the people
are well pleased with the results."

SAN ANGELO, TEX. (9,392)

Thomas F. Owen, Secretary, Board of Development.
— "Most decidedly, the city manager plan has been a
success in San Angelo. We adopted it in 1915. Two
years ago an attempt was made by some disgruntled
politicians to overthrow it, but they were beaten by a

vote of nearly four to one. If you want to eliminate
politics from city government, if you want your city
to be operated successfully, have it run by a city
manager. It is the only way to secure the best re-
sults for the taxpayer, to establish efficiency, and to
save money."

SANTA BABBABA, CALIF. (19,441)

C. W. Kirk, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce. —
"There seems to be no objection to the city manager
plan in Santa Barbara. Everything is running along
smoothly."

SAULT STE. MABIE, IVnCH. (12,096)

Charles E. Chipley, Industrial Secretary, Civic and
Commercial Association.— "From our experience, the
city manager form of government is businesslike, and
for that reason much superior to other forms. I be-
lieve it will ultimately be adopted by every city in
the United States. A city is the largest corporation
in which its citizens are commonly interested, and
fixed responsibility and businesslike management are
essential to its proper and profitable conduct. The
efficiency of the city manager form is largely de-
pendent upon the personnel of the commission and the
ability of the manager, but, regardless of this, the
government of the city u-ill be superior because of the
plan itself. In brief, the arguments in theory and
practice are all in favor of the city manager form,
and the final result would warrant any inconvenience
which might result before the same operates smoothly."

XENIA, OHIO (9,110)

Lewis C. Tingley, Secretary, Chamber of Com-
merce. — "We consider the city manager plan a great
success, and it is giving this city a cleaner and more
efficient government than before. After two years'
experience we have found it more economical and
far more efficient. The inauguration of the new form
of government meant the passing of an old political
machine." .^

fbrward y^tops

^oported to THE AMERICAN CITY

bpffunicipal Officials & Department H^ads

(jiy Managers

Cinders and Tar Build Good Road

Manistee, Mich. — Early last spring a
movement was started in Manistee, Mich.,
and sponsored by the local Board of Com-
merce, having as its objective a boulevard
or driveway of a permanent nature leading
from the heart of the city through an ex-
panse of sandy flats and dunes to the shore
of Lake Michigan, a distance of about 3,600
feet. This, it was argued, would serve a
two-fold purpose : it would give Manisteeans
and visitors to our city access to one of our
greatest resort assets, Lake Michigan, and
at the same time open up for development
as summer resort property a vast amount
of hitherto almost worthless land.

The proposed project was presented to
the City Commission with a- request that it
be given consideration and that some action
looking toward the construction of such a
road be taken at once, in ordei that, in the
event of its becoming a reality, it might be
available for public use during the season of

1920. The Commission in turn referred the
matter to the writer, who holds the dual
position of City Manager and City Engi-
neer, for recommendation.

After a careful survey and study of con-
ditions, a concrete roadway 18 feet in
width was recommended, and met with
hearty approval, but at that point a stum-
bling-block was encountered. There were
not sufficient funds available for the im-
mediate construction, and, as time seemed
an important factor, it was inexpedient to
issue bonds; furthermore, the likelihood of
carrying a bond issue seemed slight. The
writer then began casting about for some
other method or type of construction that
would insure a permanent or a semi-perma-
nent roadway at a much less expense.

From several of our largest mills we have
an almost unlimited supply of coal cinders,
which for years past have been placed on
our outlying and unimproved streets. These
when well rolled and oiled, present a fair
roadway for light traffic. With this in mind,
the writer proposed that the boulevard be
graded through to the lake and that on the
sand subgrade a mat of cinders be placed,
well rolled, and covered by macadam sur-
face rolled into the cinders and then bound

THIS ROADWAY, CONSTRUCTED AT LOW COST, CONNECTS MANISTEE WITH LAKE ftUCHIGAN
AND OPENS NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUMMER-RESORT DEVELOPMENT

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

with tar. This method was adopted, and
the result has been so gratifying that I give
you the co;istruction, step by step, and the
cost, in the hope that it may prove of benefit
to some other locality or individual.

The site of the proposed road was first
graded; as the grade was established, the
cuts balanced the fills and no sand was taken
out nor hauled in. Upon this subgrade was
placed a mat of cinders, averaging about 12
inches in thickness and 24 feet wide, that
being the width oi the finished roadway.

This cinder mat was wet down and rolled
thoroughly and the soft spots which showed
up after rolling were filled in with more
cinders and again rolled, until the whole
surface was uniformly hard and smooth.
For this rolling an Austin-Western 5-ton
gasoline tandem roller was used most satis-
factorily.

Upon this cinder base was then placed a
i>^- to 2-inch course of ^- to ^-inch
crushed stone, which was rolled into the
cinders. Great care was exercised here
that the stone covering should leave no
cinders exposed which would present a soft
spot to traffic over the road.

A tank car of Tarvia "A" was purchased
and applied hot by auto distributor in the
proportion of about one gallon to a square
yard of road. Immediately following its
application, gangs of men spread over it
another coating of the same sized stone to
the thickness of about one inch, and this
stone was again rolled.

Upon completion of this operation an-
other application of about ^-gallon of
binder to the square yard was used for a
width of about 10 feet down the middle of
the roadway, and the second application was
covered with sharp sand. The road was
then ready for use, the sand being allowed
to iron into the roadway under traffic, and
presented a smooth, hard surface. After
one season of very hard usage, no holes,
bumps or scarifications are apparent, and
it is the intention of the writer to build onto
this surface again in the near future by the
application of more Tarvia and sand for the
full width of the roadway.

The total cost of the work as completed
to date was $7,777.94 for about 9,200 square
yards, or approximately 85 cents per square
yard. The total cost is subdivided as fol-
lows:

Grading $ 835.00

Cinders, 3,100 cu. yds. @ 41c. (cost of

hauling) 1,271.00

Stone, 412 cu. yds. @ $2.70 1,112.40

Tarvia "A," 10,000 gal. @ 18c. (cost ap-
plied) $1,800.00

Rolling roadway, 21 days @ $10.00 210.00

Labor 2,549.54

Total $7,777.94

Note. — Labor comparatively low in Manistee: teams
$8 per day, including teamster; foreman $115 per
month ; common labor 40 cents per hour.

P. H. BEAUVAIS,

City Manager.

Park

Departments

Organized Gardening

Des Moines, Iowa. — Is a garden commis-
sion worth while ? Des Moines thinks so.

Mayor Mac Vicar appointed Des Moines'
first Garden Commission in 1916, and under
it was coordinated the garden work of the
newspapers, the park department, the public
schools, and the county agricultural agent.
The first year of the Garden Commission's
regime a garden expert from the Iowa State
Agricultural College was engaged for six
months as secretary of the Commission.
His salary was financed by the Park De-
partment and popular subscription. The
second year the schools became actively
affiliated with the organized garden work,
and the school garden supervisor was ap-
pointed garden superintendent for the Com-
mission. Under him there were eight super-
visors for school and city gardens. Vacant
lots were listed for the use of gardeners
without lots. A great deal of help was de-
rived from the city weed ordinance, whereby
the Commission was empowered to list for
gardening purposes all vacant lots where
weeds remained uncut. These lots, for the
most part, belonged to out-of-town owners
with whom the Commission was unable to
get in personal touch in order to get permis-
sion to assign the lots for gardening. More
than three hundred lots were obtained under
this ordinance. Resident owners of vacant
lots who were not gardening themselves
were, as a rule, glad to list their lots for the
benefit of the lot-less gardeners.

Prizes and shows were given in connec-
tion with the gardening work. The prize
junior market gardener was a twelve-year-
old girl who cultivated the back yard of the
family premises, raising vegetables for the
table use of her family, for canning which
she did herself, and for marketing. Each
market day, all season, she hauled her little
express wagon full of vegetables to the

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

city and sold them. She raised more than
fifty dollars' worth of vegetables from her
back-yard patch.

Besides the senior Garden Commission,
on which are representatives of the city
Park Department, the Federation of
Women's Clubs, the public schools, and the
County Agricultural Department, there is a
Junior Commission composed of school chil-
dren. The Junior Commission works with
the Senior Commission. Each garden dis-
trict in the school organization has its cap-
tain and lieutenants, and each school has
two representatives on the Commission.
More than 2,200 gardens were listed by
junior garden club members last summer.

Beautification of lawns and premises was
added to the gardening activity encouraged
by the Commission this year. Prizes were
offered for the greatest improvement in
premises during the season, and hundreds of
entries were made in the contest.

H. B. FRASE,
Superintendent of Parks and Public Property.

Public ^afeiy
Departments

course, much used by fast motor traffic.
Two hundred and thirty-two pupils have to
cross the street four times each day.

Recently two swinging semaphores were
made, 84 inches in diameter with an inner
6-inch circle painted green, the color of
safety, the rest of the disk being red. The
larger disk contains the word "School," and
the smaller, "Go Slow." One of the older
boys has been appointed Safety Director for
the school, and he, in turn, appoints two
other boys to aid him in this service. These
boys place one of the semaphores at the
curb about 100 feet from the school to the
north, and the other about the same distance
to the south. The boys keep the semaphores
swinging during the entire time they are at
the curb, so that drivers cannot fail to see
them. The motion attracts more attention
than would a stationary sign. In the mean-
time, all pupils who have to cross the avenue
in going to or from school are required to
cross between two white lines, six feet apart,
in front of the school. This crossing is
directly under the observation and super-
vision of the principal.

When not in use, the semaphores are kept
in the school building, and are carried to
their places just before each dismissal and
assembly time.

Swinging Sema-
phores for Safety
Signs

YouNGSTOWN, Ohio. —
Every school principal
realizes that one of the
greatest problems which
he is called upon to meet
is that of protecting
school children from the
menace of reckless auto-
mobile driving. In
Youngstown, the princi-
pal of the Parmelee
School has contrived a
device, illustrated in the
accompanying picture,
which has been used suc-
cessfully in minimizing
the danger of accidents
near the school.

Parmelee School is lo-
cated on one of the busi-
est streets in the resi-
dence section, and along
the main thoroughfare
to Cleveland. It is, of

THE SWINGING SIGN COMPELS MOTORISTS' ATTENTION

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

The success of the device and its effect up-
on traffic has been marked. Out of hundreds
of machines that pass the school every day,
only tvi^o machines so far have failed to slow
down.

Youngstown people are very highly
pleased with the results thus far obtained,
and many parents of school children, to
show that their appreciation is more than
mere sentiment, have called at the school in
person to express their thanks for the
efforts made to safeguard their children.

E. S. FREED,
Principal Parmeke School.

j^ocreation
Departments

Now That the Saloon Has Gone

Los Angeles, Calif. — Some time ago the
Los Angeles Playground Commission, real-
izing the need for gathering places for men,
particularly after the elimination of the
saloon, conceived the idea of providing a
place where men could gather and enjoy
wholesome, attractive recreation. Indi-
vidual clubs and city organizations, par-
ticularly the Municipal League in this city,
were also interested in such a plan, and
after several conferences the Municipal
League, with the support of other organiza-
tions, presented to the City Council a plan
for providing what might be termed a sub-
stitute for the saloon.

After much persuasion and discussion the
City Council appropriated funds for rental
and partial equipment of a three-story build-
ing in a down-town section, for this experi-
ment. The Playground Commission, taking
over the management, started to equip and
put this building in shape. After several
months of alterations and improvements the
plant was opened in a quiet way, starting
with a library, reading room, game room,
pool hall, canteen, and various rooms for
club meetings, large gatherings and enter-
tainments. This building is located in a
section of the city inhabited for the most
part by men without large resources to
spend on recreation. The equipment of the
building is rather plain and meager, but it
is sufficient for the needs at the present
time. In addition to the plant described,
there are plans for a gymnasium, and for a
theater which it is hoped will develop into

what might be termed a community theater.
It is the plan to make this plant self-
supporting and to give to those who attend
the idea that it is their club and that
there is no charity whatsoever connected
with it. To bring this about, a small fee is
required for practically all services, except
that of the library, which offers books,
magazines, papers, and the opportunity for
playing quiet games without charge.

In the basement there are five shower
baths, a seven-table pool hall, and a comfort
station for men ; the regular fee is charged
for pool, 10 cents for shower bath, with
soap and hot water, and no fee for the
comfort station. On the first floor there is
a library, with 20 by 40 feet floor space, and
a canteen, a bootblack stand and a cigar
stand. On the second floor there is the
large gymnasium, or hall, with a stage, and
adjoining are three large club or gathering
rooms, and the office. On the third floor
are other meeting rooms, and a balcony
overlooking the auditorium.

There are no restrictions in th's building.
The only requirement is that those who at-
tend shall conduct themselves properly.
There are no signs posted on the walls, and
the library is conducted without a librarian.
Each member is put on his honor, and the
library is crowded from opening to closing
hour. This scheme has proved satisfactory,
and no property of any value has been lost.
In the canteen the usual prices are charged,
and a very good quality of food is served.
At an early date it is hoped to start the gym-
nasium classes and physical work for both
young and elderly men. In add'tion, a
social club will be promoted, and for this
and for the gymnasium there will be a mem-
bership card, admitting members only, and
a small fee will be charged. In this way it
will take on the aspect of a regular men's
club. The theater will be started with a
stock company, and it is planned to work
gradually into a dramatic organ'zation in
the men's 'club itself. If profits accrue
from any of these activities they will go
into the betterments of the club.

In the operation and conduct of this plant
there are a manager, cooks, pool hall at-
tendants, caretakers, gymnasium leaders,
and a clerk. The aim is to make for good
citizenship in so far as the city, represent-
ing the public at large, can do so. There is
a definite effort to create an atmosphere of
ownership, and thus increase the loyalty

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

and interest of the men's club in every way.
The need of such institutions is recog-
nized in many places. The Los Angeles
experiment demonstrates that they can be
conducted successfully, not only from the
view-point of service, but financially as
well, for with monthly costs for rental,
salaries, etc., in excess of $800, the club is

more than meeting expenses.

C. B. RAITT,
Superintendent, Playground Department.

pire

Departments

How to Get a Fire Truck

South Nyack, N. Y. — Jackson Engine
Company No. 3, of the volunteer fire depart-
ment, needed a new fire truck. A truck built
for a neighboring town had been refused on
account of delays in delivery, and was of-
fered at a bargain. The opportunity was
too good to resist, and Jackson Engine
Company purchased it "as it stood," in an
unfinished condition, paid a deposit, and
drove it home under its own power.

The total cost of the truck was $3,500.
Some old equipment was disposed of, netting
$1,215 toward the purchase of the truck,
leaving a balance of $2,285. To pay this,
instead of resorting to a note, the company
issued bonds in $25 denominations, paying
7 per cent and amortizing in five years, part
of the interest and principal being paid each
year. About half of the bonds were dis-
posed of to members of the company, and
the remainder among thrifty and public-
spirited citizens. Money
to meet the annual re-
quirements on these
bonds will be raised by
dances or fairs.

The result is that
Jackson Engine Com-
pany has a Republic
2>4-ton truck, with
Goodrich tires, Eiseman
magneto, Continental
Red Seal motor, special
fire department radiator,
and special hood. The
steel body will carry 20
men and 1,200 feet of
hose. Public interest in

the local department has been considerably
increased by the novel method used to
finance the purchase.

T. L. FREEMAN,

Chairman Auto Committee. Fire Department.

Departments
of Education

Education for the Employed

Seattle, Wash. — The part-time school
conducted by the public school system of
Seattle has just been started, and it has the
hearty support of such organizations as the
Chamber of Commerce and community
groups. This school will provide an edu-
cational opportunity for boys and girls who
are employed, giving them four hours of in-
struction each week.

Although the movement for part-time
schools in the United States is of recent
origin, there are 19 states in which such
schools are in operation. For many years
the laws of the state of Washington have
given the public school supervision over the
boys and girls of the state until they have
reached their fifteenth birthday, or gradu-
ated from grammar schools. This has
worked well as far as it has gone. It has
not recognized, however, the need of super-
vision between fifteen and eighteen years of
age, a period in a child's life every bit as
critical, if not more so, than the period be-
fore h's fifteenth birthday.

Some facts secured from the school cen-
sus for May, 1920, show that the situation
as affecting boys and girls between fifteen

THE THRIFTY CITIZENS OF SOUTH NTACK ABE NOW PEO-
THE T^»"^^j.^ii.^^^BY THIS FIBE APPARATUS

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

and eighteen is not as satisfactory as it
should be. There were 3,820 between these
ages out of school last year. This repre-
sents about one-third of the total number
in this age group. The serious part of it
is that not more than 25 per cent were regu-
larly employed. Non-attendance at school
for the majority of this group does not
mean employment, but idleness.

The Part Time School Law, enacted by
the State Legislature in 1919, and made
operative in Seattle by resolution of the
Board of School Directors October 14, ex-
tends the age for compulsory attendance at
school to the eighteenth birthday, or gradu-
ation from high school. A boy or girl who
is regularly employed, having been issued
a permit by the school authorities, will be
required to attend a part-time school not
less than four hours each week.

Attendance at part-time school cannot be
substituted for full-time attendance at
school until after the fifteenth birthday or
completion of the grammar school, and then
only providing the child is regularly em-
ployed and has a permit from the school
authorities. A child becomes subject to
full-time school attendance whenever he
ceases to be employed.

The part-time school hours are specified
in the law as 8 A. M. to 5 P. M., excepting
Saturday, when they are 8 A. M. to 12 noon.
Attendance at evening school may not, ex-
cepting by special arrangement, be substi-
tuted for attendance at part-time school.

The curriculum of the part-time school
will recognize the fact that the boys and
girls it serves are probably approaching the
end of their school opportunity. This does
not mean, however, that it will not exert an
influence to get its pupils to return to the
regular schools. An effort will be made to
get each pupil to develop a life plan. The
subjects he studies will be made as con-
tributory to the working out of that plan as
possible. He will be helped, too, to find em-
ployment that is related to the career to
which he aspires. Work and school will be
closely linked together. Instruction in citi-
zenship, in hygiene, in the use of good Eng-
lish, and for the cultivation of a taste for
reading as a use of leisure time, will make
their contributions toward producing a finer
citizenship.

The new law need not inconvenience em-
ployers or the employed boys and girls.
Plenty of time will be allowed for adjust-
ment to the requirements of the law. The

provisions of the law as far as employment
is concerned are easily understood. No boy
or girl under eighteen may be employed
without a permit. This permit is valid only
for the employment for which it is issued.
Whenever a minor changes employers, a
new permit must be issued to the new em-
ployer and the first permit must be returned
to the school authorities by the first em-
ployer.

SAMUEL E. FLEMING.
Director of Department of Vocational Education,
Seattle Public Schools.

Police

Departments

A Rubbish Court

Denver, Colo. — The city of Denver
makes one annual clean-up of rubbish ac-
cumulated on vacant lots and alleys. This
clean-up is begun in the spring and com-
pleted about July I. On July 15, 1920, we
created the Municipal Rubbish Court, held
in the City Hall Thursday of each week at
3 P.M.

The city is divided into nine districts, and
one inspector is assigned to each district.
He is held responsible for any violation of
the city ordinances, such as throwing ashes
into the alleys or putting them on vacant
lots, rubbish or tin cans in vacant lots and
in alleys, untidy premises, dirty yards, over-
running ash-pits, and uncovered garbage
cans.

Those responsible for the violation of any
of these ordinances are ordered before this
Court. Each case is taken up separately,
and the offenders are instructed as to the
ordinances and informed as to the proper
disposition of rubbish and refuse. Each
violator is given a copy of the ordinances
and informed that, after a repetition of the
same complaint he will be prosecuted before
the Municipal Police Court, and fined. We
do not fine any violators brought before this
Court, which averages about twenty a week
in attendance.

It is felt that in this way a great deal is
being accomplished in keeping the city clean.
In most cases the violator is embarrassed by
being ordered before this Court, especially
as we have many visitors, and newspaper re-
porters who write up the cases for the daily
papers.

ARTHUR MEDARIES.
Chief, Municipal Inspection Bureau.

The Forests of Czechoslovakia

Municipal Forests in Bohemia and Slovakia Total More Than 4,000,000 Acres

IN a very interesting article in American
Forestry entitled "The Forests of a New
Republic," by E.F.Prantner, Editor of the
Czechoslovak Review, the important fact is
brought out that in Bohemian lands, includ-
ing Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, the state
owns about 1,400^000 acres of forest, chari-
table institutions own 600,000 acres, munici-
palities own 2,500,000 acres, and the large
estates held by private owners cover 8,-
000,000 acres. The article also gives in-
teresting information about Slovakia:

"Here the state owns about 750,000 acres,
municipalities hold 2,000,000, and private
owners have 2,250,000 acres. This is the
entire forest area of Slovakia, comprising
about 5,000,000 acres. In many instances
the municipalities of Slovakia were enabled
to materially reduce or totally abolish direct
taxation through lumbering operations in
their holdings.

"A novel feature of Czechoslovak forest
development is the principle that the annual
growth must equal or exceed the annual cut.
This is a wise and far-sighted policy. It is
estimated that 6,600,000 cubic meters of fire-
wood and 9,400,000 cubic meters of commer-
cial timber are cut yearly. The quantity

used for fuel during and since the war will
be greatly reduced, in the very near future,
through stimulated production of bituminous
coal, lignite and oil. At the prevailing prices
for lumber, competent authorities estimate
the value of the annual timber cut to be
about $120,000,000.

"The policy now pursued in lumbering
operations is to allow the cutting of only
mature timber. On the other hand, it re-
stricts the cutting of timber to such quanti-
ties as are added to standing timber. That
is, if the increase in standing timber in a
given year amounts to 20,000,000 cubic
meters, then the cut for that year may be
about the same quantity. If it is more or
less, the cut must correspond.

"It is well to point out some of the main
features of the laws governing the Czecho-
slovak forests. Without official sanction, no
soil once used for forest purposes may be
used for any other ; all lumbered areas must
be reforested within five years; no forest
may be wilfully destroyed, or cut in such
a way as to impair its usefulness for forest
purposes. Regard'ng fire protection, the
laws further provide that owners must
maintain efficient and sufficient number of

A CZECHOSLOVAKIAN FOREST IN WINTER, A VERITABLE FAIRYLAND

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

A MUNICIPAL FOREST IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA

trained foresters and wardens, an accepted
number of fire prevention devices, provisions
for the extermination of injurious insects,
and against trespassing.

"While nearly all of these regulations
were enacted before the present Republic
came into existence, the more important pro-
visions have been adopted by the present
government. However, the Czechoslovak
people are awake to the importance and
economic necessity of maintaining their
forests on such a plane as will yield the
best results. So that one of their most pre-
cious possessions, the forest, may be prop-

erly safeguarded, a commission headed by
Dr. Charles S'iman, Chief Forester, is now
engaged in codifying the forest laws. This
commission is also framing regulations for
the intensive development of forests to
assure a sufficient timber supply for the
future. Czechoslovak forests are super-
vised by the Bureau of Forestry, which is a
part of the Department of Agriculture. All
forests are subject to the authority of this
agency. It is also proposed that all forest
estates over 1,250 acres in extent shall be-
come a part of the public domain and be
scientifically cultivated and cut.

Requisitioning Unused Land for Playgrounds

Land which is not in use, and which is
not expected to be used in the immediate
future, may now be requisitioned in Aus-
tria by national, provincial or municipal
authorities and used as public playgrounds.
Provisions to this effect were contained in
a law enacted by the Austrian National
Assembly on July 22, accord'ng to a report
received by the Children's Bureau of the
U. S. Department of Labor. This land will
be placed in charge of organizations inter-
ested in the promotion of outdoor recrea-
tion, and will be used both by school chil-
dren and young persons above school age.
The owner of the land will receive suitable

compensation for its use. The question
whether requisition is permissible will be
decided by the provincial government,
which will also decide the amount of com-
pensation when agreement is not reached
on that point.

By the terms of another law passed at
the same time, rent paid for the use of any
land for playground purposes may not be
increased unless the taxes or the mort-
gage interest on the land have been in-
creased since the rental agreement was
made. The making of false statements to
evade the provisions of these laws is pun-
ishable by a heavy fine or imprisonment.

A Model High School Group for a
Residential Suburb

By B. Ashburton Tripp

Landscape Architect, Cleveland, Ohio

SHAKER Heights Village is, perhaps,
Cleveland's most attractive suburb, by
reason of its natural endowments, its
accessibility and the wise policy of its de-
velopers. The village possesses a town plan,
made when the area within its corporate
bounds was real country to Clevelanders.
Exclusively a residential suburb, Shaker
Heights is closely restricted as to the charac-
ter of its dwellings; apartment houses and
tenements are unknown, no form of in-
dustrial establishment is tolerated, and only
at one point, the store center, may marketing
be done. A chain of lakes, old impounding
reservoirs built by the early Shaker settlers
for their mills, form the nucleus of the park
system, a charming reserve of natural
scenery dedicated to public use.

Consistent with the ideals which estab-
lished the standard of this community are
the activities and aims of its Board of Edu-
cation, business men of Cleveland who pride
themselves on that distinction of place held
by the Shaker Heights Village in the school
system of Ohio. Distributed here and there
throughout the village are the grade school
locations, which as necessity arises become
schools instead of mere sites. Shaker
Heights is a growing community expanding
in a well-organized manner. During the in-
fancy of the village one large centralized
building met the educational requirements
quite satisfactorily both in the grades and
in the High School. This period, however,
was short. The rapidly increasing population
made necessary additional facilities, and the

JkCToi ror AMiH&unciiT or 5viu)in&i aho Cioym^

5hakeiiHughts High School

THE CITIZENS OF THIS SUBURB HAVE REASON TO BE PROUD OF THEIR SCHOOL GROtNDS

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

Board undertook the selection of a site for
the center of the village's educational acti-
vities, there to establish the High School,
around which, in an ordered manner, could
be grouped future buildings to accommodate
the inevitable needs of a constantly increas-
ing population.

■ A 25-acre tract in the heart of the vil-
lage makes possible the fulfillment of any
requirements in the area it is designed to
serve. As it is bounded on all sides by streets
and overlooks the park system on two sides,
the questions of light, air and accessibility
are settled most favorably. A general
scheme was prepared providing for the de-
veloping of the entire area, which consists of
the following units: the main High School
building: detached "wings" for use by the
domestic science and manual training 'de-
partments when future needs reqiiire their
evacuation of the main building; the Junior
High School ; the athletic field, including a
quarter-mile running-track encircling a com-
bination football and baseball field ; four re-
gulation championship tennis-courts ; a com-
bined locker-house and natatorium ; a
stadium bowl for baseball contests, outdoor
meetings and dramas by the school and for
community gatherings arid festivals. For
football games temporary stands will extend
from the ends of the semicircular bowl, as
permanent stands would seriously interfere
with baseball and serve but little useful
purpose for the rest of the year. A small
pond, created by impounding the water of
a stream which serves as a connecting link
in the chain of lakes of the park system,
lies in a depression at one end of the grounds
and quite effectively ties the school reserva-
tion into the naturalistic park surroundings.

The Distinctive^High School Building

The High School building, just completed,
is an imposing structure of the colonial
order, with a clock-and-bell tower as an out-
standing feature mirrored in a formal pool
at the base of the entrance steps. Its dis-
tance from the main highway on which it
fronts is 250 feet. The approach is by wide
formal walks of brick, and the view of this
facade is unbroken except for the massed
evergreen plantation which ties the building
into its surroundings. A driveway winds
from a side street around the rear of the
building to a large turn at the carriage en-
trance on the opposite side of the building.

In its present arrangement there are
accommodations for four hundred students.
In addition to the classrooms are the audi-
torium, seating 400, the gymnasium, and the
heating and ventilation plants.

As before mentioned, the departments of
domestic science and manual training have
only a temporary home in the main building,
the limit of their stay depending largely on
the rapidity of population increase. When
this time comes, these departments will
occupy separate buildings erected for their
particular needs to the left and the right
and slightly to the front of their parent
building.

In the immediate future the Board con-
templates the erection of a Junior High
School building at the southern end of the
grounds. This, the natatorium and locker-
house, and the two buildings mentioned in
the preceding paragraph, will constitute the
group designed to give their special service
to the entire village.

The grounds of the area have been de-
veloped with a view toward the ultimate
scheme. A complete system of underground
drainage has been installed, as well as a
system for the watering of the lawns and
shrubbery. The running-track is of the
latest and best accepted construction and
will bring a large share of the inter-
scholastic meets to Shaker Heights because
of its championship qualifying specifications.
All that has been done and contemplated by
the plan is for permanence and economy of
up-keep.

The successful results in the development
of this school group have been secured by
an intelligent comprehension of the elements
of a problem which had to be solved in its
entirety before the location of any building
was selected or work begun. By the coordi-
nation and cooperation of the resources of
the Board, its architect and landscape archi-
tects, there was an economy of execution
which would have been possible in no other
way. The point which can never be too
strongly emphasized and is so clearly
brought forward in this instance is the ne-
cessity of a preconceived plan. The sur-
roundings and their treatment in relation to
the buildings are as much a part of the un-
dertaking as any one of the structures them-
selves.

Editoriau Note: The architect for this group is
Franz C. Warner of Cleveland. The landscape archi-
tects are Messrs. B. Ashburton Tripp, of Cleveland,
and Sheffield A. Arnold, of Boston.

Water-Supply Statistics of Metered

Cities

Tabulation of Data From Over 1,000 Cities in the United States and Canada

THROUGH the kind cooperation of
over 1,000 water-works superinten-
dents and engineers, as well as other
nnmicipal officials. The American City is
able to publish for the benefit of its readers
water-supply statistics covering a broader
field and a larger number of communities
than have hitherto been surveyed by any
publication. The statistics include the 1920
population figures, with an asterisk to indi-
cate figures already given out by the Census
Bureau. The source of the water-supply
is indicated by abbreviations which are
listed below.

The statistics of metered cities only have
been included in this tabulation, and if a
city has had i per cent or more of the
services metered it has been included. Many
cities still retain the cubic foot measurement
of water in their meter rates, but, in order
to make the tabulation uniform, all rates
per 100 or per 1,000 cubic feet have been
changed to an equivalent rate per 1,000 gal-
lons for purposes of ready comparison.

The first instalment of these tables, which
appeared in the December, 1920, issue of
The American City, contained data alpha-
betically arranged from Alabama through a
portion of Nebraska. The current tabula-
tion completes the statistics from the United

States and includes a number of Canadian
cities.

If any errors are found in these tables, it
will be considered a favor if readers will
notify The American City at once, in
order that corrections may be made.

The recapitulation given at the bottom of
this page summarizes the meter rates for
the various states and Canada in such a
manner that a general idea of the prevail-
ing rates in any state may be secured.

In order to make it possible to condense
the large volume of material in a reason-
ably small space, a system of symbols has
been adopted as follows:

(P)-

A.W.-
B.-

Br.-

Cr.-

D.W.-

I.G.-

p.-

Res.-
Ri.-
Sp.-
St.-

w.-

Chl.-

Hyp.-

Chem.-

Indicates private ownership of the

water-works
Indicates U. S. Bureau of the Census

population figures for 1920
Artesian Well
Bay
Brook
Canal
Creek
Deep Well
Infiltration Gallery
Impounded
Lake
Pond
Reservoir
River
Spring
Stream
Well

Liquid Chlorine
Hypochlorite of Lime
Chemicals

Average Average Best
Highest Meter Commercial

Rate Per Rate Per
State 1,000 Gallons 1,000 Gallons

Alabama 313 .140

Arizona 975 .295

Arkansas 475 .168

California 244 .15

Colorado 205 .73

Connecticut 286 .105

Delaware 10 .186

Dist. of Columbia. .10 .067

Florida 347 .116

Georgia 259 ,151

Idaho 409 .119

Illinois 304 .18

Indiana 229 .092

Iowa 406 .175

Kansas 328 .11

Kentucky 288 .159

Louisiana 291 .094

Maine 296 .118

Maryland 215 .135

Massachusetts ... .396 .175

Michigan 235 .107

Minnesota 337 .174

Mississippi 35 .162

Missouri 457 .281

Montana 476 .09

RECAPITULATION

Average Average Best
Average Highest Meter Commercial Average

Yearly Rate Per Rate Per Yearly
Mininfum State 1,000 Gallons 1,000 Gallons Minimum

12.33 Nebraska 312 .142 7.03

20.00 Nevada 433 .245 12.00

11.83 New Hampshire.. .256 .082 9.54

11.68 New Jersey 337 .216 8.71

15.02 New Mexico 30 .10 24.00

8.44 New York 330 .123 7.39

10.00 North Carolina... .372 .158 8.52

10.00 North Dakota . . . .455 .168 4.20

9.00 Ohio 372 .154 7.30

10.10 Oklahoma 469 .138 9.90

16.40 Oregon 287 .126 11.73

6.26 Pennsylvania 295 .114 10.12

7.29 Rhode Island 33 .174 15.00

6.95 South Carolina... .335 .135 10.32

7.51 South Dakota 354 .142 7.67

11.32 Tennessee 272 .122 9.68

8.70 Texas 491 .22 10.10

17.66 Utah 073 .06 5.00

7.66 Vermont 253 .81 5.70

8.58 Virginia 191 .077 10.42

6.03 Washington 524 .219 12.41

6.14 West Virginia... .294 .084 9.60

12.43 Wisconsin 262 .092 6.35

7.37 Wyoming 70 .217 15.00

8.25 Canada 274 .106 8.71

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

Municipality

NEBRASKA— (Cont.)

Cedar Bluffs

Columbus

Crawford

Creighton

Decatur

Falls City....

Fullerton

Grand Island .

Hastings

Hebron

Kearney. .
Lincoln. . ■

Ord

Ralston. .
Schuyler.

NEVADA

Elko

Lovelock .
Pioche. . .

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Claremont

Concord

Dover

Keene

Lebanon

Manchester

Milford

Nashua (P)

Newport

Portsmouth

Somersworth.

NEW JERSEY

Behnar —

Camden

Cape May City.

Dover

Freehold

Gladstone

Glen Ridge

Jamesburg CP)

Jersey City

Kearny

Madison

Mont- lair

Newark ....._

New Brunswick ....
Nutley (P)

Paterson (P)

Pleasantville.etc. . . (P)

Rahway

Sussex

West Orange (P)

NEW MEXICO

Carlsbad (P)

NEW YORK
Albany..,. . .

Albion

Avon

Binghamton.
Boonville.. . .

Brockport . . . .

Buffalo

Cape Vincent.

Carthage

Catskill

Cincinnatus.
Coming

600
6,000
2,200
1,800

800

5,000

2.000

*13,960

*1 1,647

2,000

10,000

*54,934

^500

500

3,000

2,175

1,250

595

9,524

*22,167

14,500

11,210

6,000

*78,384
4,000

*28,379
3,500

*13,569

7,030

25,000

*116,309

3,000

9,864

7,500

1,400

4,800

1,500

•279,864

♦26,724

6,000

•28,810

•414,216

•32,779

9,500

•135,866

10,000

•11,042

1,200

•15,573

2,500

•113,344

5,500

2,550

•66,800

2,000

3,900
•506,775
1,100
5,000
4,728

500
•15,820

4> >.

o 3

W.
W.
Ri.
W.
W.

W.
W.
W.

w.
w.

w.
w.
w.
w.
w.

Sp.-W
St.
Sp.

Imp.
L.

P.-Sp.
L.
Ri.

L.
W.
W.
P.
W.

Ri.

W.
W.
W.
W.-Sp
W.

Sp.

Ri.

Imp.

W.
Ri.
Ri.
Br.
Ri.

Ri.

Res.

Ri.

Ri.
Imp.
L.
Ri.
Sp.-Br

L.
L.
Ri.
Sp.
Ri.

W.-Sp,
Imp.

No
No
No
No
No

No
Yes
No

No
Yes
No
Yes

No
No
No
No
No

Yes

No
No
ISo
No
No

No
Yes
No
No
Yes

ho
Yes
No
Yes
Yes

Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes

Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No

Yes
No
No
No
No

No
No

No
No
No
No
No

No
No
No
No

No
Chi
No
No
No

Chi
No
No

No
No
No
No
Chi

No
No
No
No
No

Chi

No
No
No
Chi
No

No
No
No

No
Chi
Chi

Chi
No
No
No
Chi

Chi
No
Chi
Hyp
No

Chi
Chi
No
No
Hyp

No
Chi

Consumption

5,000

500,000

250,000

20,000

30,000

800 000

100 000

3.500,000

1,800,000

100,000

600,000

3,750,000

175,000

72,000

140,000

525,000
200,000
100,000

700,000
2,400,000

675,000
1,000,000

300,000

5,335,327
150,000

2,600,000
300,000

1,700,000

744,500

800,000

14,000,000

1,500,000

500,000

550,000

123,000

266,000

60,000

54,000,000

2,500,000

500,000

1,476,400

43,100,000

5,500,000

350,000

10,000,000

300,000

2,900,000

75,000

840,000

250,000

20,000,000

600,000

300,000

6,033,322

200,000

255,000
130,000,000
250,000
800,000
888,494

Unknown
3,000,000

114

160

251

155

144

241
160
168

74
108
47
90
50

32
120
500
51
73

55
40
182
94

83
51
104
168
37

74
30
203
63
54

100

177
109
118
90
100

65
257
227
160

188

190

No
No
No
No
No

No
No
No
No
Yes

No
No
No

No
No
Yes
No
No

No
No

Yes

Yes
No

Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes

No
No
No

No
No
No
No
Yes

Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes

Yes

No
No
Yes
No
No

Yes
\es
No
No
No

No
Yes

^!A

142
1 ,000
412
250
112

1,000

375

2,400

2,767

300

1,400

13,000

650

107

365

580
253
105

1,347
3,883
1,999
2,342

787

8,389
680

3,900
713

3,050

1,114

1,300
22,500
1,300
1,840
1,200

199

1,025

287

34,102

3,750

1,050
4,904
61,533
6,800
1,900

17,000

1,800

2,400

35J

2,475

535

20,674
835
600

10,000
700

1,200

76,258

150

842

140

95
3,544

Meter Rates

V 01

•a u

E 3 w

3 <u
137

S<5

30c

20c

$8.00

1000

100

20c

lOc

9.60

365

12c

8.00

250

100

35c

I8c

8 00

100

26.7c

24c

9.00

1,000

100

53c

lie

9.00

364

20c

6.00

2,400

100

16c

6.00

2,767

100

18c

6.00

300

100

32c

13.3c

6.00

1,400

100

20c

10c

9 00

11,300

15c

6 00

650

100

50c

15c

8.00

107

100

25c

20c

6 00

361

28.7c

10c

7.00

320

30c

7.6c

None

240

50c
50c

20c

lec
60c

10c

12.00

983

$12 00

2,589

22 2c

10 00

1,630

30.7c

10 00

2,305

15c

1.5c

4.00

342

25c

12.5c

5 00

6,867

13 3c

9 3c

8.00

360

40c

12c

16.00

1,500

24C

13.00

25c

13 6c

5.00

3,000

30c

10c

6.00

400

36c

None

13.00

1,100

23.3c

$10.50

1,400

26c

10c

8.00

20c

16.00

1,475

29.6c

21.3c

None

100

33.3c

15.3c

10.00

199

100

33.3c

8.00

1,025

100

$2 00

$1.70

25C
12c

15c
6c

12 00

8,534

None

3,750

100

20c

16c

6.76

1,200

100

22 5c

18c

None

5,574

100

30c

20c

10.00

44,277

13 3c

13.3c

6.00

2,500

20c

18c

15.00

1,900

100

40c

16.7c

7.00

14,000

30c

10c

12.00

1,700

32.5c

lOc

6.40

376

20c

6.3c

4.00

21.3c

6.3c

2,475

100

23.3c

11.3c

None

515

30c

lOc

$24.00

8,310

13 3c

300

30c

12c

$7.20

600

100

30c

6.6c

5 00

10,450

100

10c

4.00

400

25C

6.00

1,200

100

50c

10c

8 00

5,792

1000

20c

5.00

482

48c

8.00

195

100

13 3c

16.00

40c

25c

4 00

3,544

100

37c

5.6c

14.00

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

ifunicipality

NEW YORK— (Cont.)

Cortland

Danville

Dunkirk

Elmira

Fairport

Fillmore (P)

Fort Plain

Frankfort

Geneseo. . . .
Geneva. . . .
Glens Falls.
GloversviUe.
Hamilton...

Herkimer. . .
Homell. . . .
Hudson . . . .
Ithaca . . . . .
Jamestown .

Johnson City .

Johnstown

Kingston

Le Roy

Little Falls. .

Locust Valley

Middletown

Mohawk

Mt Morris

Mt. Vernon (?)

Newburgh

New Paltz

New Rochelle......{P)

New York City. . . .

N. Y. C.Brooklyn..

N. Y.C.Queens

N. Y. C. Richmond...

Niagara Falls

Norwich

Ogdensbuig.

Oneonta (P)

Oswego

Owego

Oxford

Peekskill

Pleasantville

Port Jefferson (P)

Poughkeepsie

Rensselaer (P)

Riverhead

Rochester

Rome

Salamanca

Schenectady

Seneca Falls (P)

Shortsville .

Sodus

Solvay .

Syracuse . .
Tarrytown .

Troy

Utica (P)

Walden

Waterford

W'atervliet

Watkins..
Waverly. .
WellsviUe.

•13,294

4,300

*19,336

*45,305

4,500

800

2,800

4,500

2,156
•14,648
•16,591
•22.023

2,000

•10,453
•15,025
•11,745
18,000
•38,917

8,600
•U),905
•26.688

4,800
•13,029

^,500

•18,420

3,000

3,500

•42,726

•30,366

1,200

36,213

•5,621,151

•2,022,262

•172,775 W

Sp.-Cr

Ri.
W.

Sp.
Sp.
Sp.

Imp.

Sp.

Sp.
Sp.
Cr.
W.

Imp.

St.

Sp.-L.

Cr.

Sp.-St.
Sp.
L.
Ri.

L.
Sp.
Imp.
Res.
Res.-W

•115,959

•60,760

8,500

17,000

•11,582

•23,026

5,000

1,654

•15,S6»

2,835

2,y00

•35,000

•10,823

5,000

•295,750
•J6,341

9,500
•88,723

6.300

1,228
1,500
7,000
•171,717
5,000

•72,013

•94,156

5,000

•16,073

3,000
5,270
5,000

Res.
Ri.
Br.-L-
Ri.
Ri.

Imp.

Bi.-VV.
Sp.
Cr.

W.
W.
Ri.
Ri.
W.

Imp.
W.-Res
Imp.
L

W.
Sp.
L.
L.
Res.-Sp

Res.

St.-Res

A.W.

Ri.

Cr.-Res

Imp.

Ri.

No
No
No

Yes
No
No
No
No

No
Yes
No
No
■ies

No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No

No
Yes
Yes
Yes

No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes

No
No
No
No
Yes

No
No
Yes

Yes
Yes

Yes
No
No
No
Yes

No
No

Yes
Yes
Yes

No
No
No
No
Yes

No
No
No

No
Yes

No
No
No
Yes
Yes

No
No
Yes

Consumption

No
Chi
Chi

Chi
No
No
No
No

Chi
No
No
Chi
Chi

Chi
Chi
Chi
Chi
No

Cnl
Chi
No
Chi

No
No
No
Chi
Chi

Chi
No
Hyp
Chi
Chi

No
Chi
Chi

Hyp
No

Hyp
Chi
No
No
No

No
Chi
Chi
No

No
Chi
No
No
No

No
No

Chi
Chi
Chi

No
Chi
No
No
Chi

Chi
No
Chi

1,263,745

600,000

5,000,000

4,300,000
150,000
45,000
450,000

Unknown

223,599
2,000,000
3,000,000
2,500,000

180,000

1,200,000
2,300.000
2,000,000
2,250,000
3,250,000

4,000,000
.^ 000,000
4,500,000
125,000
3,500,000

Unknown

3,400,000

350,000

500,000

2,300,000

4,250,000
375,000

3,700,000
618,900,000
200,000,000

14,420,000
20,000,000
13,000,000

2,000,000
3.500,000

2,000,000
5,500,000
750,000
Unknown
4,000,000

98,000

250,000

3,000,000

1,500,000

75,000

27,160,000
7,000,000
2,000,000

13,124,413
1,000,000

42,000

Unknown

800,000

27,000,000

900,000

17,000,000

12,000,000

105,932

550,000

3,150,000

160,000
650,000
650,000

95
140
259

563

161 No
No

185

117

143

142
312
102
110
99

83
174
257

235
206

173
233
150

252

35
86
86
139
15

92
266
213
147
159

Hi
158
180

236
128
21
110
196

53
123
130

No
No

Yes

Yes
No
No

No
Yes
No
No
No

No
\es
No
Yes
No

No
No
No
Yes

No
Yes

Yes

No
No
No
No
No

No
No
Yes

No
Yes

No
No
No
No
Yes

No
Yes
Yes
No
No

No
No
Yes
No
No

No
Yes
Yes
\es

Yes

2,800
1,100
4,000

10,081
900

715
850

3,547

3,680

4,422

450

3,006
4,000
2,306
4,500
9,000

1,500
2,943
5,000
935
2,300

3,638

600

685

6,400

6,000
200

8,692
396,989
200,000

19,439
18,219
8,000

2,100
3,400

2,650
5,777
1,250
460
2,500

638

425

6,500

2,000

350

62,136
5,000
2,000

15,473
1,641

318

320

1,008

32,168

1,255

14,000

17,000

913

875

2,700

500
1,400
1,300

2,400

4,000

10,386

850

800

509

3,265

4,340

450

3,006

100

200

4,400

9,000

1,500
257
200
310

1,300

12
118
325

15
6,400

140

200

8,028

108,036

30,000

19,253
6,284
8,000

2,100
120

200

700

460

2,500

634

6,500

1,200

350

49,200

150

813

318
250

1,000
26,%9

1,006

400
16,000
980
795
300

500

575

1,000

100

100
94

"7
94

100

100
3

8
98
100

100

93
3

100

99
35
100

Meter Rates

M ■" '^

mQ a

20c
12c
lOc

40c
$1.50

30c
22 7c

25c

40c

26.7c

16c

33.3c

33 3c

28c

46 6c
20c

20c
40c

22 2c
30c

18.7c

50c
16.7c
30c
40c
40c

15c

40c

30c

13.4c

13.3c

100 33.3c
4 None

3
3

56
100
100

100

60
100

79
3
1
5
4

100
78

100
84
80

3
94
100
91

100

41
77

lis,

I "I

■

4.7c

$5.00

1.5C

5.5c

6 00

7.5c

6 00

4 80

16c

3.7c

$1.00

6.00

18c

6.00

6 7c

1.30

3.3c

4 6c

4.00

13 3c

6.00

10c

9.00

50c
25c
30c
24c
20c

40c

60c

26.7c

33 6c

40c

14c
20c

7c
26.5c

20c

32c

20c

14.8c

$3.00

None
40c
40c
25c
35c

26.7c

60c

33.3c

9 3c

20c

6.6c

6 7c

10c

40c

6.3c

16c

10c
26.7c

20c
13.4c

9.3c

13.3c

6c
10c

10c

3 5c

15c

13.3c

15c

21.3c

20c

10c

5.5c

13.3c

20c

15c

12c

$1.50

40c

10c

20c
5.5c
10.7c

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

Municipality

NEW YORK— (Cont.)

Whitehall

Yonkers

NORTH CAROLINA

Chapel HiU

Charlotte

Concord

Elkin

Gastonia

Hertford

Hickory

Lenoir

Monroe

Morehead City.

Newbem

Raleigh

Rocky Mount.

Shelby

Statesville

Wad«boro. .
Washington.
Wilmington.
Wilson ,

NORTH DAKOTA

Carrington

Dickinson

Fargo

Valley City

Wahpeton

OHIO

Akron

Andover

Arcanum . . ,

Athens

Bamesville .

Beach City.

Bryon

Celina

Cincinnati. .
Circleville. .

Cleveland

Columbus

Conneaut (P)

Coshocton

Covington

Dayton

Defiance

Delavyare (P)

Dennison (P)

East Liverpool

East Palestine.

Eaton ,

Elyria ,

Fostoria

Franklin

Fremont

Gallon ".(P)

Girard.. (P)

Greenwich

Hiram

Lakewood .

Logan

London. . .
Lorain . . . .
Mansfield..

Marietta

Martins^ Ferry

Marysville

Ifclassillon (P)

6,000
•100,226

3,000

•46,338

11,000

^,000

•12,871

2,200
5,076
3,718
6,000
3,500

12,158

•24,418

•12,742

4,000

8,500

2,700

7,000

•33,372

u a
3 a.
o 3
t/3c«

Ri.
Imp.

Cr.
Ri.
Ri.
Cr.
Cr.

W.
Ri.-W,
Imp.
W.
W.

W.
Cr.
Ri.
Ri.
Cr.

W.-Cr.

Ri.

•10,653
1,500

Cr.
W.

6,00C

•21,961

Ri.

6.00C

3.500

Ri.

•208,435

Ri.'

1,200

1,400

6,200

4,700

Imp.

800

4,252

4,226

•410,247

Ri.

7,500

Cr.

•796,836

•237,031

Ri.

10,000

13,000

2,500

•152,559

9,000

Ri.

10,000

12,000

Cr.

•21,411

Ri.

5,949

3,500

St.

•20,474

12,000

Ri.

3,000

•12,468

Ri.

8,000

876

Res.

600

Sp.

•41,732

L..

5,600

4,240

•37,295

•27,824

•15,100

Ri.

•11,634

W.-Ri.

3,576

•17,428

No
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

No
Yes
No
No
No

No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

No
Yes
Yes
\es

No
No
Yes
No
Yes

Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes

No
No

No
Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No

No
No
No
Yes
Yes

No
Yes
\es
No
No

No
No
No
No
No

Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No

Yes
No
No
No

Chi
Chi

Hyp

Chi

Chl
No
Chl

Hyp
No
Chl
No

No
Hyp
No
Hyp

Chl

Chl
Chl
Chl
Chl

Hyp

Chl
No
Chl

Chl

No
No
No
Chl
No

Chl
No
Chl
No
No

Chl
No
Chl
Chl

Chl
No
No
No

No
No

Chl
No
No

Chl

Consumption

No
No
No
No

950,000
9,420,486

1,000,000

3,750,000

500,000

100,000

1,000,000

75,000
180,000
300,000
150,000
280,000

1,130,000

2,800,000

800,000

200,000

70,000

75,000

300,000

3,000,000

1,300,000

33,760

25Q,000

2,800,000

300,000

365,000

21,000,000

70,000

110,000

800,000

400,000

30,000

600,000

350,000

56,000,000

460,000

140,000,000

21,605,000

1,800,000

1,600,000

70,000

17,500,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
2,500,000
3,375,000

700,000

300,000

3,000,000

1,000,000

6&0,000

1,250,000

800,000

600,000

20,000

29,000

2,975,000

800,000

5,000,000

2,500,000

4,000,000

616,000

1,600,000

158
94

333

81
46
50

34
36
81
25

Yes
Yes

No
Yes
No
No
Yes

No
No
No
Yes

80
93

JNo
Yes

115

Yes

122

128

Yes

104

101

Yes

129

141

i;^

176

Yes

180

12;^

116

Yes

111

100

208

Yes

157

Yes

118

146

183

100

Yes

143

Yes

188

134

Yes

166

345

144

750
10,540

350
7,500
1,100

200
1,200

200
650
568
800
450

1,304
4,651
1,762
570
1,100

200

900

7,585

1,802

Eii

750
10,628

7,600

1,050

175

1,200

100
650
553
800
60

136
2,424
1,696

483
1,100

200

750

3,000

1,802

186

185

550

3,900

660

625

34,600

30,000

230

240

400

1,800

625

800

220

200

860

850

876

63,687

61,716

1,450

700

113,000

38,298

37,099

2,500

1,600

3,200

15C

478

32,000

1,200

400

1,965

1,569

2,700

2,500

4,625

506

1,287

167

950

600

4,784

4,660

3,000

700

3,046

2,800

1,700

800

1,500

900

104

100

»■

9,050

1,200

1,000

100

6,500

6,400

6,000

5,650

4,000

1,200

3,665

120

659

4,400

3,400

100

60
100

98
100

10
52
96
85
100

100
84
40

100

100
100
100
100
2

100
100
4
29
100

100

100
33
80
93
11

100

9i.

100

30
3
6

Meter Rates

ffiOa

.2 ao

50c
21.3c

30c
26c
31.5c
25c
25c

32c
20c
50c
40c

25c
25c

88c
75c
35c

60c

40c

21.6c

30c

66.7c
83c
15c
40c
23c

9.5c
13.3c

20c

6.8c

13.5c

17c

30c
10c
20c
75c

20c
30c
25c
16c
30c

6.3c

16c

26c

34.7c

25c

12c
40c
40c
30c

77c

25c
37.6c
20c
20c
16c

12c
25c
35c
25c
57c

12c

30c

25c

J2.00

26.7c

30c

25c

29.4c

24c

30c

16c

8c
7c

20c
12.5c

15c

33.3c
12c

11.5c
20c

33.3c
16c
15c

10.7c
10c

"« Si

10c

15c
8c
10c
16c
10c

6.3c

14.7c

16c

10c

6c
25c
20c

15c
10c
10c
15c

12c
15c
16c
75c
10.7c

12c

2.5c

14.7c

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

Municipality

PENN— (Continued)

College Hill (P)

Confluence (P)

Connellsville (P)

Conneaut Lake

Corry (P)

Dawson

Duquesne

Ebensburg

Edgeworth (P)

EUwood City (P)

Franklin

Gettysburg (P)

Harrisburg

Homestead

Huntington

Indiana (P)

Jersey Shore (P)

Johnston (P)

Juniata

Kutztown

Leechourg (P)

Leighton (P)

Lewiston (P)

Mahanoy City (P)

Meadville

Media

Meyersdale (P)

Millersburg (P)

Millvale

Minersville (P)

Mt. Carmel (P)

Mt. Union

New Wilmington . . . (P)

Oil City

Osceola Mills (P)

Pabnerton (P)

Philadelphia

Phoenixville

Pittsburgh

Mt Oliver Sta....(P)

PortVue (P)

Pottsville._. (P)

Reynoldsville

Ss. Mzrys (P)

Sewickley

Sharpsville

Somerset

Springdale

Steelton

Susquehanna (P)

Tyrone (P)

Uniontown (P)

Vandergrift (P)

Wampum

Warren (P)

West Newton (P)

RHODE IS1.AND

Bristol (P)

Newport (P)

Providence

So. Kingstown, etc. . (P)
Westerly

Woonsocket .

SOUTH CAROLINA

Abbeville

Anderson (P)

Bishopville

3,500

1,050

*13,804

374

7,000

950

*19,011

2,100

3,500

8,958

12,000

4,250

•75,917

24,000
8,000

7,000
6,000
♦67,327
7,800
3,000

4,000

6,000

20,000

16,000

•14,568

6,500
4,500
3,000
7,961
8,000

17,500

6,000

800

•21,274

2,800

7,200

1,823,158

11,500

•588,193

2,000
•21,785
5,000
7,000
5,000

4,500
3,200
3,000
15,000
3,500

3 0.
o 3

C/3C«

Ri.
St.
Ri.
W.
W.

A.W.
Sp.-W

Cr.

Imp.
Ri.
Ri.
Cr.

Cr.

St.
St.
St.
Sp.

Ri.
Sp.
Imp.
W.-Sp.
W.

Cr.

Sp.

Imp.
St.
Sp.-W.
W.
Sp.

Ri.
Ri.
Ri.
Ri.

Ri.

Res.
W.-Sp.
Sp.-W.

Ri.

W.
W.
Res.
Ri.

St-Sp.

9,027 St.
15,609 Imp.
W. •
W.
Run-Ri

13,000

1,000

14,256

3,000

1,500

•30,255

•237,595

6,928

15,000

•43,496

•10,535
500

Imp.

Ri.

Sp.

Br.

Cr.

Ri.-Cr.

Yes
No
Yes
No
No

No
No
No
No
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No

Yes
Yes
No
No
No

Yes
No
No
No
No

Yes
No
jNo
Yes
No

No
No
No
No
No

No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes
No
No
No
No

No
No
Yes
Yes

Yes

No
No
Yes
No
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No

Yes

Yes
No

Chi
Hyp
Hyp

No
No

No
No
No
Chi
CM

Hyp
Hyp

Chi
Hyp

Chi

No
No
Chi
No
Hyp

No
No
No
No
No

Chi
No
Chi
Chi
No

No
Hyp
No
No
No

No
Chi
Chi
Chi
Hyp

No
No
Chi

Consumption

Hyp
Chi

Hyp
No
Chi

Hyp
Hyp
No
No
Chi

No
Chi
Chi
Chi
No

No
No

200,000
350,000
220,000
100,000
830,000

8,000

600,000

150,000

1,663,000

2,500,000

450,000

9,099,422

2,800,000

900,000

500,000

1,600,000

1^,000,000

400,000

325,000

2,714,000
2,000,000
4,000,000
1,800,000
2,000,000

388,600

300,000

1,244,100

1,000,000

600,000

500,000

20,000

2,714,000

375,000

800,000

311,000,000

1,500,000

120,000,000

12,000,000

40,000

7,000,000

400,000

1,200,000

2,000,000

250,000
200,000
120,000
1,800,000
750,000

1,000,000

3,500,000

646,230

8,000

1,200,000

80,000

1,700,000

4,060,000

20,528,652

680,000

250,000

2,800,000

200,000
750,000
125,000

476

J79

208
11
120
117
112

72
250
134

51
108

127
333
200
113
137

100

156

125

34
83
25
127
134

11
171
131
204

20
322

80
17:i
400

56
63
40
120
21

111

224

8
85

71
250

No
No
No
No
No

Yes

No
No
No
No

No
No
No

No
No
No
No

No
Yes
No

No
No

Yes
No
Yes
No

No
No

No
No
No

Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No

Yes
No
No

No
No

No
No
No
No
Yes

No
No
Yes

No
No

No
Yes
No
No
Yes

Yes

No
Yes
No

500
164

3,200
75

1,668

140

2,100

600

876

1,800

3,000

800

19,400

2,800

1,907

i,eoo

1,400

9,000

1750

400

3,600
1,250
3,800
2,000
3,267

1,357

860

800

1,850

2,400

3,000
1,400

200
3,600

550

600

375,000

3,300

94,000

21,000

375
6,000

700
1,200
1,400

825
700
425
2,000
800

2,005
3,800
2,710
80
3,100

680

2,400

7,102

32,£97

894

2,500

4,500

498

1,600

298

300

1,000

1,450

140

2,200

876
1,800

13,783

465

1,110

6,973

Setting

5,000

196

200

3,405

7
20
*0

6
40

1,100
100
160

5,000

1,100

92,000

38,000

21,000

300
300
700
1,200
170

825

750

425

1,860

14
3,800
2,710

80
2,450

580

160

31,025

220

2,300

4,200

412

1,495

250

60
29
31
19

100
100
9
100
100

3
11

71
17
3

70
3

100
2
5
10

100

Meter Rates

re
bo

"n S

.SJo

£!■=

^ fco

i> £ =

£1"=-

14c

25c

33c

12c

30c

Spec.

50c

10c

60c

30c

35c

3Sc

25c

15c

42c

50c

35c

25c

14c

5.7c

30c

15c

50c

15c

26c

2.5c

27c

40c

30c

20/c

50c

20c

4.8c

10.6c

33.7c

10.7c

20c

30c

15c

None

25c

26.7c

33.3c

16c

50c

40c

26c

20c

14c

25c

9.6c

13.3c

5.3c

None

8.4c

18c

12c

24c

14c

20c

None

20c

18c

35c

9.6c

30c

10c

20c

23c

20c

50c

20c

40c

15c

10c

26c

10c

42.6c

12c

42c

16c

35c

65c

lie

40c

25c

40c

25c

20c

10c

40c

26c

30c

IGc

28c

9.3c

20c

26c

15c

40c

26c

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

Afunicipality

S. C. — (Cojtinued)

Camden

Charleston

Cheraw

Chester

Denmark

Greenwood

Greer

Manning

Orangeburg

St Matthews

SOUTH DAKOTA

Carthage

Mitchell

Sioux Falls

Watertown

TENNESSEE

Clarksville

Dyersburg

Franklin

Jacksou

Knoxville

Memphis

Murfreesboro (P)

Nashville

TEXAS

Amarillo (P)

Austin

Brady.

Brownsville

Brownwood

Bryan

Cleburne

Commerce

Crockett

DaUas

Dennison

El Paso

Ennis

Fort Worth

Galveston

Greenville

Jacksboro

Longyiew

MciKinney

Nacogdoches

Orange (P)

Pecos

Port Arthur

Quanah

kosenbferg

San Saba *

Sealy (P)

Sherman

Smithville

Stamford (P)

Sweetwater

Teague

Temple

W aco

Waxahachie

Weatherfbrd (P)

Yoakum (P)

UTAH
Salt Lake City

VERMONT
Bristol

4,000
*67,957

3,150
5,600
5,621
8,703
3,000

2,800
7,500
1,800

700

8,500

25,176

10,000

8,500

7,000

3,500

•18,860

•77,818

•162.351

5,500

•118,342

•15,494

•34,876

3,500

13,163

8,223

6,295

18,000

3,850

5,000

•158,977

•17,067

•77,543

8,000

•106,482

•44,255

14,000
1,600
5,713
8,000
6,000

10,000

2,500

•22,251

4,000

2,000

2,000
2,200
•15,051
4,000
3,004

7,500

4,000

•11,033

38,500

7,200

6,302
7,500

•118,110
1,200

Cr.

Imp.

Ri.
Cr.
W.
W.

W.-Sp

w.
w.
w.

Ri.
W.

Sp.

Ri.

W.
Sp.
Ri.

W.
Ri.
Cr.
Ri.
Cr.

W.
W.
W.
W.
W.-Res,

Imp.

Ri.

W.
W.
W.
W.
W.

Sp.

w.
w.
w.

Res.

L.
W.
Ri.
W.-Ri.
W.

W.
W.

St.
Sp.

Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes
No
No
No

No
No
No

Yes
Yes
No
No

Yes

Yes
No

No
Yes
Yes
\es

No
No
No

Yes

Yes
No

No
Yes

Yes
No
Yes
No

No
No
No
No
No

No
Yes
Yes
No

No
No

No
Chi

Hyp
No
ho
No
No

No
No
No

No
No
Chi
No

Chi
Ctl
No
No

Chi
Chi
Chi

Chi

Chi
No

No
No
Chi
Chi

Chi
No
Chi
No

No
No
No

No
No
No
No
No

Chi

Chi
Chi
No

Chi

No
No

Consumpt

ion

> «

'B.

U
u

225,000
6,600,000

56
97

No
Yes

760
8,400

550
8,950

110,000
600,000
35,000
500,000
125,000

107

58
42

No
No
No

i-IO

220
700
120
1,200
425

220
500
120
1,000
425

75,000

350,000

75,000

47
42

Yes

No
No

250
900
190

250
600
175

45,000

500,000

2,500,000

500,000

64
59
99
50

No
No
No
No

130
1,400
4,500
1,450

1^0
1,400
4,190

420

750,000
500,000
100,000
2,500,000
900,000

133

No
Yes
No
Yes
No

1,250

950

800

5,000

14,921

700
960
625
216
14,921

15,500,000

450,000

14,000,000

82
118

Yes

No
No

27,718

1,000

24,000

21,821

600

20,000

770,000

5,268,591

Unknown

1,000,000

. 750,000

50
151

"76
91

'No'
No
No
No

2,800
6,340
532
1,500
1,000

3,260
6,340
350
1,200
1,000

160,000
750,000
160,000

26
42
42

Yes

'Yes'
No

900

3,500

800

3 5

29,813

900

3,100

100

305

29,813

9,000,000

2,000,000
7,000,000
300,000
8,500,000
3,830,000

117
90
38
80

Yes
Yes
No
No
No

4,265
12,000

1,020
19,000

8,780

3,100

10,000

200

18,500

9,000

750,000
44,000
250,000
150,000
200,000

54
28
44
19
33

No
No
Yes
Yes
No

1,700
275
600

1,275
450

350
250
600
1,275
450

1,000,000

15,000

450,000

40,000

75,000

100

Yes
No
Yes
No
No

1,081
30

2,849
375
225

1,289
30

2,849
360
150

100,000

70,000

800,000

Unknown

600,000

50
32
53

'260

No
No
No
No
No

250
210
3,510
600
800

100
12

3,150
600
560

Unknown

425.000

1,750,000

3,750,000

500,000

200,000
51,000

ioe

159
98
70

No
No
No
\es
Yes

No
No

900
725

2,400
10,000

1,400

f 810

1,000

900

225

2,400

6,750

1,400

650
550

20,000,000

220

22,638

7,336

90,000

300

Meter Rates

QK a.

35c

24.7c

37c
40c
40c
13.5c
26c

80c
25c
30c

50c

26.7c

40c

25c

35c
25c
30c
18c
18c

33.3c

40c

18.7c

60c
20c
$1.76
30c
20c

75c
25c
60c
25c
26c

50c

27.5c

40c

00c

26.7c

30c
11.76
46c
40c
40c

30c
80c
30c
$1.00
40c

50c
50c
50c
30c
60c

30c

25c

62.5c

37.5c

40c

50c
33c

7.3c
None

i-lU p.

15c
6c

16c
8.5c
15c
8c
10c

15c

17.5c

20c

20c
13.3c
13.3c

10c

10c
15c
10c
9c
19c

12c
15c
8c

40c
10c
30c
12 5c
20c

25c
20c
20c
18c
26c

10c

20c
12e
30c
12

15c
90c
12c
35c
20c

20c
30c
13c
50c
10c

20c
12c
30c
15c

15c

18c

10c

25c
30c

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

Municipality

VERMONT— (Cont.)

Burlington

Essex Junction

Fairhaven

Morrisville

Northfield

Richf ord

White River June.

.(P)

VIRGINIA

Alexandria (P)

Danville

Emporia

Fredericksburg

Hampton (P)

Lynchburg. . .
Martensville .
Richmond. . .
Shenandoah .

WASmNGTON

Bellingham

Crehalis

Ellensburg

Hoquiam (P)

lone (P)

Kent

Olympia

Omak

Oroville

Port Townsend .

Pullman. . .

Seattle

Spokane. . .
Sunnyside .
Tacoma . . .

Waitsburg

Walla Walla

Winlock (P)

Zillah

WEST VIRGINIA
Berkeley Springs . . . (P)

Charleston (P)

Clarksburg

Huntington (P)

Morgantown (P)

Sisterville

Weston (P)

Wheeling

WISCONSIN
Appleton . . .
Bayfield. . . .

Chilton

Clinton ....
Cudahy

Delavan

Fond du Lac.
Fort Atkinson .
Janesville ....
Xaukauna. . . .

Kenosha

i>a Crosse . . . .
Lake Geneva .
Lake Mills. . .
Madison

Menomonee

Merrill (P)

JkiCrrillan

Milwaukee

Mineral Point

Onalaska

•22,779
1,500
3,000
1,600

2,000
2.500

18,060

25,000

2,750

7,000

7,800

*29,956

4,200

♦171,667

1,500

♦25,570

6,000

5,500

10,042

650

3,000
9,500
500
1,000
3,600

3,400
♦316,652
♦104,437

2,000
♦96,965

1,200

20,000

1,220

700

1,800
♦39,608
♦27,869
♦50,177
♦12,117

3,338

6,000

♦64,322

Sp.
P.
Sp.

Sp.
Sp.
Sp.

Ri.
Ri.
Ri.
Ri.
Res.

Ri.
Cr.
Ri.
Ri.

Ri.
W.

St.
Cr.

Sp.
Sp.-W
Ri.
W.
St.

A.W.
Ri.
W.
W.
Ri.

Sp.

St.

w.
w.

Sp.
Ri.
Ri.
Ri.
Ri.

Ri.
Ri.
Ri.

♦19,661
2,100
2,000
1,000
6,500

2,800
♦23,427

5,000
♦18,293

6,000

♦40,472

♦30,363

3,500

1,750

♦38,378

6,200
9,000
650
♦467,147
3,000
1,200

Yes
No

No
No

No
No
No

Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes

Yes
Yes
No
Yes

No
No
\es
No

No
No
Yes
No
No

No
No
No
No

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes

Yes
No

Hyp

Ri.
L.
W.
W.
L.

Sp.

w.
w.
w.

L.
W.

A.W.
W.
W.

W.-Ri.
Ri.
W.
L.
W.
W.

Yes
No
No
No
No

No
No
No
No
No

Yes
No
No
No
No

Consumption

NO
No

No
No

Chi
Chi
Chi
Chi
Chi

Chi
Chi
Chi
No

Chi
No
No
Chi
No

No
Chi
No
No
No

No
Chi
No
No
Chi

No
Yes
No
No

No
Chi
Hyp
Chi
No

Chi
Chi

Yes
No
No
Yes
No

No
Chi
No
No
Chi

No
No
No

Chi
No
No
No
No

Chi
No
No
Chi
No
No

<;p

1,416,228

Unknown

60,000

150,000

Unknown
100,000
200,000

1,600,000
1,800,000
300,000
1,000,000
2,500,000

6,000,000
200,000

16,314,877
450,000

5,000,000
800,000
1,062,260
3,000,000
Unknown

240,000
500,000
100,000
200,000
350,000

200,000
36,000,000
23,000,000

250,000
23,000,000

72
109
143
321

200
48
95

300

80
53
20
200
100

59
111
220
125
237

No
No

Yes

No
No
No
Yes

160,000 133

5,000,000 260

100,000 82

36,000 60

98,000
6,000,000
5,000,000
3,500,000
1,600,000

750,000

600,000

16,226,000

2,000,000

140,000

70,000

80,000

700,000

100,000
1,600,000

450,000
2,200,000

225,000

6,000,000

3,000,000

160,000

200,000

4,000,000

600.000

Unknown

20,000

61,891,603

30,000

153,700

No
No

No
No
Yes
Yes
No

No
No
No
No

No
Yes
No
No

No
No
No
No

No
Yes
No
No
No

23 No
100 No

297 No

102
67
36
80

108

36
64
90
120
38

Yes

No
Yes
No

No
Yes
No
No
Yes

149 Yes
100 Yes

No
Yes
Yes

Yes

No
No
Yes
No
Yes

B >

<U 0)

3,967
450
600
650

450
350
600

390
4,600

350
1,400
1,800

6,600

750

33,627

375

7,000
1,100

792
2,240

170

850

1,800

130

250

764

800
62,600
26,211

467
19,500

300

4,050

209

141

253
8,500
4,800
9,300
2,244

1,000

760

11,000

3,100
396
165
220
950

600
4,860
1,000
3,200

786

6,800

6,200

600

324

7,402

1,100

66,422

270

241

4,000

200

240

160
4,600

350

1,063

400

325

24,944

1,400
130
186

1,200
20

200

1,476

800
52,600
22,025

467
1,740

290

1,300

1,500

360

9,300

Meter Rates

V v -

100

6
43
74
13

100

150

600

3,250

100

128

107

950

100

bOO

100

4,00C

988

1,600

730

5,800

100

6,500

58(

32t

7,377

620

65,769

27(

100

20c
30c
25c
20c

37 3c
20c

25c

30c
10c
20c
20c
29.3c

23.8c
1.5c

13.5c
10c

33.3c

22 ."ic

13c

40c

50c

$1.70
35c

26 7c
20c
60c

$2.25

13.3c

10c

36c

13.3c

26.7c

20c

58.3c

$1.33

30c
30c
a5c
20c
30c

35c

q o S

10c

8.7c

13.3c

6.7c

10c

5.5c

10.7c

8c
10c

5c
10c

ESS,

$6.00
9.00
2.50

None

8.00

13.00

12.00
6 00

12.00
8.00

16.00

5.3c
5c
8c

13.20
7.20
9.00

$12.00
12.00
12.00
8c 15.00
5c 18.00

$1.25
15c
10c
lie
14c

10c

6.3c

12c
6.3c

10.7c

20c

$1.33

lie

10c

7.6c

10c

12.00
None
24.00

18.00

12.00
6 .
9.60

18.00
6.00

12.00
9.00

3.00

$12.00
9.00
9.00
12.00

40c
16c

IOC

26.7c

4.7c

40c

16c

50c

10c

30c

24c

16c

40c

15c

10.7c

4.7c

23.3c

2.7c

30c

16c

20c

35c

10c

25c

10c

6.3c

30c

44c

lie

30c

60c

20c

5c None
10c 6.00

$3.00
9.00
7.00
6.00
1.20

None
3.00
7.00
5.00

6.00

'io^oo

6.00
4.00

10.80

13.20

6.00

None

5.00

5.50

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN

CI TY£ni<j^ Oklahoma ^9

Wunicipality

WISCONSIN— (Cont.)

Oegon

Reedsburg

Ripen (P)

Sparta

Stevens Point (P)

Superior (P)

Watertown

Wausau

Wanwatosa. .......

Wisconsin Rapids.. .

WYOMING

Pine Bluffs

Rock Springs (P)

Thermopolis

CANADA
ALBERTA

Bassano

Red Deer

BRITISH COLUMBIA
Karaloops

MANITOBA
East Kildonan .

NEW BRUNSWICK

St. John

St. Stephen

Woodstock

NEWFOUNDLAND
St. Johns

NOVA SCOTIA
New Glasgow
Sydney

ONTARIO

Aurora

Brampton .
Branttord .
Cobourg. . .
Dundas . . .

Elmira

Guelpb....
Ingersoll. .
Kitchener .
London...

Niagara Falls .

Oriliia

Ottawa

Owen Sound. .
Parry Sound. .

Peterborough .

Preston

Ridgetown . . . .

Simcoe

St. Catherines.

.(P)

Thorold

Toronto

Walkerville (P)

Wallaceburg

Whitby

Woodstock

P. E. ISLAND
Charlottestown .

QUEBEC

Montreal

Quebec

River du Loup.

SASKATCHEWAN
Moose Jaw

•0

■^

J* >.

3 c
3

p.,

ffiui

t/i

1,000

3,500

5,000

Sp.

5,000

*1 1,370

Ri.

Yes

Hvp

•39,624

Ves

10,000

/*18,661

5,000

A. W.

8,000

900

6,750

Ri.

Yes

Chi

3,000

1,200

Ri.

Chi

2,500

Ri.

5,000

Ri.

5,000

Chi

6o;ooo

3,000

4,500

Ri.

Ves

32,000

11,000

27,000

Imp.

2,300

4,32»

1..-W.

Part

32,700

Sp.

Chi

5,000

^■r

Yes

6,000

Sp.-Cr.

Yes

Chi

2,500

17,032

Sp.

5,000

Sp.

Chi

22,000

Vv.

60,000

W.-Sp.

14,307

Ri.

Ye,s

Chi

8,000

Yes

Chi

112,000

Ri.

Chi

13,000

Sp.-Ri.

Yes

4,500

22,000

Ri.

Chi

5,000

Sp.

2,200

4,010

Sp.

22,000

Chi

4,000

Chi

499,278

Yes

Chi

11,000

Ri.

Chi

5,000

Ri.

Yes

Chi

3,500

Yes

Hyp

10,000

Sp.

12,000

694,000

Ri.

Yes

120,000

7,000

Ri.-L.

22,500

Yes

Chi

Consump

ion

•a
u

> rt

'c.

120

780

1,000

620

10,000

285,000
500,000
350,000

10
82
100
70

No
Yes
Yes
No

1,200,000

2,700,000

746,376

'-,000,000

500,000

570,000

106
68
75
107
100
71

Yes
Yes
Yes
No
\es
No

1,169
6,686
1,700
3,200
1,624
1,400

60,000

600,000

Unknown

67
89

No
No

175

1,200

500

180,000
250,000

150
10

Yes
No

120
316

1,000,000

200

Yes

1,100

30,000

Yes

340

15,000,000
500,000
400,000

250
167
91

No
No
Yes

7,236
750
700

5,000,000

166

Yes

4,200

2,500,000
3,043,980

227
113

Yes

2,000
2,935

150,000
450,000
3,600,000
800,000
480,000

65
104
110
160

Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes

600
1,050
7,200
1,000

640

7,500

2,500,000

750,000

2,000,000

6,000,000

30
147
150

91
100

No
No
No
Yes
Yes

350

3,847

1,035

4,201

16,807

3,500,000

690,000

21,500,000

1,500,000
300,000

245
86
192
116
67

Yes
Yes
Yes
\es
No

3,378

1,650

25,300

3,220

900

3,100,000

275,000

45,000

237,600

5,700,000

141
55
20
59

259

\es
No
No
No
No

4,660
580
450
950

6,500

600,000
62,490,000

3,330,000
150,000
500,000

1^21,600

150
125
330
30
143
152

Yes
No
No
Yes
No
Yes

900
104,766

2,400
900
630

2,600

1,500,000

125

2,400

15,000,000

13,500,000

1,250,000

22
112
179

Yes
No
No

85,000
11,000
1,500

890,000

Yes

2,362

•a k,
g V

776
250
620

567
6,761
1,619
2,000
1,050
1,400

175

1,100

425

4
340

400

300

960

2,654

200

420

300

3,956

6,396

42
48
400
15
15

82
580

12
670
300

3,566

260

520

110

1,668

2,362 100

Meter Rates

7
100
25
100

49
100
95
63
65
100

-8c

25c

21. 5c

34.7c
40c

21. 3c

30c

9.3c

64c

30c

$1.50

30c

50c
15c

None
27c

None
30c
45c

30c

25c

Flat
35c
35c
35c

48c

30c
25c
25c
23c
l6.8c

12c
26c

35c
13.9c

30c
16.7c
19.2c

20c
13.8c
8.3c
24c
16c
15c

30c

12.8c
60c

25c

80c

in cO

5) C -

►JU a

3c
6.9c

8c
4.7c

6c
5.7c

6c
9.3c

pap
.536?

c a !3

$6.00
6.00
7.00

10c
40c
15c

10c
10c

Sc
27c

13c

3c
10c

7c
9c
9c
8c
l6c

He
lOc
7c
9c
8.9c

6c
8c
l3c

l6c
93c

,3oc
5.6c
4.6c

5c
13.8c
6.3c
l6c
7c
6c

15c

Spec.
25c
8.5c

10.00
9.00
5.00
5.00
3.00

None

$18.00

12.00

$20.00
12.00

None

6.00

12.00
20.00
10.00

10.00
8.00

9.60
4.00
12.00
12.00

10.00
10.00
5.00
5.90
10.00

$4.00

4.00

6.00
6.00
10.00

None
8.00
6.00

10.00
8.00

20.0

7.00

16c 18.00

Pittsburgh's Playgrounds and Citizens
Committee on City Plan

By Frederick Bigger

Executive Secretary of the Citizens' Committee

THE Citizens Committee on City Plan
of Pittsburgh is an unofificial body of
private citizens who believe that a
definite and workable program of develop-
ment is even more necessary for the city of
Pittsburgh, in its business, than for any in-
dividual Pittsburgher in his business or pro-
fession.

The committee was organized with the
single object of producing the Pittsburgh
Plan, to give Pittsburgh an orderly, scien-
tific, comprehensive program of city build-
ing. The committee has no political connec-
tions and no partisan purposes. It is financ-
ing its own program of planning. Since it
came into existence, late in 1918, there has
been renewed interest in city planning. The
official City Planning Commission, which
had about ceased to receive adequate munici-
pal and public support, has taken a new lease
of life. It is believed that any part of the
planning work which the official Commission
will undertake to do adequately, and for
which it will receive proper support, should
be done by that body, thereby relieving the
Citizens Committee of such portion of its
program.

It should be understood that the planning
studies which are being made have specifi-
cally to do with the physical development of
the city. Necessarily this development can
only be properly understood and planned for
when the social and economic factors have
been studied.

The City's Present Recreational Facilities

Take, for example, the first portion of the
Committee's work — its report upon Pitts-
burgh's playground. This study does not
attempt to cover all the recreation problems
of the city. It covers only the playground
system, together with special sites for
athletics. It is a general study only, designed
to show the needs of the children and youth
of the various parts of the city, and to
formulate a policy which the city may wisely
follow in supplying those needs.

Recreation work and facilities in Pitts-

burgh are now in charge of the City Bureau
of Recreation, the City Bureau of Parks
(both in the Department of Public Works),
the Bureau of Police of the Department of
Public Safety, the North Side Playground
Association (a private body receiving both
private subscriptions and municipal appro-
priations), the Pittsburgh Board of Educa-
tion, various social agencies (settlement
houses) and industrial corporations. The
Citizens Committee on City Plan believes the
time is here when proper unification of the
work of these groups should be undertaken.

It is true that commendation may be given
to certain details of playground plant and
administration in Pittsburgh. It is equally
true that comparisons are odious, that it
matters less whether Pittsburgh's play-
grounds compare favorably or unfavorably
with those of other cities than it matters
whether Pittsburgh's plant is adequate to
meet its needs. Therefore it has seemed
necessary to ascertain the truth and face it,
no matter how unpleasant, rather than to
dress it up into a more palatable statement.

The purpose of the present study of play-
grounds has been the planning for the
coordination of all the physical facilities into
a system so adjusted to the city plan as to
assure the best service to the people, and
economy of ultimate unified administration.
The study is technical — or at least semi-
technical. It has aimed to produce facts and
to make common-sense deductions from
those facts. It is therefore as far as possible
removed from being the expression of per-
sonal opinion or group opinion. The report
indicates a sane, businesslike, and efficient
program for the acquisition and development
of playground areas. In so far as it does
this its emphasis falls upon efficient technical
administration of a constructive, progressive
program for part of the city-building
process.

The Citizens Committee believes that, al-
though the correct detailed development of
individual playground areas is important, the
question of general policy is of vital import

January^ 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

ATHLETIC FIELD CENTER,

P055IBLE

ARRANGEMENT

or DIEFERENT

TYPES OF

PLAYGROUND

MINIMUM

51ZE PL0T5

OF GROUND

Q 50 lOO

T I I I I I I I I I I

SCALL IN FEET.

A PAGE FROM THE PLAN FOB PITTSBURGH PLAYGROUNDS; HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW, CONSULTANT

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

in assuring that result. Therefore we have
placed at the very beginning of our report
the following general recommendations :

Recommendations

"Playground activities and all other forms of
public recreation should be administered by one
agency, preferably by a City Department of
Recreation. Particular attention should be
given to the adjustment of playground activities
to the school curriculum. As a step toward this
accomplishment, and in order to meet present
needs, a working agreement should be effected
by the Bureau of Recreation, the Bureau of
Parks, the Board of Education, and the North
Side Playground Association whereby a unified
piogram of year-round playground activity may
be developed. The following points should be
covered :

"i. The dedication or allotment of the neces-
sary grounds for playground purposes should
be made by the city and the Board of Education.

"2. The city and the Board of Education
should adjust their obligations so that the pur-
chase of additional grounds may be effected by
either or both.

"3. The program of development given in
this report should be adopted and, from time
to time as funds are available, extensions and
improvements should be made. Whenever pos-
sible this should be done in order of urgency,
undertaking projects at the top of the list. The
question of purchase of sites versus develop-
ment of grounds should be carefully considered.

"4. A complete topographic map, and a plan
for ultimate development based thereon, should
be prepared by the city for all playgrounds.
(The Board of Education should furnish topo-
graphic maps of all its playground properties.)
No site can justly be called a playground until
at least the grading and enclosure are com-
pleted.

"Whenever a property of rough topography
or of considerable variation in grade is consid-
ered for purchase, a sketch plan of possible
development based upon an accurate topographic
survey, together with an estimate of the cost
of grading, should be made before purchasing
the land. It should not be forgotten that finan-
cially the important point is the cost of usable
land and not necessarily the purchase price of
the site.

"5. The development of each playground
should be undertaken progressively, and no
permanent construction whatever should be
made in any playground or park until after the
plan of ultimate development of that ground
has been drawn up and officially adopted.

"6. Early development of athletic field cen-
ters should be made. These are especially im-
portant, inasmuch as the facilities there pro-
vided will in a large measure meet the need now
evidenced by the demand for baseball grounds.
At such places the development of community
centers will be particularly effective in arousing
local interest and spirit which may be ex-

pressed in inter-community contests, games and
pageants.

"7. The Bureau of Parks should be charged
with the installation and maintenance of the
parking and planting of all city-owned play-
grounds, and the playgrounds upon school prop-
erty might be included. Care of the play space
and buildings should of necessity be the re-
sponsibility of the operating agency.

"8. All playgrounds having enough space
for baseball diamonds should have facilities for
spraying the grounds in winter to provide ice
for skating.

"9. At all playgrounds a daily record should
be kept of the attendance (visits) of boys and
girls under ten years of age, boys over ten, and
girls over ten. In order that there shall be no
discrimination in service, it is desirable that a
separate record of negro children be kept. The
place of residence of all children who are regu-
lar attendants should be recorded. Such rec-
ords, heretofore incompletely kept, will be the
public's measure of service rendered by the
playgrounds, and will be invaluable in deter-
mining any need for change in character of
activity or for extension of facilities.

"10. An adjustment of personnel should be
made so that properly qualified supervisors, di-
rectors and play leaders, employed by the city
or by the Board of Education, may be most
efficiently engaged without regard as to whether
one or the other agency pays the salary. This
will permit of adjustment of playground work
to educational work and will prevent duplica-
tion of effort.

"11. If the playgrounds are not open on
Sunday for organized play, there should in any
case be official supervision of the children and
youth who will inevitably congregate upon these
grounds.

"Only when public opinion has become strong
enough to demand the execution of a unified
playground program such as is here recom-
mended, to the exclusion of selfish interests, can
there be assured economical and efficient ex-
penditure of public funds for development and
administration,"

In the way of specific recommendations
the Committee has tabulated more than one
hundred recommendations as to individual
playgrounds and athletic field sites, which
when properly developed will constitute a
system giving adequate service to every
section of the city. These recommendations
have been listed in the order of their
urgency as determined by factors such as
general and school population, service
rendered by existing recreational centers,
juvenile delinquency statistics and the like.
The plan suggested by the Committee is that
when money is available, as many items as
possible be taken from the top of the list of
recommendations so that the most urgent
needs may be met first of all. The Commit-

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

US]-.

THE PBESCEIPTIONS OF THE CITIZENS COMMITTEE WIIiIi HELP FATHER PITT TAKE

ON WEIGHT

tee suggests the re-rating of the playground
areas every three to five years in order to
meet the changing conditions in various
sections of the city.

Special emphasis is placed by the Com-
mittee on the need for all-year-around ser-
vices by the playgrounds. "If a city is at
all justified in expending money for play-
ground purposes," the report reads, "that
expenditure should be made in accordance
with the need to be met, and not merely for
supplying something that can be used only
two or three months out of the twelve. If
recreation is needed at all, it is needed all

the time. Consequently, the playgrounds
should either be located next to the school
or should be provided with proper build-
ings."

As examples of what may be done to
properly arrange and develop playgrounds
and athletic field sites, the Committee has in-
cluded in its reports drawings showing
possible arrangements of such sites, and in
conjunction with the Pittsburgh Architec-
tural Club has conducted a competition to
obtain suggestions for the future develop-
ment of one of the larger grounds for recre-
ational purposes.

On the Calendar of Conventions

January 19-20, 1921. — New Yoek City.

American Society of Civil Engineers. Secre-
tary, Charles Warren H^nt, 33 West 39th Street,
New York, N. Y.

January 26-28. 1921. — Philadelphia, Pa.

American Society of Heating and Ventilating
Engineers. Secretary, C. W. Obert, 29 West
39th Street, New York, N. Y.

February 1-3, 1921. — Toronto, Ont.

Engineering Institute of Canada. Secretary,
Fraser S. Keith, 176 Mansfield Street, Montreal,
Que.

February 3-5, 1921. — Oakland, Calif.

California Association of Commercial Secre-
taries. Secretary, Charles P. Bayer, Secretary of
Chamber of Commerce, Pomona, Calif.

February 9-12, 1921. — Chicago, III.

American Road Builders' Association, Secre-
tary, E. L. Powers, 11 Waverly Place, New
York, N. Y.

February 25-26, 1921. — Harrisburgh, Pa.

Pennsylvania Commercial Secretaries' Associa-
tion. Secretary, E. J. Fellow, Chamber of Com-
merce, Lebanon, Pa.

The National Child Labor Committee has announced that Child Labor Day will be
observed Saturday, January 22, in synagogues; Sunday, January 23, in churches, and
Monday, January 24, in schools. The National Child Labor Committee has prepared a
special pamphlet for the use of leaders of meetings on that day and posters to announce
such meetings. These, with other publications of the committee, may be obtained on appli-
cation to its office, 105 East Twenty-second Street, New York City.

The Crime Epidemic and the Motor-
Cycle as a Remedy

IN an interesting editorial, the New York
Sun comments as follows upon the out-
burst of crime which has shaken a great
portion of this country :

The epidemic of crime or wave of crime, or
whatever it be called— the great prevalence of
crime — is not due, we imagine, to any new
access of depravity in the community. There
are no more criminals than at any other time,
nor are these criminals morally worse than in
tamer periods. The condition, which has de-
veloped something approaching a panic among
honest folk, has been due to a broad general
confidence in the criminal classes that they can
do what they please and "get away with it."

They have gradually ceased to be afraid of
the police for the last two years or so, as they
have seen crime after crime slip into the past
unsolved and unpunished. This is the whole
situation in a nutshell. If there shall be a
change of form on the part of the police, and
murderers, burglars and highwaymen are
caught as fast as they raise their heads, the
wave of crime will subside at once.

This is the necessary, the imperative thing.
The police must function in order to restore
normal conditions. Crime can never be
stopped altogether; but the rogues and the ruf-

fians can be driven back to trivial assaults and
petty larceny. These minor offenses are the
natural activities of the semi-degenerate gang-
sters, who are now doing sensational stunts
with much "gun play" because of the immunity
which they deduce from the record of the
police and detective performances.

The accompanying illustration shows a
patrol recently placed on Route 131 of the
Pennsylvania state highway system to safe-
guard motorists who travel over that impor-
tant highway thoroughfare from New York
to Washington. Many hold-ups had made
this route dangerous, but the men from
Troop E, Lancaster, Pa., who carry a plenti-
ful supply of ammunition, have made the
road safe, and criminals are now giving it
a wide berth.

This mode of protection may well be
applied by other cities in patrolling streets
and highways. Well-mounted and well-
armed, constables, troopers or policemen, as
the case may be, acting in pairs or squads,
can by the use of the motor-cycle largely
eradicate hold-ups from our thoroughfares.

Photograph by C. H. Thomas, Kennctt Squ-are, Pa.

MOTOR-CYCLE PATROL ON PENNSTLVANLA, HIGHWAY BETWEEN NEW YORK AND

WASHINGTON

Winter Sports in Our City Parks

By S. R. DeBoer

Landscape Architect

THE time was when to be a good park
man it was sufficient to be a good
florist. Those were the days of "Keep
off the grass"' signs. The signs have dis-
appeared, and with them has disappeared
the old character of the park superinten-
dent's work. Service has become his guid-
ing motto. Beauty ? Yes. but beauty in
the service of the community. In addition
to caring for his flowers, his shrubs and
his trees, the park man has become the
guardian of the happiness and health of
the people he serves.

Outdoor Recreation Every Season of
the Year

With this idea of service in park work
has also come the realization of the neces-
sity of giving people outdoor recreation, as
far as possible, every season of the year.
Winter sports fill a very important part in
this recreation scheme. Much as it may be
necessary to have people come out to the
parks on the hot summer days, it is fully as
essential to have them enjoy the invigorat-
ing winter air in the days of steam heat,
of colds and "flu."

The war has changed our ideas of ath-
letics; a little, at least. The colleges and
universities are waking up. Where is the
benefit to the growing body of your boy or
my girl at college, to have a score of big
huskies play a football game, or another set
play a baseball game? The games on the
corner lots were all right; there all the
boys had valuable exercise. But in our
schools and colleges athletics seem to affect
the majority of students only in the lung
exercise of cheering. I would be the last
one to condemn this exercise, but as a gen-
eral body builder it is rather one-sided.
For the good of our boys — and of our girls
— is it not about time that we reverse the
tables and have two teams of eleven each on
the bleachers as spectators, and the several
hundred students as actual players, and
therefore the beneficiaries of the sport?

The one way to judge the value of a sport
to the community as a whole is to judge the
number of actual players as compared with

the number of spectators. There are no
spectators in skating, or nearly none; every-
body skates. If the faces of the players are
radiating health and cheerfulness, you get
results ; if they are gloomy, as professionals
may look gloomy, you are wasting valuable
effort and time. Look at the smiles, at the
glowing cheeks of a crowd on skates.

How to Make a Skating Rink

A lake is a valuable asset for skating.
No artificially made rink can compare with
it. It needs less care, is more permanent
and more satisfactory. Where there is at
least two feet of water, good ice, once es-
tablished, can be maintained much longer
than on an artificially made rink. In the
care of ice there is a great deal in an early
beginning. As soon as the ice is strong
enough to carry the men, it should be taken
care of. The danger at this time especially,
as it is at other times, is snow. The finest
black ice, once covered with a blanket of
snow, will lose its hardness, and unless the
snow is removed before melting starts, will
turn into the well-known gray-colored snow-
ice. The snow melts into the ice, and the
crust of it freezes over again. Careful
planing and cleaning may gradually make
this crust usable again, but it never regains
the hardness of the original ice. The first
day of thaw it will soften and become use-
less.

If the weather stays sufficiently cold, this
snow ice can still be improved upon by flood-
ing, or, better, by spraying at night. Flood-
ing must be done rather judiciously, for
fear that the flooded area will not knit to-
gether with the ice under it and shell ice be
formed, which is soon cut through by the
skater. Cracks should be filled with hot
water, which better knits together with the
existing ice than cold water.

On places where natural lakes do not
exist, artificial rinks can be made. Probably
no places on the globe have developed the
science of making artificial rinks as highly
as have the mountain resorts of Switzer-
land. "Winter Sports in Switzerland," by
E. T. Benson, contains valuable information

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

EVERT YEAR MORE CITIES ARE APPRECIATING THE POSSIBILITIES OFFERED BY THEIR

PARKS FOR WINTER RECREATION

on this subject, as on all other winter sports,
and will convince one that to talk about the
science of making a rink is not to over-
state the undertaking. A good article on
ice skating rinks, by George H. Browne,
was published in Landscape Architecture
for January, 191 6.

In Switzerland the ground for the rink
is leveled off in spring. Weeds may be al-
lowed to grow over it during the summer,
as the roots help to form the foundation
which is necessary for building up a rink.
As soon as snow falls, this is heavily
tramped on the rink by men, until a well-
compacted mass of snow 4 inches thick has
been formed. This is sprinkled with water
and freezes. If no more snow falls for a
time, the rink can be built on this founda-
tion, otherwise the snow will have to "be
tramped in again and everything done over.

Two inches of water is put on top of the
snow on a sunny day. On a very cold day
this water would freeze separately from the
snow foundation and not knit together with
it very well, but on a sunny day it will knit
satisfactorily. Then for several nights one
inch of water is put on the rink, until the
ice is 18 inches thick. Snow followed by
frost is easily cleaned off.' But snow fol-
lowed by thaw is serious. The ice thaws
unevenly, making a number of small holes.
Each of these holes should be filled by hand
with a freezing mixture of snow and water,
or, still better, with pounded ice and water.
Every evening the dust of skating should be
swept off.

Flooding should be done only when the
sun shines, to allow the new ice to knit to-
gether with the existing ice. Sprinkling is
much better, but often has to be done six
or seven times a night.

Seepage is the great difficulty with arti-
ficial skating rinks and must be prevented
at all costs if the rink is to be a success.
Mr. Browne recommends a clay covering at
the bottom of the rink to make the floor
impervious to water. After a good founda-
tion has been secured, everything depends
on continuous sprinkling. Wait with the
next sprinkling until the former one is
frozen. Warm water is better than cold.
With the thermometer 10 F., the best time
to sprinkle is after sunrise, 7-8 A. M. Be-
low 5 F., the frost will tear cracks in the
ice. In general, the coldest weather, below
zero, does not make the best ice, but it
does make the ice that withstands thaw the
longest.

Instruction in Skating — Skating Contests

Contests in the various games should be
organized occasionally, and the superinten-
dent of a rink should constantly keep in
mind that contests are not for the benefit
of the few participants nor even for the
people watching them, but are simply the
means of bring the attractions of the sport
to the attention of a greater number of
people. Contests for fast skating should be
conducted on short tracks, which can be
built in the same shape in which the race
tracks for horses are built, only with this

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

difference — that the races are held on the
inner part of the track and the public uses
the place on which the horses would race,
as a skating place around the inner track.
Fancy skating contests, which often draw
large crowds, are also best conducted this
way. Prizes should be allowed the winners,
to keep the interest of the players keen.
Especially where boys and girls are en-
tered in the races, prizes should be given,
though they need not be expensive if proper
judgment be used in their selection.

These affairs are best conducted by an
experienced man who can also teach the
various ice games and fancy strokes on
skates. An instructor similar to the play-
ground instructor would be valuable in this
respect. For those who have not studied
fancy skating, there is a surprise in store,
for fancy skating is more or less of an art,
or maybe a science, following well-defined
lines.

No doubt skating is the most popular
and the most valuable of our ice sports.
But where there is plenty of ice, room
should be put at the disposal of players of
other games. For curling, the ice must be
still smoother and harder than for skating.
A curling rink should be 42 yards long and
8 or 9 yards wide, and tees should be placed
at the ends of the rink, 38 yards apart. The
game is played by eight persons, four on
each side. A series of curling rinks can be
made side by side and roped off to keep them
separate from the skating rinks.

Hockey is a valuable game, that is played
with a ball or puck of tough, seasoned cork,
3 inches in diameter and i inch thick. This
is batted over the ice with a club. As a
rule, the whole pool should be used for this
game, and for this reason skating and
hockey do not go together very well. On
large lakes an area can be fenced off by
boards a foot high, to keep the puck in the
lines, and the rest of the lake can be used
for other sports.

Buildings and Equipment

At places where large crowds are ex-
pected, and especially children, heated
buildings should be provided to allow the
people to warm and rest themselves. On a
large lake where boating is a summer sport
a permanent building may well be put up.
With the lower floor near the water level,
it can be used by the skaters as well as by
the boaters. *

The main room should be heated, pre-
ferably with hot water, to enable the care-
takers to get hot water from the heating
plant for sprinkling the ice. Where no
central heating plant can be installed, a
large stove will answer the purpose. A
bucket of warm water will enable the skat-
ers to clean their skates. The floor can be
built of cement, but should be covered with
two inches of sawdust during the skating
season. A refreshment counter where
drinks and light lunches can be had at rea-
sonable cost should be included in such a
building.

In Holland, where skating is the national
winter sport and where in the winter all
freight traffic, or a great deal of it, goes
over the frozen canals, long excursions on
skates are possible. To supply the skaters
making these trips with refreshments, little
tents are built at frequent intervals, in
which warm milk and cake are sold.

The equipment of the skating pavilion
should include an emery wheel, driven by
an electric motor, for sharpening skates. A
small charge can be made for this service,
as otherwise the demand will become too
heavy. Long ropes, for roping off races
and the like, also for rop'ng off dangerous
places or places which should not be used
temporarily, should be kept in the building.
In addition to this, it is well to have a
ladder handy in case of accidents caused
by the breaking of the ice, and a first aid
chest. The building should also include
lavatories and a check room for overcoats
ajnd other clothes. Large public rinks
should be well lighted at night. Many
working people will not be able to come
during the day and will appreciate skating
by night,

Tobogganning — Bob-Sledding — Skiing

The Swiss mountain resorts probably also
lead in tobogganning. Long toboggan roads
are built there from a hilltop down to the
valley. These roads are only a few feet
wide, but are built mathematically correct.
Grades are studied and curves calculated as
carefully as in railroad engineering. The
speed of toboggans going over these runs
may be as high as 70 miles per hour. The
turns are banked up with snow, which is
tramped and sprinkled until frozen solid.
One of these courses is 1,300 yards long and
is covered in 60 seconds.

This sport may be valuable to the Swiss

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. i

resorts, for it draws crowds, but it is not the
sport we like to encourage for our park
visitors. There are too many spectators
for the few actual runners. Besides, for
inexperienced people these runs are dan-
gerous. Greater benefits are derived from
our children's tobogganning. Let them
bring their sleds, and give them a place
that is safe. Where there are no hills to
be had, a scaffolding can be built with a run
of snow and ice.

Denver has a rather unique opportunity
for the kiddies. The parks do not have any
slopes long enough for good sledding, so
part of one of the ma-n asphalted streets
lead'ng to a residence district is closed for
traffic. The hill is over three cty blocks
long. Though the street is one of the
main thoroughfares for that part of the
city, no complaints are made of its being
closed. The value of this hill in the street
to hundreds of youngsters is apparent even
to the hurried autoist of our times. A
watchman with a first-aid k't is essential
on a place like this. If the snow surface
becomes worn, a light sprinkling of water
can be given with a sprinkling wagon.

In hilly countries bob-sledding can be de-
veloped into a great sport. It requires con-
siderable skill, but less than the professional
tobogganning, and the amateur can get lots
of fun and loads of good cheer and health
out of it, by coasting down the country
roads through the hills.

The lover of skiing will never think of
any other sport. It is a great outdoor sport,
in which our larger parks can give con-
siderable service, especially those that have
hilly grounds. As a rule, however, our city
parks are a bit too tame for this sport. Ski
jumping contests are valuable to attract
people to it, but have the same objections
mentioned before if they develop into a
few men making high jumps and large
crowds getting wet and cold feet watch-

ing the performances.

Studying the Footprints of Wild Animals
in the Snow

This is hardly a winter sport, but I hap-
pen to belong to that great number of
former kids who have never gotten over the
admiration they once felt for the boy who
could tell the difference between the jack-
rabbit's trail in the fresh snow and the
cottontail's. A wonderful article in the
National Geographic Magazine, by Edward
W. Nelson, in May, 191 8, gave me the
thought that it might not be impossible to
have some one, interested both in the
youngsters and in the wild animals, take
out small groups of children and show
them and explain to them the mysteries of
these footprints, and get them acqainted
with the hab'ts of some of our winter ani-
mals. Is there any boy who has not in-
herited enough of the hunting instinct of
our forefathers to want to know about these
th'ngs? And is there any child whose love
for an-mals and outdoor life would not be
stimulated by studies like these? Maybe
this should be left to the initiative of the
schools; nevertheless, it is a service our
parks can give.

The opportunities for winter sports are
of very wide range. The park superinten-
dent who tries to encourage all these sports
may find the winter season equal to his
famous busy spring season as far as the
amount of work goes. But the valuable
work he is giving his community will be
appreciated by its citizens — ^^he can rely on
that ; for the average citizen, ready as he is
to criticize, will never fail to recognize the
efforts made for his well-being and enjoy-
ment, and he is a fair judge whether the
park superintendent is giving the best there
is in him, or is simply sleeping his winter
sleep at the time that the snow cloak covers
his lawns and the ice floor binds his lakes.

The American^ City Advocates City Motorization

To THE Editor of The American City :

We have been a subscriber to The American
City for some time past and have been quite
interested in several articles printed therein
regarding the progress made by several cities
in motorizing their departments, thereby enab-
ling them to give more efficient service at a
great saving to the taxpayers.

We wish to say that the articles and illus-
trations as published in The American City

have been an inspiration and a great service to
this department in causing us to give our most
minute attention to motorizing the entire de-
partment, and I want to assure you that The
American City will help many municipalities
by giving them such information as can be of
great help to each city.

HENRY F. GOLDACKER,
Deputy Commissioner of Public Works.

Syracuse, N. Y.,
September 22, 1920,

Street Cars Carry Publicity for City

Ordinances

Fort Collins, Colo., Displays Snow and Weed Removal Notices on Municipal

Electric Railway

THOUGH it is one
of the minor func-
tions of city gov-
ernment, keeping the
sidewalks of small cities
in northern latitudes free
from snow in winter is
perhaps one of the most
vexing problems with
which street department
officials have to cope.

Fort Collins, a city of
about 9,000 population,
situated in northern
Colorado, has since 1914
been operating under a
commission form of gov-
ernment. This city has
for many years owned
and operated its own
gravity water-works sys-
tem and its own cemetery,
and in January, 1919, it
issued bonds and bought
the local street car system, which had gone
into the hands of a receiver under stress of
war-time increase in operating cost. These
street cars are often used as a means of in-
forming citizens of municipal activities, as
later described.

One of the city ord'nances of long stand-
ing requires all property owners to remove
snow and ice from their sidewalks within 24
hours after its fall, and in case the owner
fails in this obligation, provides that the
city remove such snow and ice at the
owner's expense. The owner is then billed
for the actual cost of such removal, and if
the bill is not paid within 30 days, it be-
comes a lien upon the property and is certi-
fied to the County Treasurer for collection
at the same time and along with the regular
taxes.

There are in this city some 60 miles of
sidewalks, so should the property owners
fail to clean their walks it would be physi-
cally impossible for the city forces to clean
all of them between storms ; nor is it neces-

THE MUNICIPAL STREET CABS WARN OF WEEDS IN SUMMER
AND SNOW REMOVAL IN WINTER

(See the front cover of this issue)

sary. By advertisement in the local pa-
pers and by banners 27 by 8-1/2 inches
carried along the side of municipal street
cars, the citizens are admonished to remove
snow from their walks lest the city be forced
to remove it at their expense. In addition,
the cooperation of the reporters on local
newspapers is sought, and often locals or
editorials call upon the citizens to clear
their walks; particular stress is laid upon
the fact that owing to the supervision and
overhead required for city forces, the cost
will necessarily be greater than if they clean
their own walks. The notices are continued
in the paper and the banners still carried
after the city forces start to work, arid
every possible means of giving publicity to
the matter is made use of. Often the coopera-
tion of the police is sought, and copies of
the ordinances are left at the doors of house-
holders whose walks are not clean.

The same general method is used in the
summer for getting weeds cut on lots and
the parking area in front.

Motorization Saves Thousands for
Indianapolis

City Averts Enormous Increase in Cost of Hauling Its Ashes by Purchasing

Tractors and Trailers

ON October i, 1918, the contract for
hauling ashes in Indianapolis ex-
pired. The contract had been held by
the Indianapolis Hauling Company, which
submitted a new bid. Beginning January
I, 1 9 19, it would have cost $84,000 a year,
and $54 an acre for annexed territory, to
continue the ash-hauling work for a period
of five years. The city immediately cast
about for a new collection system. The re-
sult was the purchase of four 5-ton White
trucks and twenty-five Lee trailers. This
fleet started work in the winter of 1918-19.
Since that time the motor equipment has
gone faithfully along practically writing
itself off the books. During 1919 a total of
115,286 cubic yards of material was col-
lected and hauled to the dumps.

Figuring seven years as the life of the
trucks and trailers, the item of depreciation
for 1919 was approximately $8,286. Opera-
ting costs, including oil, gasoline, tires, re-
pair parts, labor on trucks and trailers,
totaled $12,305. An allowance of 6 per cent
interest on the balance of the cost
of the equipment adds $2,784 to the
year's total. Then throwing in a pay-roll
of $53,063, the total cost for 1919 mounts to
$76,439, which, on the basis of 115,286 cubic
yards of ashes collected, gives approximately
66 1/3 cents as the haulage cost per cubic
yard.

The real advantage of the motorized and
city-controlled ash-hauling system is not at
once apparent in these figures. The renewal
terms proffered by the private contractors
were not a flat figure of $84,000, but rather
that amount plus $54 an acre for annexed
territory. Since taking over its own ash-
hauling job, the city of Indianapolis has
extended its service facilities to a greatly en-
larged territory, which, had it been annexed
under the terms of the tentative new private
contract, would have run the expense of that
service very close to $100,000.

The city now owns the equipment and
controls its use. , Formerly some sections
of the city were neglected at times when the
weather was inclement, and complaints were

accordingly vociferous and vexing. Calls
and collections are now made regularly, in
fair weather and foul, and complaints have
consequently been reduced to a negligible
number, according to Thomas A. Riley,
supervisor of the Indianapolis Ash-Hauling
Department.

Few Complaints Now

There used to be as many as 200 com-
plaints a day, under the contract system,
but now complaints average only 10 a day,
a truly remarkable record when it is con-
sidered that 70,000 homes are served.

The best indication of the complete satis-
faction which motor equipment has given is
the authorization made recently by the
Board of Public Works and City Purchas-
ing Agent Dwight S. Ritterfor the purchase
of two additional White 5-ton trucks and
a half-dozen more Lee trailers.

Lost Time Minimized

The Indianapolis method of ash collection
is as follows : Horses, hauling trailers, cover
given alley routes collecting ashes from
house to house. The loaded trailers are then
left at predetermined street locations, where
empty trailers are waiting. The horses are
hitched to the empties and start out for new
loads. Meanwhile the tractors, on their way
to the ash dumps, couple the loaded trailers,
which have been abandoned at the street
corners, to their trains and continue on their
respective journeys to the dumps in various
sections of the city.

A trailer will hold 4 cubic yards of ashes.
Each tractor pulls a train of 3 trailers, mak-
ing 6 round trips in a day. The entire fleet of
four trucks and 24 trailers thus hauls 288
cubic yards of ashes daily. One cubic yard
weighs between 1,100 and 1,200 pounds.

One of the outstanding features of the
motor equipment is its flexibility. The equip-
ment is frequently diverted from ash-haul-
ing to snow-cleaning duties. During an
intensive three-weeks springtime clean-up
campaign 15,000 cubic yards of refuse were
hauled. Every Saturday evening 35 trailer

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

WHITE TRACTOR TURNING A CORNER WITH TRAIN OF LEE TRAILERS LOADED WITH

ASHES, INDIANAPOLIS, IND.

loads of refuse are hauled away from the
city market-place.

Trucks Also Aid Garbage Collection

When a fire at the loading platform creat-
ed an emergency in the garbage-hauling de-
partment, the trucks went to the rescue.
Customarily garbage collections are made
by 35 wagons, which haul their loads to the
loading platform in the central part of the
city. There cranes deposit the boxes on
flat cars, 20 boxes to the car. Three cars
are required to haul a day's collection of
garbage to the city-owned reduction plant,
located about four miles from the loading
platform.

Wagon hauls range from a few blocks up
to five miles. One wagon will average three
loads a day. During the three weeks that

the trucks were used; they cut the hauling
expense in the garbage department practi-
cally in half. One truck proved to be the
equivalent of three wagons and it was found
that a truck could be loaded in an hour and
one-half. Thus a single truck accomplished
in an hour and one-half the equivalent of a
day's work for a horse. Moreover, the
trucks travelled all the way to the reduc-
tion plant outside the city instead of only
to the loading platform. Between 90 and
and 100 tons of garbage are collected daily
in Indianapolis.

If the garbage collection department is
ever completely motorized, the railroad spur
from the loading platform to the reduction
plant, and even the loading platform itself,
can be eliminated, thus doing away with two
items of expense.

Agreement Between City and Gas Company

An agreement between the city of Indian-
apolis and the Citizen's Gas Company, whereby
the company will make extensions and im-
provements to its property by December 31,
•1921, costing about one million dollars, has
been signed by Charles W. Jewett, the Mayor,
the Board of Public Works and the officers of
the gas company.

The company's output is materially increased
by the agreement, and the enlarging of its dis-
tributing capacity has established a priority
order for the winter that gives local consumers
for cooking, lighting and water-heating prefer-

ence over all other users, and makes it unlaw-
ful for other consumers to use gas in emerg-
ency periods.

The agreement was reached after several
weeks of negotiation between the city officials
and the gas company, and grew out of the
great hardships which were endured by the
people during the first cold snap of the season,
when so many consumers used gas for heat-
ing purposes that the demand far exceeded
the supply. At this time the company was
forced to reduce pressure to the minimum to
prevent an exhaustion of gas from all its mains.

Lighting Posts That Have IndividuaUty

By Allen Henry Wright

WHEN municipalities undertake the
installation of ornamental street
lights, it might be well to follow the
example of some of the cities on the Pacific
coast where, in planning for ornamental
lighting, designs of posts or fixtures appro-
priate to the individual towns have been
selected.

Take, for instance, the city of Alhambra,
near Los Angeles, Cal., a community which
bears the name of the famous palace of the
Moorish kings in Granada, Spain. Here will
be found ornamental lighting posts bearing
the star and crescent of the Mohammedans,
used as an ornament at the base of the posts,
while the lights themselves are suspended
from the horns of crescents. A visitor can
tell immediately when his car reaches the
limits of Alhambra by the type of its light-
ing standards.

Again, in the adjoining small city of San
Gabriel, whose reputation throughout the
state is based upon the fact that within its
confines are the remaining portions of one
of the historic chain of missions established
in the eighteenth century by the Franciscan
padres, one finds ornamental light posts with
globes shaped like the old mission bells, re-
plicas of which mark the King's Highway,
or El Camino Real, connecting the string of
missions along the coast. By its lighting
posts San Gabriel is known to travelers
through that section of the state, and in a
number of other California cities also are to

TYPE OF LIGHT POSTS USED IN SAN
GABRIEL, CALIFORNIA

be found distinctive lights, suggestive of the
history of the several communities.

Fire Prevention Is Everybody's Business

Fire prevention is a subject for community
thought and community action because fire
is in itself a community subject. This is due
to the fact that fire is a restless force which
ever seeks to break its bounds. The match
in any man's pocket, the flame in any lamp,
the spark from any motor, may be localized
at a single point in one hour and in the next
have become transformed into a spreading
fire which threatens a number of buildings.
When such a fire assumes large proportions
we call it a conflagration, and then it is very
much a community affair, since it may
plunge hundreds or even thousands of peo-
ple into a community of dire misfortune.

Everybody gets a thrill when the engines
go clanging through the streets, but it is an
expensive thrill compared with the feeling
of satisfaction that comes from having a
few extra firemen to do thorough fire pre-
vention work. A loss from fire on build-
ings insured and uninsured, with the main-
tenance of the fire department and water- '
supply service, costs the United States more
than $2,000,000 a day. Last year 15,219
persons were burned to death and 17,641
were seriously injured. These figures can
be greatly reduced through systematic, thor-
ough fire prevention work on the part of
municipal departments.

The Distinctive High School Building
in Southampton, N. Y.

By Harold F. Sabine

Supervising Principal, The Public Sctiools of Southampton

THE Southampton High School build-
ing is one of the most beautiful school
buildings in the state of New York.
It is ideally located on a six-acre plot of
land on the Montauk Highway, where it
attracts the attention of all who enter the
village. In the rear of the building is a
fine athletic field with ample space for foot-
ball, baseball, track and tennis.

The building is of modern fireproof con-
struction in colonial design of soft-colored
red brick with white marble and cement,
decorations, in keeping with the colonial
aspect of the popular resort, which dates its
founding from 1640. The central portion
of the building is three stories high,
crowned with a cupola from which a view
is obtained far out over the Atlantic Ocean
and Peconic Bay. On the third floor are
well-adapted and
equipped laboratories for
physics and chemistry,
as well as two com-
mercial rooms. From
the south windows of
this floor one hears the
breakers and sees a wide
expanse of the ocean a
few hundred yards dis-
tant. The second floor
of the building is occu-
pied by the High School
proper — a school of
about one hundred and
fifty pupils and eight
teachers. The central
portion of the floor con-
tains a well-lighted study
hall and the balcony of
the auditorium. On
either side of the study
hall are arranged seven
classrooms, the library,
the principal's ofiice, and
the boys' and girls' lava-
tories.

As one enters the
front door of the build-
ing he catches a glimpse

of the beautiful auditorium, which is across
the hall directly opposite the entrance. It
has a seating capacity of about five hundred,
and has stage facilities and exits to the
gymnasium below, which makes it well
adapted for amateur dramatics. There are
ten grade rooms on this floor. In the base-
ment are two large playrooms, the gym-
nasium, manual training rooms, a dressing-
room, two lavatories, a cooking-room, the
engine-room and a sewing-room.

The windows of the High School are
very large but are given scale by the small
lights and fine detail, a treatment rarely
found in public schools, where unsightly
large sheets of glass usually give a blank-
ness and barrenness to the entire building.
The architects of the building were Hewitt
and Bottomley. of New York City.

A SCHOOL EXTERIOE OF SIMPLICITY AND DIGNITY

THE AMERICAN CITY

Snow Removal With

TRACTORS

New York City

PURCHASED

"CATERPILLAR"
TRACTORS

'Caterpillar" Tractors were selected for snow removal work
by the New York City Engineers because of4thei> endurance,
power and traction. This winter, in the congested business
districts of lower Manhattan, the traffic will be kept opea and
fire danger prevented from ice and snow covered streets.
Only the "Caterpillar" can meet the severe task of getting^to
work when the storm commences, cleaning the snow faster
than it falls, bucking^deep drifts, ice and sleet, day and alght, as
long as the storm lasts.

Street Cleaning Departments, Township, County and State
Highway Officials, Public Utilities and Industrial Plants can de-
pend on the "Caterpillar" for snow removal. It solves this
problem as thoroughly as it does in road building, lumbering,
agricultural and industrial service.
Write for Bulletin on "Snow Removal."

The HOLT Manufacturing Company

INC.

PEORIA, - - ILLINOIS

SPOKANE, WASH., NEW YORK OFFICE, 50 CHURCH STREET
Factories at Stockton, Cal., and Peoria, Illinois.

<xsBsm

Wliea writing to Advertisers please mention Thi Amkkican City.

The Planning of Sebring, a Lake-Front
Town in Florida

By A. D. Taylor

Landscape Architect and Town Planner, Cleveland, Ohio

AMONG the interesting town develop-
ments which have been reported
within the last few years is that of
the town of Sebring, Fla. This town was
started by George E. Sebring and his son
approximately eight years ago. A site for
its development was selected on the shores
of Lake Jackson in southern central Florida.
This lake covers an area of approximately
fifteen square miles.

The success of most of the prosperous
towns of the South depends upon two fac-
tors — one, the all-the-year-round popula-
tion, and the other, the population of winter
tourists. The central portion of Sebring
has been carefully planned. The portion
shown on the accompanying map, located
within one-half mile of the center of the
community, is the part which will in the
future meet the requirements of the winter
population. A comprehensive study has
been developed whereby ideal surroundings

on the lake front can be provided for those
who wish to enjoy a period of winter rest
and recreation in the Florida climate. The
problem has involved the location of two
hotel sites, one of which has already
been developed, and the second of which
contemplates development in the near
future.

For a distance of five miles on either
side of the central portion of the town a
macadam drive follows within thirty feet
of the high-water mark of the lake. In de-
signing communities of this kind, there are
always possibilities of interesting drives
which will make the scenery of distant sec-
tions easily accessible to those who wish to
enjoy them.

The lake front lots have been designed in
units approximating fifty feet in width, thus
allowing the prospective purchaser to buy
two or more units in order to acquire the
desired area in his proposed home site.

CAREFUL PLANNING ASSURES THE WELL-BEING OF SEBRING' S WINTER COLONY

THE AMERICAN CITY

Hard?-Not for the Bulldog!

"We have been operating three Mack trucks nearly five
years on a regular schedule of eighteen hours a day.
One of them, with 201,000 miles to its credit, just re-
cently had its first overhauling." — From one letter of
hundreds we should like you to read.

THE most rigid schedules are maintained with
Mack Trucks. This is due to their unusual
built-in safety factors.

The case-hardened crankshaft, wristpins and cam-
shaft are among the many outstanding features which
have contributed to the established reputation of
Mack Trucks.

Distinctive Mack engineering features, combined with
18 basic Mack patents have developed the motor
truck the world is talking about.

Our latest catalogues, Nos. 13 and 39, contain a detailed
description of the many exclusive features that have
made Mack supremacy possible, together with the com-
plete specifications of every model. Send for them today.

Capacities 1^2 to 7>^ tons. Tractors to 15 tons

INTERNATIONAL MOTOR COMPANY, NEW YORK

When writing to Advertisers please mention The American City.

Municipal Finance

BONDING ACCOUNTING TAXATION

Dollars Speak in City and County
Consolidation — Part II

By Leo H. Joachim

RECENT instances of city and county partments and public officials: industrial
consolidation, notably those of Den- development bureau, building department,
ver and Los Angeles, have confirmed inspection department, commissioner of sup-
belief in the efficacy of this reform in re- plies, county superintendent of schools, city
ducing materially the expenditures of mu- chaplain, two justices of the peace and two
nicipal government. honorary boards, the art commission and

The way to consolidation was a long and the library board. The people elect the city

stormy one for Denver, lasting from 1904 council of nine members by districts, the

to 1916, but in that year the city finally city auditor, the election commission, dis-

amended its charter under the authority trict judges, district attorney, county judge

granted to the people by Amendment XX to and juvenile judge. All appointments by

the state constitution. By this charter the the mayor are made without confirmation

modified mayor-and-council form of govern- by the council. Nothing could be more tell-

ment was put into effect in the city and ing in a discussion on the economies effected

county of Denver, the mayor was made the in the Denver consolidation than the com-

residuary of executive power, and the en- parative chart of costs before consolidation,

tire system was made primarily an appoin- as read in a report before the National Mu-

tive one. The whole list of county officials nicipal League at Detroit in November,

hitherto elective has been abolished. 191 7> by Professor William B. Guthrie of

The mayor appoints four managers who the College of the City of New York :

have functions distributed as folloxys: man- relative expenses in Denver before

ager of improvements and parks, with and after consolidation

jurisdiction of city and mountain parks; Expense. Appropriation,

citv engineer, who has under him the con- i^^i 1^1''

troi of highway paving, sprinkling, clean- ^rTalu°er- •.•.•.•.■.■.•.: ::::::::: I4S Htilo

ing of streets, sewer, and- street lighting f^^"^ If'^^o ^'''^"^

departments; manager of revenue, who is County Clerk !.....!.:!!!! 37*400 28,'ooo

city and county assessor and treasurer; Coumy'supt:' of Schools:::: tfoll UTo

manasrer of safety and excise, who directs Justice of the Peace (3) — 22,800 17,000

,. *£ J • J , ' . 1 ./v District Attorney 27,700 25,000

police, fire and excise departments, is sheriff Court House 42,000 23 130

of the county and in control of city and ^°^^— ::::::::;:::: 'l',:Z Toill

county jails ; manager of health and charity. Support of Poor 58,000 47,500

, 1, J. -. .1 1. 1.. 1 , . t •/ Detention Home 6,000 3,800

Who directs the health department, charity Horticulture i|70O 1)200

bureau, county hospital and county farm. General 33*000

and is coroner of the county. The man- '- —

agers have the appointive power for their $699,400 $476,«oo

respective departments. These are the chief statistics available

The mayor appoints directly the city at- for the costs and must not be taken entirely

torney and the water commission of five at their face value, because of the changes

members. This body appoints a manager that have occurred in the city government,

of the water plant. The mayor also ap- and the lapse of time. Much of the econ-

points directly the following heads of de- omy is attributable to changes in the city

THE AMERICAN CITY

A Financial Service For the Municipality

We are prepared to inform mtmicipal officials regarding

1. Present cost of raising money

2. The most desirable method of financing

Our municipal department handles state, cotmty and municipal bonds representing over thirty
states in the union. Otu" experience and facilities are at the disposal of any municipality.

Correspondence invited

A. B. I_,eacli & Co., Inc.

Inveatment Seeuritiea
62 Cedar Street, New York

Chicago Philadelphia Boston Buffalo Minneapolis Baltimore Pittsburg Clereland

^■1 EUREKA SNOW PLOW

^^^KHB Horse Drawn Tractor Driven

^HB^HHfl Will mount curbs with ease and re-
■H^^^^^H move 24 inches of snow in one trip.
^^^^^^■jl The wings are adjustable to any width
4^^^^^^^^ and either wing may be detached.
'-M^^^^^f ' One user writes regarding use with
^^^^^^V > tractors, ' 'The plow is so simple and
^^^^HV the method of attaching so easy that

ySKKTIT these laets coupled with the reason-
■HUHH^ able price should make a strong ap-
^^9H^^ peal to all tractor owners interested
^■^^^^^^H ' in snow removal."

^HK^JlUk^^MM^. V iriiidilMMMIIikiMk

Sidney _ Ohio

Snowless Sidewalks

made possible by

Two Men, a Team and A Martin can clean more
miles of sidewalks or gutter in a day and at less
expense than several old style outfits and do a
better job.

All-Steel, Reversible, Adjustable, Practical

SNOW REMOVER

A heavy snow-fall blocks traffic, makes
walkinsc difficult and causes accidents.

Clean Sidewalks and Gutter

make for comfort and safety. The Martin
is the ideal tool for this work. Catalogues
and prices sent at once on request.

OWENSBORO DITCHER
AND GRADER CO., Inc.

OWENSBORO Box 100 KY.. U. S. A.

r«

When writing to Adyertiaert pleaae mention Thb Akkkicam Citt.

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

administration; much of it, however, must
be attributed to consolidation, and this may
be shown concretely.

Functions, for example, that were for-
merly divided between the county assessor
and the county treasurer, both receiving a
salary of $4,600, and the city treasurer, at
$5,000, were merged into those of the office
of manager of finance at a salary of $4,000.
Justice of the peace affairs which in 191 1
cost $22,300, to which was added a munici-
pal court costing $4,000, were covered after
consolidation by city justices at a combined
cost of $17,000.

Two curtailments in expenditure that
seem to be open to criticism are the cuts in
the coroner's office and that of county su-
perintendent of schools.

The Gains in Los Angeles County

Los Angeles has not gone as far as Den-
ver, inasmuch as it has merely consolidated
a number of offices and not entire units of
government. It has been enabled to do this
as a result of California legislation passed
in 1895 (mentioned above) permitting coun-
ties to make their own charters. Four
counties have availed themselves of the
privilege, including, in addition to Los An-
geles, Butte, Tehama and San Bernardino,
but in none of these are governmental func-
tions centralized. In each county two gov-
ernments still function, although a large
number of officials have been taken from the
elective lists. In California the Legislature
has this check on the exercise of home rule :
the charter adopted by the county must be
submitted to the Legislature for approval.

Los Angeles is perhaps the most notable
example, as it has taken thirteen officials
from the elective list. The consolidated
offices are city and county assessor, city
and county tax collectors, and city and
county treasurers, the county officials act-
ing ex officio.

The act of 1895, in brief, provides that
any municipality except one of the first
class shall have by ordinance the power to
elect for the levying and collection of city
taxes, the county auditor to render a state-
ment to the city clerk of the assessed values
of properties within the municipality, and
the trustees of the city council to determine
the rate of taxation and so to notify the
county auditor. The county auditor then
computes the city taxes in a special column
of the tax roll.

The offices of city assessor and city tax
collector, in the event of such consolidation,
are abolished, and such duties as were per-
formed by them other than those relative to
assessments and collection of taxes are by
ordinance transferred to other city depart-
ments. The act provides for an annual
charge by the county of the actual cost for
services, but not to exceed i per cent of the
first $25,000 so collected, and }i oi i per
cent for all sums over that amount. If the
city elects to have the county treasurer act
for it, an additional % oi i per cent is
charged for that service. Of the forty mu-
nicipalities included within Los Angeles
County, twenty-three avail themselves of
the act, very much to the taxpayer's advan-
tage, according to W. O. Welch, County
Tax Collector, both as to the convenience
of being able to pay all the taxes on one
bill, and in the matter of economy. A spe-
cial act of 1917 extended the privileges to
cities of the first class and chartered cities.
Los Angeles at that time provided for such
consolidation of the assessor's and tax col-
lector's offices. Taking eflfect for the year
19 1 7, the consolidation effected a saving to
the city for that year of more than $100,000
in salaries, which has increased cor-
respondingly with the growth of the city
for the successive years. Perhaps the
greatest convenience of all is the fact that
the taxpayer need pay only one bill. As to
the cost to Los Angeles City, the act pro-
vided that it shall be actual cost, which sum
is fixed for a number of years to be $25,000
annually. This includes the service of as-
sessing and collecting upon unsecured per-
sonal property taxes, assessing and collec-
tion of real estate and secured personal
property taxes.

The Los Angeles experience is illustrative
of the economies we may expect in consoli-
dations. Surveying the diverse experiences
of cities that have undergone such changes,
we may safely say that important savings
can be effected. How far the abolition of
offices will be carried, how far the now
elongated ballot must be truncated, must
remain considerations for individual com-
munities to solve according to their own
needs, and will form problems for future
students of government. The important
consideration is that consolidation of city
and county is being slowly accepted as one
of the chief and most efficient means for
the improvement of county government.

THE AMERICAN CITY

B^EE

AUTO TRUCK
SNOW PLOWS

For Cities, Counties, Parks, Cem-
eteries, Universities, Hospitals
and Large Industrial Plants

Right now is the time to arrange for your
snow plows to assure good delivery. Baker
Auto Truck Snow Plows are readily at-
tached to practically any make motor truck.
They are serviceable — sensible — safe.
They are equipped with our especially con-
venient lifting device. The blades are
hinged and allow passage over obstructions
without shock. Plows are made with 8
and 10 foot blades.

Hundreds of Baker Plows are in use in the
Snow Belt and are giving real service.

We also make 20th Century Horse Drawn
Snow Plows for sidewalk work

Write for for Dnaeriptioe Literature

The Baker Mfg. Company

503 Stanford Ave., Springfield, 111.

Friedman '*Snow-Loader" Revolutionizes

Snow Fi^htin^

This machine will positively handle your snow removal at a saving of 90 per cent over any other
method now in use. The Friedman "Snow-Loader" has been used in New York City with unbounded
success and satisfaction, loading trucks of 8 cubic yards capacity, at an average speed of 60 seconds.
If these statements interest you, it will pay you to write for further information concerning the most effi-
cient snow-fighting machine yet developed.

NATIONAL SNOW REMOVING CORPORATION

67 East 93rd St., New York City

When writing to Advertisers please mention The American City.

The Smallest Ball Ground in the World

By Arthur Leland

Playground Architect, Newport, R. I.

NEWPORT has one of the smallest
baseball fields on which regular
league games are played.
Baseball, as everyone knows, requires a
considerable playing area, such as is usually
found only on the outskirts of a city. The
playground pictured on this page shows
what can be done to limit the destructive-
ness of baseball and so civilize it as to bring
it within the congested district of the city.
The area required for playing the game it-
self is not large, but the problem of foul
balls, broken windows, broken heads of
passers-by and small children makes it
necessary to play the game in an outlying
section unless special precautions are taken.
The greatest width of the field shown is
250 feet. It is only 210 feet from the home
plate to right field fence. If left field fence
was as near, the playing area would be less
than 1.2 acres. The extreme width of the
field is 400 feet, and besides the regulation
diamond, there is a small diamond where
games are played simultaneously, the home
plate of which is 350 feet away from the
home plate of the main diamond. There
are also swings, see-saws, a sand-box, baby
swings for small children, a hand-ball court
at the back of the back-stop, which is in
constant use, take-off for jump, a football
field and a tennis court. The entire area is
so graded as to permit flooding in the winter
for skating. All this on an area of 2.4 acres.
The average baseball bleachers and back-
stop are numbered among the most hideous
things man can make. Newport has im-
proved upon these by means of a pergola
effect covered with vines. In order to keep
the baseball within bounds, a hood back-
stop and screen fences are used. Home
plate is under the hood. No batted ball
can reach the street or the small children
who play in other parts of the ground. Oc-
casionally a high infield fly hits the net
overhead. No foul ball can escape. This dia-
mond has home plate within 40 feet of the
street, where automobiles are parked and
passenger trains are made up just the other
side of the road, with a consequent conges-
tion of travel. The most successful amateur

CcfstCRAt- Fn_ATJ

BA51N PLAYGROUNO

NtWPOIX.T-«HODC ISLAND

APTMUP^ UUt-ATtO

NOTHING OMITTED AND NO SPACE WASTED

baseball league ever operated in the city
has played most of its games here. Last
year interest in amateur baseball was kept
up until the opening of the football season,
for the first time in the history of the city.
There have been no accidents, no broken
windows, not a single lost ball — which in
itself is quite an item with the present high
cost of sporting goods.

This ground is being saved for the loca-
tion of a new passenger station and mean-
while is leased to the city by the New York,
New Haven and Hartford Railroad Com-
pany on condition that the city assume re-
sponsibility and keep it in good condition.
Every baseball team in the city wishes to
play here in spite of the fact that there are
full-sized diamonds on the outskirts of the
city.

THE AMERICAN CITY

-^1

Qte " Evan s ton *T*1 an" of
Street Maintenance

WITH natural pride in their
beautiful city, which lies just
northof Chicago, thepropertyown-
ers and city authorities of Evanslon,
111. , have worked out what has come
to be known as the "Evanston
Plan' ' for keeping their macadam
streets in first-class condition.

The property owners on many
streets have local Improvement
Associations, who voluntarily con-
tribute to the cost of maintenance
of their street. This fund was
formerly used for street sprinkling,
but is now being used in system-
atic Tarvia maintenance. The
work is handled by the street de-
partment under the direction of
the Commissioner of Streets. This
has worked out so satisfactorily
that some of the Associations have
a surplus in their treasury, where
formerly all the funds went into
street sprinkling, and the streets
are dustproof, waterproof and
automobile proof.

Keeping Ahead of
Old General Neglect

The policy of the City of Evans-
ton is to repair and re-treat the
streets beforeitis absolutely necessary.
Three patrol gangs are kept on
the streets all summer, immediately

nir

ipc : jrai

h^OT

EVANSTON
CockCoimty.lll.

//<atfy black
'>n(« iniicatt
tnrviattd
tlrttU xA
Sfanatoit

patching any spot in the macadam
that begins to shbw signs of wear.
As a result, the entire system of
more than a half million square
yards of Tarvia-treated macadam
pavement is kept in wonderful
condition all the year round.

In fact, the streets of Evanston
form a striking testimonial to the
efficiency of systematicTarvia treat-
ment and low cost maintenance.

The Efficiency of
Barrett Service

The present Commissioner of
Streets, Mr. K. M. Brown, writes
as follows:

"Efficiency of service by your
company in the delivery and

'Hl*®-^

Tarvia-A" in l»Ii-ltl(.

application of Tarvia to the City
of Evanston during the past sea-
son has been very satisfactory.

I assure you that your efforts
in our behalf are appreciated, as
we are able to keep our pavements
in good serviceable condition
despite the fact that they are sub-
jected to unusually heavy traffic. ' '

Property Owners
Prefer Tarvia

Former Commissioner of Streets
Mr. Walter W. Krafts, before
leaving office, wrote as follows:

"The people of Evanston are
satisfied in every respect, and in
asking for work to be done on
streets, are asking for Tarvia in
preference to other binders."

The Evanston plan of street
maintenance is attracting a great
deal of attention in other munici-
palities.

We should be very glad to ex-
plain this plan in greater detail to
any interested city official or
property owner upon request. In
writing, address the nearest Barrett
Company office.

Presen/es Roads-Pwvents Dust

Special Service Department

This company has a corps of trained engineers and
chemists who have given years of study to modem road
problems. The advice of these men may be had for the
asking by any one interested. If you will write to the
nearest office regarding road problems and conditions in
your vicinity, the matter will be given prompt attention.

NcwYotk Cliicno Phllxlclphl* Boalon

Drtroit New OrtMIM Binnindum IC«nMt Gly Tit A

S«ltLA«Ci<r Sranle Poria AiUnu 1 UC

jotiBMowB LebMMO Youn(«town Toledo

Elisabeth Buffalo Balbmore Omaha

THE BARRETT COMPANY. Ulniud: MoMraal TokMo Viraipct

St. Looia Cleveland Cncinnati Pitlahurch

lapolia Dallaa Naahvilla Syiacuaa

Milwaufce* Bancor WaitiingtOD

Columbaa Richmond Lalfobo Bethlehem
Jacltasavilla Houston Deavef
SL)ah«.N.B. HaUa..N.S.

' Company KZS."'

When writing to Advertisers please mention The American City.

News and Ideas for Commercial
and Civic Organizations

Chamber of Commerce Snow
Fighters

Albany, N. Y. — It will be recalled that last
winter, through the good work of its Snow
Removal Committee, the Albany Chamber
was able to open up the main highways be-
tween Albany and Schenectady, Albany and
Troy, and Albany and Castleton, the three
main arteries of travel in and out of Albany,
during the height of the season's severe
snow-storms. In this work the Albany
Chamber had the hearty cooperation of the
Chambers of Commerce of Troy and
Schenectady, and of hundreds of citizens,
including owners of motor trucks, who
furnished trucks, road-scrapers and plows,
or volunteered to shovel.

Especially helpful was the assistance
given by the International Harvester Com-
pany, which generously donated the use of
several tractors, plows and road-scrapers,
as well as men to operate them. The Cham-
ber of Commerce also independently hired
a few tractors of the Cleveland Tractor
Company for use in breaking the drifts on
other roads. As a result of all this work,
the roads were kept open. Many delivery
trucks, containing food supplies, which had
been stalled, were released, and at least five
funerals which had been held up on the
Albany-Troy Boulevard were pulled out of
the snow.

This was, of course, all emergency work.

Almost immediately after it was completed,
the chambers of commerce in this section
got together and formulated a plan of legis-
lation to provide for keeping the roads open
to motor traffic all the year round, including
a systematic method of snow removal. The
committee had several bills in the last
Legislature providing for a state-wide sys-
tem of clearing the roads of snow under the
direction of the State Highway Commis-
sioner, who would have the work done in
each locality by the county superintendent
of highways. The idea was to standardize
methods and equipment, and the bill pro-
vided for the securing by the county
superintendents of the standardized equip-
ment recommended by the State Highway
Department, a procedure which should
greatly reduce the cost.

This, and several similar bills, failed be-
cause of rural fear of expense, but the com-
mittees are at work upon another one which
the Albany Chamber hopes will eventually
become a law. The movement was unani-
mously endorsed at an important conference
of presidents and secretaries of New York
State organizations recently held in New
York City at the offices of the Chamber of
Commerce of the State of New York.

In the meantime, the emergency snow
service has again been organized. Between
200 and 300 motor truck owners have of-
fered the use of their vehicles, and the

^^m. 1

W^W\

... < Ji-'

^>^TI

f ■ '- ^l I . ^

^%^_,

OPENING HP THE ALBANY-CASTLETON BOAD LAST WINTER WITH TRACTORS, THE USE OF
WHICH HAD BEEN DONATED TO THE ALBANY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

THE AMERICAN CITY

"The Slide for Life"

Remember when you played Conquer Leader, the daring "Slide for Life" —
down the side of a hay-stack, maybe? Remember the zest you developed for
playing the game, the ambition to outstrip your playmates, the courage^to
see things through to a finish?

Perhaps the children in your city cannot have hay-stacks to slide down. But
they can have playgrounds; playgroimds fitted with the most modern and
scientific play tools yet produced, where they can make their "Slide for Life"
— build courage, ambition, and the desire to win — ^just as you did years ago.

PUYGROUND EflUfPMENT

For fifty years the Medart Company has manufactured and perfected gym-
nasium apparatus for vigorous men — an experience that has particularly fitted
it for the leadership it has always maintained in the playground movement
and in the development of playground equipment best suited to withstand
the severe use and abuse of the children.

Catalogue "L" fully describes Medart Playground, Swimming Pool, Gymnasium
and Locker Room Equipment. Contains valuable suggestions for playground
installations. It will be sent gladly to anyone requesting it on their letterhead.

Fred Medart Mfg. Co., Potomac &DeKalb, St. Louis, Mo.

San Francisco
Rial to BIdg.

New York
52 Vanderbilt Ave.

When writing to Advertisers please mention Thk Akbkican City.

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

A PEN-AND-BRUSH SKETCH OF THE HISTORICAL PAGEANT GIVEN IN RED WING, MINN., BY
THE CHAMBER OF COMHtERCE, PUBLISHED IN THE "RED WING DAILY REPUBLICAN"

Chamber's committee has taken steps to
make available all the equipment that may
be needed. An effort will be made to
organize the volunteer workers into squads,
each squad to report in rotation as soon as
the snow begins to fly, and each to be kept at
work clearing the roads until the storm
ceases. It is hoped the work will ultimately
be taken over by the state and county offi-
cials.

Several rousing meetings have been held,
and 115 attended the last Snow Removal
Committee meeting at which Colonel Fred-
erick S. Greene, State Commissioner of
Highways, was the principal speaker.

ROY S. SMITH,
Executive Manager, Albany Chamber of Commerce.

Fine Municipal Auditorium for
Memphis

Memphis, Tenn. — This city is soon to
have a combination auditorium and market-
house, for the Supreme Court has upheld
the validity of the act authorizing the issu-
ance of bonds for such a purpose. Already
$750,000 worth of bonds have been sold,
and more will be issued if necessary. The
movement began in the Chamber of Com-
merce several years ago, and a committee
which was appointed at that time is still
serving.

Following the decision of the Court, a
contract was let for clearing the site and
salvaging the buildings now on the property.
This work will require about three months,
and actual construction will begin soon.

The new building will be modern in every
respect and of handsome architectural de-
sign. It will have one large auditorium with
a seating capacity of 12.500, which can be
reduced for smaller meetings to 6,500 or
2.500. It will also have seven separate
rooms, with a capacity each of about 300.
The Commission expects to install a $100,-
000 pipe organ.

JOHN A. OSOINACH,
Assistant Secretary, Memphis Chamber of Commerce.

"Spirit of Red Wing" Portrayed
in Historical Pageant

Red Wing, Minn. — A beautiful histori-
cal, home-coming pageant was presented in
Red Wing last August under the auspices
of the local Chamber of Commerce, and
proved to be an excellent medium of com-
munity publicity, applicable to other cham-
bers of commerce which are considering
out-of-door festivities of that character for
next summer.

In this pageant the story of the com-
munity was dramatized by the people in the
community, 700 of whom participated — men,
women and children — all dressed in pic-
turesque colored garments representative
of the olden times. Among the throng of
spectators were white-haired pioneers who
fifty or more years ago had taken part in
the very events enacted. They heard again
the whoop of the redskin and the creaking
of the ox-drawn cart, saw the first crops be-
ing planted as the wilderness was tamed,
and again watched the "boys in blue" march
away in 1861. The scenes were set forth in
song and dance and a score of interesting
tableaux in a great, rolling, grass-carpeted
amphitheater on the grounds of the Red
Wing Golf Club.

In the first episode, nestled among the
hills was a reproduction of the Indian vil-
lage in which Chief Red Wing, the sturdy
Indian after whom the town was named, is
supposed to have lived in the days before
the white man invaded that beautiful
A-ilderness. Full-blooded Indians were im-
ported for the occasion. There were sixty
Sioux from the Prairie Island reservation,
a delegation of Chippewas from the wilds
of northern Wisconsin, and six big chiefs
from the Sante Indian reservation in
Nebraska, now aged Indians, one of them
97 years old. The ancient warriors sat
smoking their pipes while their squaws at-
tended to the domestic affairs. In this

THE AMERICAN CITY

»<"

,K^

c^l

A'^.

^^.

1 921 CATALOGUE

Novvi; Ready fop Distribution

This new catalogue contains 16 illus-
trated pages showing by photographic
reproduction all details of

Bausman Better Benches

The specifications, covering construc-
tion, size andf^finish, will be of interest
to you. This catalogue will be a val-
uable addition to your file of park
equipment.
Write for your copy today.

BAUSMAN MFG. CO.

BAUSMAN, LANC. CO., PA.

When writing to Advertisers please mention Tfii Auekican City.

January^ 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

scene a yelling party of braves comes run-
ning in bearing the scalps of their van-
quished enemies.

So the story goes on, through the period
when the red man was lord of the land in
that part of the American continent, to the
coming of the first group of white men and
their thrilling experiences in attempting to
establish a settlement there, the signing of
a grant of their lands to the Government by
the Indians over a pipe of peace, on through
Lincoln's call to arms in 1861, to the days
of 1914 when Europe called on America
for help. The victorious return of the
troops and the joyous celebration of the
event by the home folks, in which all the
participants in the pageant, led by the vic-
tory processional dancers, marched around
the field and formed the final grand tableau
with Columbia unfolding Old Glory to the
strains of "The Star Spangled Banner,"
brought the pageant to a close.

"The Spirit of Red Wing," one of the
most important characters, was imperson-
ated by a young woman, who sang:

''I am the Spirit of the bold Red Wing;
I welcome you one and all ;
As over the past our eyes we cast
And former days recall.
Gone is the sturdy Indian Chief ;
Gone his tribe but not his will ;
For the Spirit brave that the Red Man gave
Is the Red Wing Spirit still.
Gone the ox with his cart of wheat;
In the place are rail and mill ;
But the winning way of the early day
Is the Red Wing Spirit still.
Gone are the men who built the town
At the foot of yonder hill ;
Rut the plucky cheer of the Pioneer
Is the Red Wing Spirit still.
The Boys are back from the fields of France ;
And tyrants cease to kill :
But the loyal, true Red, White and Blue
Is the Red Wing Spirit still.
Let us take up the busy task
With mind and heart and will ;
And the dear old town shall have renown
For the Red Wing Spirit still."

A water carnival was held on the Missis-
sippi River, on which Red Wing is located,
in connection with the pageant, and was
participated in by a fleet of 400 of Red
Wing's motor-boats.

The idea of the pageant was conceived by
the Red Wing Chamber of Commerce,
which assumed full responsibility for it and
handled all the committee activities. The
Thurston Management, of Minneapolis, was
secured to supervise the acting and stage
the performance.

No stone was left unturned to make the
event a home-coming occasion for the old
residents. The Mayor sent out to all the
early settlers whose addresses could be
obtained, a circular letter containing an
irresistible appeal to "Come Home." Across
the top was a view of the Red Wing water-
front, and underneath, the words, "Come
Home [picture of a single red wing] Red
Wing, August 5th and 6th, 1920." Many of
the early inhabitants voluntarily came to
the pageant headquarters at the Chamber of
Commerce and offered to cooperate in mak-
ing the event a success. One of the episodes
provided for the appearance on the stage
of all the early settlers and their descend-
ants at present living in Red Wing.

A souvenir of the pageant giving the
scenario and program in full, and other
literature used in working it up, may be
obtained by addressing the Red Wing
Chamber of Commerce.

CARYL SPILLER.
Formerly Manager, Red Wing Chamber of Commerce.

Dollar Days

Portsmouth, N. H. — Two eventful Dol-
lar Days were held in Portsmouth on Nov-
ember 15 and 16. The "Dollar Day" idea
is not new, but the interesting thing about
these Portsmouth days was their tremen-
dous success. Something like one hundred
merchants entered into the plan. An ad-
vertising fund of $1,000 was raised among
them by the Retail Trade Division of the
Chamber of Commerce, which had adver-
tisements of the sale placed in every news-
paper within a radius of twenty-five miles
of Portsmouth. In the city papers several
pages were used for the purpose by the
Chamber of Commerce.

Three days before the opening of the
sale, an 8-page supplement was run in one
of the local papers, containing nothing but
Dollar Day advertising. The Chamber had
6,000 extra copies of this supplement run
oflf and distributed by automobile from house
to house throughout a 2o-mile area sur-
rounding Portsmouth. The Dollar Day
story was told in the street cars, on the
moving picture screen, and by every other
conceivable means. The store windows con-
tained Dollar Day placards, and the displays
in the windows were marked with hundreds
of small Dollar Day signs.

The rush began the moment the stores
were opened on the first dav of the two-day
sale. Many were obliged to close their
doors four or five times during the day for

THE AMERICAN CITY

Computing Land Values on 400,000
Separate Parcels of Real Estate

How the Monroe Calculating Ma^
chine equalized and computed
land values through the appli-
cation of the Modern Analytic
Method of Realty Valuation,
for the City and County of Los
Angeles.

THE Joint Bureau of Appraisal, Los Ange-
les, Cal., faced the tremendous task of
computing land values on 400,000 separ-
ate parcels of real estate.

A mighty big job. But with the help of the
Monroe Calculating Machine it vfas done so
accurately, quickly and economically that the
enthusiastic Superintendent wrote:

"The work of computing land values for the
City and County Assessors marks an un-
doubted triumph in the appHcation and use of
the Monroe. In the hands of our 60 to 70
computers, it proved such a flexible instru-
ment that without it we would never have
made the record of handling such a mass of
detail calculations. The most striking fea-
ture was the ease and facility with which men
who have never used such machines before
became quite proficient in a few days."

Shomng Monroes in me at ihe'^officr
of the Joint Bureau of Appraisal
Los Angeles, Cal.

The Monroe s speed, accuracy and simplicity
of operation (no trained operators required),
adapt It for use on every kind of figure-work
in every County. City and State office.

Figuring extensions on tax rolls, figuring bal-
ances, penalties and interest in the Treasurer's
office— figuring water rates, cost of operation,
etc., in the Water Department — figuring pav-
ing, bridge construction, curbs, sewers, etc..
in the Engineer's office, the Monroe will
readily assume the burden— in fact will make
all your figure — work as easy as turning a
crank.

Mail coupon for demonstration or more com-
plete information contained in "How New
York State saved $85,000.00 and your re-
quest will be referred to the office nearest you
of the 100 offices in United States and Canada
rendering Monroe Service.

BEG U S PAT OFF

Calculating Machine

MAIL THIS COUPON NOW

Monroe Calculating Machine Co., Woolworth Building, New York.

Without obligation (check items desired) I

( ] Arrange for a demonstration in our office on our own work. ■
, ] Send us a copy of "Monroe Book of Facts".

Firm Name ■

My Name I

Address '• — • • • ■

A.C. 1-21 I

When writing to Advertisers please mention The American City.

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

fifteen minutes at a time
in order to handle the
crowds inside and pre-
vent such congestion that
selling would be impos-
sible. Many merchants
reported the result of the
first day's sale as the
largest in the history of
their business, and in
some instances the fig-
ures recorded a larger
sale than in any two
days' business thereto-
fore experienced. The
second day was a repe-
tition of the first.

This was undoubtedly
the most successful sell-
ing event ever held in
this section. No prizes were offered, and
there were no special features. The attrac-
tion lay entirely in the honest values given
and in the earnest endeavor to satisfy the
public. Large stocks of merchandise were
moved, the spirit of cooperation among the
merchants was strengthened, and scores of
customers who had before been strangers
to Portsmouth began to think of that city
as their future trading center.

E. H. BAKER,
Secretary, Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce.

Okmulgee's New Hotel

Okmulgee, Okla. — A million-dollar
hotel, planned and financed by the Chamber
of Commerce, is under construction in
Okmulgee and will be ready for occupancy
early in 1921. This is said to be the first
hostelry of its class to be built in the state.
The Hotel Okmulgee, as it is called, is eight
stories high, occupies one-half a city block,
and is constructed of brick and terra cotta.
There are 234 guest-rooms, a ballroom, three
large dining-rooms, several private dining-
rooms, and a large lobby. The hotel con-
tains every modern convenience, including
servidors in the kitchen.

The money with which to build the hotel
was raised by the Chamber of Commerce
in a two-day drive in which the business
men, oil and coal producers, and manu-
facturers of the city subscribed to $250,000
worth of the stock of the Creek Hotel Com-
pany organized to handle the project. The
purchasers gave promissory notes payable
in one year for the amounts of their sub-

THIS IS THE WAT OKMULGEE'S NEW HOTEL WILL LOOK
WHEN COMPLETED

scriptions. These notes were deposited in
the local banks, by which they are collected
as they mature. The Creek Hotel Company
has been able to borrow on them the balance
required to complete the construction of the
building, the entire cost of which, exclusive
of the furnishings, is estimated to be about
$600,000.

When completed, the hotel will be leased
to the Oklahoma Hotel Company, which
will furnish, equip and operate it. A con-
tract has been made with this company to
furnish each guest-room at a cost of not
less than $1,200. The completed hotel will
represent a total expenditure of about
$1,000,000.

A. R. HARRIS,
Assistant Secretary-Manager, Okmulgee Chamber
of Cornmerce.

Chamber Wins Town's
Cooperation

Greenfield, Mass. — The annual town
meeting in New England is a sharp test of
the educational force of the local chamber
of commerce in building up public opinion,
As every voter, rich or poor, blue-blooded
or recently Americanized, has an equal vote
and an equal opportunity to express his
views on every article in the warrant pre-
sented at the yearly gathering of the voters,
a far-sighted chamber of commerce will
conduct a campaign of education through-
out the preceding twelve months in order to
gain the town's solid support of the projects
it is advocating.

Greenfield passed a vote of confidence in
its Chamber of Commerce this year, when

THE AMERICAN CITY

New York Buys 100 Cletracs

1AST February's terrific snow storm
^ paralyzed surface traffic in New
York for days. Only Cletracs and a
small battery of whippet tanks just
back from France were able to break
through the drifts and clear the
streets.

That one lesson was enough. City of-
ficials, after exhaustive tests, ordered lOO
Cletracs which were delivered last Decem-
ber. That was the end of the winter
traffic tie-ups in New York.

Every northern municipality, industrial
corporation and railroad is face to face
with the same problem. Let us help you
solve it. Write for more detailed infor-
mation.

THE CLEVELAND TRACTOR CO.

"Largest Producers of Tank-Type Tractors in the World"
19205 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, Ohio

m. m

III J

D.S.C

When writing to Advertisen please mention Tbb Ahuicam City.

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

the following items, advocated by the
Chamber, were put through: sewer exten-
sion, isolation hospital, increase in police
force, and public comfort station.

At the next town meeting the Chamber
will advocate the passage of a building or-
dinance, a town planning ordinance, a new
high school, propositions with which it is
already familiarizing the citizens who will
pass judgment upon them in March.

This organization has had the whole-
hearted support of the town officials right
from the beginning and, through the Board
of Selectmen, has made grade-crossing im-
provements and put a stop to itinerant
carnivals and loitering along the streets.

BENJAMIN H. BONNAR.
Manager, Greenfield Chamber of Commerce.

Sumter County's Road-Buildiog
Program

Sumter, S. C. — Bonds for the construc-
tion of $2,500,000 worth of hard-surface
roads in Sumter County were recently voted
after an intensive educational campaign con-
ducted by the Sumter County Chamber of
Commerce. Agitation of the subject was
begun several years ago by the Chamber of
Commerce, which finally succeeded in hav-
ing an act passed by the Legislature authori-
zing the holding of a special election to
settle the question.

The opening meeting of the campaign was
held in the auditorium of the Girls' High
School in Sumter, to which representative
farmers and country merchants from each
of ten townships were invited. Amusical pro-
gram and refreshments helped to make the'
evening a pleasant one. The company was
addressed by L. H. Jennings, the chairman
of the Hard Surface Highway Commission,
of Sumter, who pointed out that the saving
in gasoline, oil, and repairs to automobiles,
as well as in time to the farmers, who
would be able to haul two or three times as
much material over the improved roads at
less expense, would in the aggregate exceed
the extra taxes the residents of the county
would be asked to pay for the improvements,
and that in ten years sufficient money would
have been saved to more than pay back the
entire bond issue to the taxpayers.

At this meeting a committee of nine mem-
bers was appointed, with Mr. Jennings as
chairman, to conduct the campaign of edu-
cation. That committee subsequently called
a conference of the officers and directors of

the Chamber of Commerce, the members
of the Hard Surface Commission, and the
Sumter County Board of Commissioners, at
which the educational campaign was care-
fully planned. Speakers were elected for pre-
cinct meetings to be held on certain dates
in fifteen different school districts. Each
speaker was supplied with definite informa-
tion beforehand. It was planned that three
persons should present the subject at the
meetings, each to handle it from a different
angle. It was planned also to have certain
well-known farmers and country merchants
who were in favor of the bond issue speak
a few words on the subject from the floor,
if no more than to approve of the speakers'
remarks and say they expected to vote for
the bond issue.

The Managing Secretary of the Sumter
County Chamber of Commerce was appoint-
ed campaign manager and publicity agent.
The editor of The Sumter Daily Item was
made associate publicity manager, his parti-
cular duty being to review the publicity ma-
terial and make sure that nothing harmful
to the cause was published.

Sixteen township meetings were held. Be-
sides these, four-minute talks were given at
the Chautauqa then in session in Sumter. The
cause was also advertised at the motion pic-
ture theatres, both on the screen and from
the platform. Thousands of invitations to
the meetings were sent to the voters by the
Chamber of Commerce. The members of
the opposition forces were especially invited
|lto be present and offer a better solution of
pAthe road problem, if they could, or to show
cause in meeting assembled why the pro-
posed plan was not the right way to secure
permanent highways. In all the publicity
material issued were statements to the effect
that those underhandedly opposing the bond
issue should be manly enough to face their
fellow citizens and the speakers in open
meeting, and that if they were unwilling to
do this, their opinions were not worthy of
attention by intelligent voters.

At only one meeting did any material
opposition develop, and that was not in op-
position to the bond issue, but to the parti-
cular highways which it was planned to im-
prove. Differences of opinion on that sub-
ject were satisfactorily adjusted after the
election, which resulted in a vote of nearly
three and one-half to one in favor of the
bond issue.
The act authorizing the bond issue stipu-

THE AMERICAN CITY

fmWMm

The Largest Trailer Plant in the World

Highway Trailers Solve Municipal

Haulage Needs

The two-way tide dump Highway Trailer with ateel
body, thowing dumping action

Release of body lock automatically dumps load
clear of wheels

Cost %200 to $600 Less
Than Average Trailers

The exclusive advantages which distinguish
Highway trailers are a much greater factor
in the wide preference they enjoy in all sorts
of transportation than even the big price
saving they effect.

The steel body, two-way side dump trailer,
with drop frame was specially designed for
garbage and ash disposal. The release of a
lock automatically pitches the load clear of
the wheels, in the desired direction. One
man easily returns the body to upright
position.

This type is easily adjusted for horse or
motor traction. It has met with special
favor in municipal hauling problems, be-
cause of its handling ease and the varied
uses to which it is adapted.

Write for Literature or a Demonstration

One Man Loads, Ualoads and Drives

One of the High-
way Trailer types
that has won a
wide prefer en ce
for municipal dis-
posal needs

When writing to Advertisers please mention Thx Ahxbicaw City.

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

lates that nothing but permanent, hard-
surface highways, built of concrete, bitu-
lithic, asphalt, vitrified brick, or similar ma-
terial, may be constructed. The program
provides for putting a hard surface 16 feet
wide on 120 miles of the county's main high-
way system, comprising ten roads radiating
out from Sumter to the county line in ten
different directions. The county will re-
ceive about $1,000,000 additional from fed-
eral and state aid road building funds. If
more money is needed to complete the pro-
gram, the county authorities are assured
that the necesary legislation can be obtained
to make it possible to issue additional bonds.
It has been estimated that fully 75 per
cent of the road revenues at present received
by the county is expended for the up-keep of
the 120 miles of highways which are to be
hard-surfaced and which are traveled by at
least 80 per cent of the county's inhabitants.
When the improvements have been completed
those revenues can be diverted to the con-
struction of sand-clay lateral roads tributary
to the main arteries of travel. The cam-
paign has resulted in a demand all over the
county for highway improvement, regardless
of the cost. The public has at last come to
realize that poor roads constitute a costly
and burdensome liability. e. i. reardon,

Manaeing Secretary, Sumter County Chamber of
Commerce.

Hagrerstown's

"Pep" Suppers

Hagerstown, Md. —
"Pep" suppers have been
found by the Hagers-
town Chamber of Com-
merce to be an effective
means of working up in-
terest in new activities
upon which the organ-
ization desires to enter.
At one such supper held
early this fall the organ-
ization of the Retailers'
Bureau was announced,
and at another the or-
ganization of the Traffic
Bureau. The Retailers'
Bureau is now n'cely
started, with a man in
charge to give out credit
ratings, run a collection
agency, eliminate the
"fake" Isolicitor, and
conduct trade extension
movements. The Traf-

fic Bureau is made up of representatives
of all the industries, manufacturers and
traffic men of the commun'ty gener-
ally, and is at present working for an ad-
justment of the discriminatory freight rate
on coal into Hagerstown.

Soon after the Retailers' Bureau had been
organized, another supper was held in the
interest of its work, at which J. Thomas
Lyons, Service Manager of the Baltimore
Sun, gave a humorous and much appreciated
talk on "Buying at Home."

A supper was held one evening in Novem-
ber to stimulate the work of the Community
Council, which was organized by the
Chamber of Commerce in September for
the purpose of carrying out the recommen-
dations made in the community study con-
ducted in Hagerstown under the direction
of the American Red Cross. The subject
under consideration was the federation of
the charity and welfare agencies, and per-
sons connected with the Federated Charities
of Baltimore and the Baltimore Alliance
were secured to address the guests.

An encouraging result of one of the
"pep" suppers was the enrollment of fifty

new members, which makes a total of

eighty-four new members this year.

SIMMS JAMIESON
Manager, Hagerstown Chamber of Commerce.

THE ABOVE WINDOW DISPLAY WAS USED WITH GOOD ErFECT
IN EUREKA, CALIP., IN THE REORGANIZATION CAMPAIGN THAT
WAS RECENTLY CONDUCTED THERE FOR THE EUREKA CHAM-
BER OF COMMERCE BY THE AMERICAN CITY BUREAU

THE AMERICAN CITY

Standardized and
Sngineered /or
Fire Service omy

Fire Apparatus

LE&DS ALL OTHERS IN EFFICIENCY AND POWER

Built in all sizes and capacities

WHAT WE PROPOSE — WE DO
WHAT WE PROMISE — WE FULFILL

STRENGTH and STRUCTURE
SERVICE and SATISFACTION

Jf contemplating purchase of Fire Apparatus
GET IN TOUCH with the STUTZ

TUTZ FIKE MGINE CO.

INDIANAPOLIS

INDIANA

Wbeo writfo^ to Advertiserk please mention Ths Aue&ican City.

«5

The City's Legal Rights and Duties

Information for City Attorneys and Other Municipal Officers, Summarizing
Important Court Decisions and Legislation

Conducted by A. L. H. Street, Attorney at Law

Property Owners in Territory Sought
to Be Annexed to City Cannot Suc-
cessfully Object on Sole Grounds of
Becoming Liable to Municipal Taxa-
tion

In a proceeding by a city of the fourth
class for the annexation of territory,
wherein the property owners in the district
sought to be annexed remonstrated that
they would be subject to municipal taxation
and liable for the cost of improving streets
and building sidewalks, this did not con-
stitute a "material injury" within the Ken-
tucky statute, which provides that, if a ma-
jority of the resident voters or owners
remonstrate "and" if the change will cause
material injury, the annexation shall be de-
nied. (Kentucky Court of Appeals, City
of Georgetown vs. Pullen, 220 Southwestern
Reporter, 733.)

City Not Liable for Negligence of
Fireman

A municipality is not liable for a wrong-
ful injury resulting from the acts of its
servants or officers while engaged in the
performance of their governmental duties.
The maintenance and operation, by a mu-
nicipality, of a fire department for the pur-
pose of preventing and extinguishing fires,
being a governmental duty, the municipality
is not liable in damages to a bystander upon
one of its sidewalks, who was knocked down
and hurt by a hose reel which was being
operated by firemen of the municipality
while engaged in an attempt to extinguish a
fire. (Georgia Court of Appeals, Ham-
mond vs. City of Atlanta, 103 Southeastern
Reporter, 39.)

Where, by Reason of Illegal Proceed-
ings on Part of City, a Contract Is
Not Entered into, the Bidder Is En-
titled to Return of Check
Where one bids for a contract for a mu-
nicipal improvement but afterwards ascer-

tains that the proceedings under which the
improvements are being made are void, he
is entitled to the return of a check deposited
as security for entry into the contract on
acceptance of his bid, holds the Kansas City
Court of Appeals in the case of Koch vs.
City of Weston, 220 Southwestern Reporter,
1007.

"When plaintiff deposited the certified
check," says the Court, "he agreed that the
same be forfeited as liquidated damages, if
he should become the successful bidder and
failed to enter into the contract; but this
contemplated forfeiture was based upon
legal proceedings by the city. In a failure
to enter into a contract based upon illegal
proceedings, which would result in the con-
tractor receiving nothing for his work, the
proceedings being void, the promise of the
contractor, accompanied by the certified
check, was a naked ofifer, supported by no
consideration."

Substantial Compliance with Statute
Directing Special Election to Deter-
mine Extension of Municipal Boun-
daries Is Sufficient

Where an act of the Legislature directs
that a special election be held to determine
the question of the extension of municipal
boundaries, and provides the general form
of the resolution and notice to be given, a
substantial compliance therewith is suffi-
cient if it gives adequate notice of the time
and places of voting and sufficiently desig-
nates the voters authorized to participate.
(West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals,
Hood vs. City of Wheeling, 102 Southeast-
ern Reporter, 259.)

Blanket Street Improvement Contracts
A municipality may improve several
streets under a single contract. (California
District Court of Appeal, Blake & Bilger
Company vs. Chappell, 186 Pacific Re-
porter, 823.)

THE AMERICAN CITY

STANDARD TREE BANDS

PROTECTS TREES AND LARGE
SHRUBBERY AGAINST ALL CLIMB-
ING WORMS, CATERPILLARS,
MOTHS AND INSECTS.

LASTS A SEASON— FULLY
GUARANTEED.

Made of heavy waterproof paper, with a
sticky material under the umbrella-like
canopy. This canopy protects the "gum
stickum" from the weather, as well as from
dirt, dust and falling leaves.

No climbing caterpillar or insect can pass
this sticky material. It catches them and
holds them if they set foot upon it.

Attached to the band, on the inside, is a
strip of fluffy felt. This felt fills up the
depressions in the bark and prevents passage
under the band. No cutting away of bark
is necessary. The felt fills it up.

Guaranteed to be effective for the season,
in all weathers and all temperatures in which
worms or insects are active (about 40° Fahr.
to highest summer heat).

Put up in rolls, 25 and 100 foot lengths,
Hat when boxed, mushrooms when tacked
on tree.

Easily applied. Simply cut length to en-
circle tree. Tack, then raise the outer band
until it stands out like an umbrella. It will
mushroom as shown in cut and so remain.
It only takes a moment.

Cheaper and better than the usual sticky
materials applied direct to bark. Positively
cannot injure tree. Bark colored and not
unsightly. Can be taken down and dis-
carded at end of season.

The most effective and practical method
of banding trees yet devised — also the cheap-
est. Has the endorsement of foresters and
fruit growers everywhere.

^^^NDA*^

A powerful, highly concentrated and
soluble plant food for flowers, house
plants, shrubbery, trees, gardens, truck
lands and lawns.

Promotes luxurious growth; in-
creases the yield; imparts a deep
green color to foliage and bril-
liancy to flowers.

The most highly concentrated and
properly balanced fertilizer ever com-
pounded.

Many times the strength of ordi-
nary fertilizers. Never before has such
a high analysis been attained.

A pinch will intensely fertilize a
house plant, a one-pound package 200
square feet.

Standard Flower and Garden Fer-
tilizer will revive those puny, pale,
sickly plants, flowers, trees, shrubs, etc.
A trial will convince.

ANALYSIS

Nitrogen 15 to 17 per cent

Equiv. Ammonia. . . .18 to 20 per cent

Avail. Phos. Acid 10 to 12 per cent

Potash (K20) 8 to 10 per cent

Odorless

Put up in 1 and 5 lb. Boxes and 25
lb. Bags.

Extensively used in parks, cemeteries and public grounds.
Write for samples and prices.

THE EGGERT CHEMICAL CO., Canton, Ohio

AGENTS WANTED EVERYWHERE WRITE FOR PROPOSITION

When writitic tn AHv^rtia^r« n1*»ae^ m^Tifir

Tttw X\£ifo-rrL

January, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

Actual Notice, or Lapse of Sufficient
Time so That Defect Should Have
Been Discovered, Necessary in Order
to Hold City Liable for Injury
Caused by Broken Flagstone
A city which maintained a flagstone as
covering for a gutter basin in a street or
way, was bound to exercise a reasonable
degree of watchfulness to detect any in-
stability in the stone; actual notice was not
essential to charge it with liability to an
injured pedestrian. If the flagstone which
broke under a pedestrian's weight, to his
injury, was broken, cracked or impaired be-
tween 5 :35 P. M. of one day and 8 A. M.
of the next day, when the accident occurred,
the city could not, in the absence of actual
notice of the defect, be liable as for neg-
ligence. (New York Supreme Court, Ap-
pellate Division; Treadwell vs. City of
Yonkers, 182 New York Supplement, 675.)

In Absence of Clear Abuse of Discre-
tion, the Finding of Mayor and
Council of Necessity for Sewer Im-
provement Will Not Be Disturbed

The Oklahoma statutes grant to a mayor
and council the power to determine the
necessity of establishing certain sewer dis-
tricts within the town or city, and the gen-
eral rule is that the finding by a city coun-
cil that such improvement is necessary is
final and cannot be reviewed by the courts
in the absence of fraud and oppression. The
general rule is, where the mayor and city
council have determined a certain sewer
improvement necessary, the courts cannot
interfere to prevent said improvement, ex-
cept in cases where it clearly appears that
the discretion of the local legislative branch
of the government has been abused and the
ordinance is so unreasonable and oppressive
as to render it void. (Oklahoma Supreme
Court, Crawford vs. Cassity, 190 Pacific
Reporter, 412.)

Dedication of Streets, Parks, etc.

The platting of land and the sale of lots
pursuant thereto creates as between the
grantor and the purchasers of the lots a
private right to have the space marked upon
the plat as alleys, parks, etc., remain open
for ingress and egress and the uses indi-
cated by the designation; but, so far as the
public is concerned, such acts amount to a
mere ofifer of dedication which, to complete

the dedication, must be accepted before there
is a revocation. (Florida Supreme Court,
City of Miami vs. Florida East Coast Rail-
way Company, 84 Southern Reporter, 726.)

Notice to City of Claim for Damages
Must Be Accurate as to Time and
Place

A claimant who notifies a city that his
injuries were received on a day other than
the true date does not comply with the
Montana statute providing that a city shall
not be liable in damages for injuries unless
notice thereof, stating time and place, be
given within 60 days.

In deciding the above-stated proposition
in the case of Berry vs. City of Helena, 182
Pacific Reporter, 117, the Montana Supreme
Court said:

"A like provision is found in the statutes of
nearly every state, and it is held quite
uniformly that the notice must state accurately
the time when the injuries were received. And
this construction is not unreasonable. The
claimant is in a better position than the city to
know when his injuries were received, and the
obvious purpose of the statute is to require
him to give the city correct information to the
end that an investigation to some purpose may
be made. If the claimant is not required to
give the true date, where shall the line be
drawn? If he may vary two days, why not
two weeks or a month ? Who shall say what is
and what is not a reasonable variation from
the truth?

"The statute means just what it says. The
notice must state the time when the injuries
were received, and since our Code takes no
account of the fractional parts of a day in a
case of this character, the notice must state
the day upon which it is claimed that the acci-
dent occurred. The statute prescribes no par-
ticular form of notice, and mere informalities
would not vitiate a notice, but the statement of
the time and place of the accident is made a
matter of substance, not merely a matter of
form, and the courts are not authorized to
change the statute."

Hack-Stand Permit Ordinance Based
on Securing Consent of Abutting
Owners Upheld

A city ordinance which in effect grants
special permits to licensed hack drivers who
can procure the consent of the abutting
property owners to stand their vehicles in
the street in front of such property, is not
unconstitutional on the ground that it grants
special privileges, although the same privi-
lege is not granted to those who do not ob-
tain such consent. (Kansas Supreme Court,
Mader vs. City of Topeka, 189 Pacific Re-
porter, 969.)

THE AMERICAN CITY

DOW Calcium Chloride Flake

Preserves Gravel and Macadam Roads

What wears out macadam or gravel
roads?

Small loose particles are blown away
as dust — they are pulled away by the
vacuum created by rapidly moving
wheels.

Every time a layer of dust raises,
every time tiny particles are thrown
or washed away, still another layer
is exposed to the disintegrating
action of traffic and the elements
until the road surface is broken down.

Dow Calcium Chloride Flake binds
the small particles together so thar
each is held by its neighbor in a vise
like grip. The Calcium Chloride
takes sufficient moisture from the air
to retard the dusting away.

Dow Calcium Chloride Flake pro-
vides the binding properties lacking
in dry gravel, aids packing, retains
moisture, provides *adhesion of one
particle to the other. It makes a
dense, hard, long wearing surface.

The Michigan State Highway Depart-
ment, after thorough research on
binders and dust preventives for
gravel and macadam, have used and
are using thousands of tons of
Calcium Chloride on graveled trunk,
roads.

Dow Calcium Chloride Flake is made
on the same precise accurate basis as
are the vast quantities of other chem-
icals produced in the Dow plant which
covers more than one hundred thirty-
five acres of ground and employs more
than one hundred graduate chemists
and internationally famous research
men.

If you would make a reputation for
low cost road maintenance and longer
lasting roads, let us discuss with you
by letter at once, the value of Dow
Calcium Chlor'de Flake for your par-
ticular road problems, whether on
trunk roads or in parks, cemeteries
and private estates where dust pre-
vention is a problem.

The Dow Chemical Company

Midland, Mich.

TRADE

U. S. A.

Municipal and Civic Publications

AMSBICAN POLICE PROBLEMS.

Raymond B. Fosdick, Former Chairman of Com-
mission on Training Camp Activities. The Cen-
tury Company, New York. 1920. 408 pp.
This book is intended as a companion to "European
Police Systems," by the same author. The book is
based upon personal study of the police in practically
every city in the United States with a population ex-
ceeding 100,000, and in many smaller communities.
In all, seventy-two cities were visited, and just before
publication data were checked over and brought down
to date. The book is a thorough survey of such ques-
tions as the overwhelming prevalence of crime in the
United States as compared with the countries of
Europe, and discusses the various complicated problems
which American police bodies are called upon to
meet.

MUNICIPAL LANDING FIELDS AND AIBPOETS.

Edited and compiled by George Seay Wheat. G.

P. Putnam's Sons, New York. 1920. 96 pp.

Map and illustrations.
This volume was written to present to the public the
entire problem involved in the creation and administra-
tion of flying routes, landing fields, and airports. The
chapters discussing the various problems are written by
distinguished authorities, including Gen. Menoher,
Chief of the Army Air Service, and Captain Craven,
Director of Naval Aviation.

THE AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.

A text in Government for use in High Schools,

Academies, and Normal Schools. S. E. Forman.

The Century Company, New York. 1920. 474 pp.

Illustrated.
A -study of American political and civic conditions,
including chapters upon the County, the Town, the
Township, and the Municipality.

HANDBOOK OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION.

George A. Hool, Consulting Engineer, Madison,
Wis., and Nathan C. Johnson, Consulting Engineer,
New York City. McGraw-Hill Book Company,
Inc., New York City. 1920. Volume I, XLIV +
802 pages; Volume II, 672 pages. Tables, dia-
grams and illustrations.
A most complete treatise of the subject of building
construction, in two volumes, compiled by a staff of 46
specialists and edited by Hool and Johnson. The books
are specially prepared for architects, designing and
constructing engineers, and contractors, and contain
complete statements of theory and practice in design
and construction, estimating and contracting, and
mechanical and electrical equipment.

BROKE.

Edwin Brown. The Four Sea* .Company, Boston.
1920. 370 pp. Illustrated.
This book narrates the personal experiences of a
man who, in order to satisfy himself as to what the
different cities were doing for men out of work, volun-
tarily lived and suffered with the homeless and penni-
less. The book is a strong plea for the establishment
of municipal lodging-houses, where men may obtain
free shelter for the night.

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION.

Joseph K. Hart, Professor of Education In Reed

College. The Macmillan Company, New York.

1920. 230 pp.

One of the series of the Social Welfare Library,

edited by Edward T. Devine. It is the outgrowth of

ten years of work in social and educational lines in the

Western States. It approaches social problems from

the standpoint of the community as a whole.

TAXATION IN KENTUCKY.

Simeon E. Leland, A.M., . Assistant Professor of
Economics, University of Kentucky. Published as
Number 1, Volume 1, Publication of the University
of Kentucky. 1920. 170 pp. and index. Charts
and diagrams.
An exhaustive study of the existing systems of tax-
ation in Kentucky, with proposals for changes which
would brinf about greater and more efficient centraliza-

tion of taxation administration. The plan contains the
best features of the laws of many states, and resem-
blances can be traced to the organization of the Wis-
consin and New York taxation organizations.

THE HOUSING FAMINE.

How to End It. A Triangular Debate Between

John J. Murphy, Edith E. Wood, and Frederick L.

Ackerman. E. P. Dutton and Company, New York.

246 pp.
A discussion of one of the most urgent of problems,
presenting three theoretical methods of meeting it. Mr.
Murphy speaks for the free functioning of private
enterprise, Mrs. Wood for state and municipal aid for
housing projects, and Mr. Ackerman for a complete
change in our industrial life which will eliminate
profits and price competition and incidentally settle the
housing difficulty.

CONFERENCE OF SOCIAL WORK.

Proceedngs of the National Conference of Social
Work, at the Forty-Seventh Annual Session in
New Orleans, La., April 14-21, 1920. The Uni-
versity 01 Chicago Press, Chicago. 1920. 524 pp.
Illustrated.
This volume contains the complete proceedings of the
conference, and complete reports of all papers de-
livered.

HOUSING BETTERMENT.

How England is Meeting the Housing Shortage.
By Lawrence Veiller. Published as the Septem-
ber, 1920, number of "Housing Betterment." The
National Housing Association, 105 East 22nd
Street, New York. 106 pp. 1920.
This is a thoroughgoing discussion of housing in
England, including consideration of the needs, the
means adopted to meet them, the difficulties of the
task, and the results obtained from the effort. It
affords accurate and detailed information on a subject
of very great importance at this time.

SOCIAL AGENCIES,

"The Story of a Year's Work." The Annual Re-
port of the Central Council of Social Agencies for the
year 1919-1920. Bulletin of the Central Council of So-
cial Agencies, of St. Louis, Vol. I, No. 4, Oct., 1920.
(Apply to the Secretary, Scott R. DeKins, 511 Locust
St., St. Louis, Mo.)

CIVIL SERVICE.

"The Philadelphia Classification," a Statement Pre-
pared for the Mayor and City Council by the Pennsyl-
vania Civil Service Reform Association. Recommenda-
tions as to accurate titles and standard salaries, with
conclusions. Nov.. 1920. 11 pp. (Apply to ofRce of
the Pennsylvania Civil Service Reform Association, 810
Otis Building, Philadelphia, Pa.)

TREE SURGERY.

"Tree Surgery," by J. Frankln Collins, Forest
Pathologist. Published as Farmers' Bulletin 1178,
U. S. Department of Agriculture. Contribution from
the Bureau of Plant Industry. 32 pp. Illustrated.
1920. (Apply to Division of Publications, United
States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.)

SCHOOL BUILDINGS.

"Determining the Number of Rooms For a Depart-
mental School Building," by Frank Irving Cooper,
Architect, Chairman N. E. A. Committee on the
Standardization of Schoolhouse Planning and Construc-
tion. A paper read before the Department of Adminis-
tration, N. E. A., July 7, 1920. 16 pp. Illustrated.
(Apply to Frank Irving Cooper, Architect, Boston,
Mass.)

CITY PLANNING.

The Uity Plan of Flint, Mich., including the report of
Dr. John Nolen, City Planner, and Bion Arnold, Trans-
portation Engineer. 95 pp. Maps and illustrations.
An attractive work, giving in great detail a civic sur-
vey, planning studies, a discussion of housing needs, and
of transportation i)roblems and their solution. (Apply
to Irving C. Root, Secretary, Planning Board, Flint,
Mich.)

THE AMERICAN CITY

DISTANT CONTROL OF GATE VALVES

BY THE

DEAN CONTROL

Easily

Applied
To Your

Existing
Valves

-AHY-

Pressure

Size

Location

Electrically
/^ Operated
From Any
Circuit

Operation

is
Positive-

Sliutoff
Effected

in
Few

Minutes

WATERPROOF— For Vault installation.

CONTROL— From any Number of Dis-M.
tant or Local Points.

PAYNE DEAN LIMITED

103 PARK AVE., NEW YORK

MADE BV CUTLER-HAMMER

A ^...rti.,... _r.... ~._^-_ 'r_- A. .-.».« <-*._._

January, \g2i

TH£ AMERICAN CITY

LABOB LEGISLATION.

"Review of Labor Legislation for 1920." Pub-
lished by the American Association for Labor Legisla-
tion, 131 East 23rd St., New York. 49 pp. 1920.
This is the Sept., 1920, issue of "The American Labor
Legislation Review," and contains the Draft Conven-
tions and recommendations adopted by the Interna-
tional Labor Conference of the League of Nations,
Genoa, June 15-July 10, 1920. (Apply to the publish-
ers, address given above.)
STREET RAILWAYS.

"Working Capital in Street Railway Valuation," by
Deles F. Wilcox, Ph.D., Public Utility Expert. Pub-
lished as supplement to "The Annals of the American
Academy of Political and Social Science, Nov., 1920.
24 j)p. (Apply to The American Academy of Political

and Social Science, 39th St. and Woodlawn Ave., Phila-
delphia, Pa.)

JUVENILE-COURT LEGISLATION.

"A Summary of Juvenile-Court Legislation in the
United States," by Sophonisba P. Breckenridge and
Helen R. Jeter. Published as Legal Series No. 3,
Bureau Publication No. 70 of the Children's Bureau,
U. S. Department of Labor. (Ajiply to Julia C. La-
throp. Chief of Children's Bureau, Washington, D. C.)

WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION.

"Standards of Workmen's Compensation Laws."
Published by The American Association for Labor
Legislation. Revised to Nov. 12, 1920. 12 pp. (Apply
to the Association, 131 East 23rd St., New York City,

N. Y.)

The publications listed above are for sale by their publishers. Those listed below are under-
stood to be free upon application.

BIBLIOGRAPHY ON INFANT CARE.

' 'A Bibliography of the Care and Feeding of Infants
and Children." A list of books, magazines and pam-
phlets for mothers, fathers, boys and girls, schools,
libraries, health officers and nurses. 15 pp. (Apply to
the Bureau of Child Hygiene, New Jersey State Depart-
ment of Health, Trenton, N. J.)
FIRE ALARMS.

"The Adequacy and Relative Economic Position of
Municipal Fire Alarm Systems." An address by J. T.
Greene, Superintendent, Fire and Police Telegraph,
Toledo, O., at the convention of the International Asso-
ciation of Municipal Electricians, at New Orleans, La.
8 pp. and map. (Apply to the Gamewell Fire Alarm
Telegraph Co., Newton Upper Falls, Mass.)
FIRE AND ACCIDENT PROTECTION.

A series of six pamphlets issued by the National
Board of Fire Underwriters. They include the follow-
ing titles: Regulations of the National Board of Fire
Underwriters for the Storage and Use of Fuel Oil;
List of Inspected Automotive Appliances; Regulations
of the National Board of Fire Underwriters Governing
the Installation of Automatic and Open Sprinkler
Equipments Recommended by the National Fire Pro-
tection Association ; Regulations of the National Board
of Fire Underwriters for the Installation, Maintenance
and Use of Piping and Fittings for City Gas as Recom-
mended by the National Fire Protection Association ;
List of Appliances Inspected for Accident Hazard* ;
List of Inspected Electrical Appliances.* All dated
1920; those marked (*) revised to October, 1920.
(Apply to Underwriters' Laboratories, 207 East Ohio
St., Chicago, 111.)
CITY-MANAGER PLAN.

"The Story of the City-Manager Plan." A sym-
posium of the experiences of cities under the plan, a
general discussion of its theory and workings, and the
principles of a standard charter. Includes list of all
cities in the United States employing the plan in
1920. 32 pp. (Apply to the National Municipal

League, Harold W. Dodds, Secretary, 261 Broadway,
New York City.)
PUBLIC HEALTH.

A series of three pamphlets by Ruth A. Dodd, Super-
visor of the Bureau of Child Hygiene and Public Health
Nursing of South Carolina, on the subjects of Rural
Child Welfare, Midwifery, and Public Health Nursing.
(Apply to James A. Hayne, M.D., Secretary, State
Board of Health, Columbia, S. C.)
CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

"Shearing Stresses in Reinforced Concrete Beams,"
showing the advantages of rigid connection of web re-
inforcement. By H. S. Rogers, B.Sc, C. E. 12 pp.
1920. (Apply to Engineering Department, Truscon
Steel Company, Youngstown, Ohio.)
MALARIAL MOSQUITOES.

"A Study of the Malarial Mosquitoes of Southern
Illinois. Operations of 1918 and 1919. By Stewart C.
Chandler. Published by the Department of Registra-
tion and Education of the State of Illinois, Division of
the Natural History Survey. 15 pp. and illustrations.
(Apply to Stephen A. Forbes, Chief, Division of the
Natural History Survey, Urbana, 111.)
AMERICANIZATION.

"Problems in American Democracy." A manual for
use in the public schools of New Jersey, prepared by
Dr. Albert B. Meredith, formerly Assistant Commis-
sioner in Charge of Secondary Education. 52 pp. 1920.
(Apply to C. N. Kendall, Commissioner of Education,
Trenton, N. J.)

THRIFT.

"Teaching Children How to Save." An outline of ma-
terial prepared as a guide for superintendents, princi-
pals, and teachers in making the teaching and applica-
tion of the principles of saving and investing of money,
and the wise use of material and time, a part of their
regular school program. 21 pp. 1920. (Apply to
Savings Division, War Loan Organization, Treasury De-
partment, Washington, D. C.)

Municipal Reports

Cambridge, Mass. — Annual Report of the Water De-
partment for the year ending March 31, 1919. 51 pp.
(Apply to Walter H. Harding, Clerk of the Cambridge
Water Board, Cambridge, Mass.)

Chicago, 111. — Quadrennial Report of the_ Board of
Local Improvements of the City of Chicago. An
account of the activities of the department for the
period 1915 to 1918. 100 pp. Illustrated. (Apply to
Edward J. Glackin, Secretary, Board of Local Im-
provements, Chicago, 111.)

Wilmington, Del. — Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Reports
of the Board of Water Commissioners for the years,
respectively, of 1917-18 and 1918-19. (Apply to Will-
iam G. Coxe, Board of Water Commissioners, Wil-
mington, Del.)

New Orleans, La. — Fortieth Semi-Annual Report of
the Sewerage and Water Board. Dec. 31, 1919. (Ap-
ply to P. S. Shields, Secretary, Sewerage and Water
Board, S. & W. Board Building, New Orleans, La.)

Newport, R. I. — Annual Report of the Street and
Highway Department for the Municipal Year of 1919.
(Apply to John F. Sullivan, Street Commissioner, New-
port, R. I.)

Wallingford, Conn. — Report of the Board of Electri-
cal Commissioners for the Borough of Wallingford for
the year ending July 31, 1920. (Apply to Charles E,
Bellews, Secretary, Wallingford, Conn.)

Milwaukee, Wis. — Report of the Pension Laws Com-
mission of the City of Milwaukee. Nov. 15, 1920.
(Apply to Ernest W. Heller, Secretary, Pension Laws
Commission, Milwaukee Wis.)

THE AMERICAN CITY

CULVERTS

Round Half- Round

The increased production of the new factory of
the Newport Culvert Company is carried to all
corners of the United States by railroad, steam-
ship, motor truck, etc. The round and half-
round type of non-corrosive corrugated culvert
will be found in cities, towns, counties, under
streets and highways, and carrying drainage
beneath railway tracks. Complete data on
corrugated culverts will be found in our litera-
ture sent free on request.

Newport Culvert Co.

542 West loth St. Newport, Ky.

When writing to Advertisers please mention Thb Auekican City,

Methods, Materials and Appliances

News for Boards of Public Works, Engineers, Contractors, Purchasing Agents,

and Others Interested in the Economical Construction and EflBcient Operation

of Public Improvement Undertakings

Water Meter No. 2,000,000

On Wednesday, November 24, 1920, the
Neptune Meter Company, 50 East 42nd Street,
New York City, completed the unequaled and
unparalleled record of manufacturing and sell-
ing in less than 28 years 2,000,000 Trident water
meters. This record indicates the rapid de-
velopment of the water meter industry and the
appreciation of municipal water departments
and water companies of the absolute necessity
of selling water by meter, and furthermore
indicates the appreciation of water-works of-
ficials for the Trident meter.

Trident meters are well and favorably
known in practically every city, town and
village of the United States. The product is so
designed and constructed that it renders an
efficient and satisfactory service with a nominal
up-keep expense. Its accuracy and durability
have been firmly established.

The Neptune Meter Company was organized
in 1893, and during the first year sold 6,022
meters. As indicative of the progress of this
company, the following table of yearly sales is
of interest :

Year Number Sold

1893 6,022

1894 4,394

1895 6,786

1896 7,201

1897 9,782

1898 14,114

1899 17,379

1900 20,095

1901 31,260

1902 41,614

1903 41,394

1904 36,274

1905 66,427

1906 63,583

Year Number Sold

1907 66,669

1908 82,398

1909 109,217

1910 118,054

1911 112,386

1912 121,525

1913 132,025

1914 124,029

1915 125,620

1916 127,252

1917 122,249

1918.. 121,549

1919 132,663

1920 156,000

A New Truck Tire Tread

Much scientific and technical interest is be-
ing centered in the "Cross and Square" tread
tire developed recently by engineers of the
Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, of Akron,
Ohio. The tread is somewhat of a departure
from all the old ideas in tread designing. It
was in the process of development many
months before actual production was begun in
the Firestone factory.

The Cross and Square is said to be a highly
developed combination of all the advantages
contained in the former tread types. It is
stated that all the minor disadvantages hereto-
fore encountered in tire building have been
practically overcome in its building.

The basic idea behind the whole design is
the elimination of localized tension at any
point on the tire, according to the engineers

A NEW TYPE
or TREAD

who perfected it. A
plain square stud design
permits the running of
"breaks" straight across
the tire, thereby causing
a tendency for the tire
to bend at this point.
The resulting hinging ac-
tion in the breaker and
fabric under this weak
spot causes separation
and breaking down of
the tire.

The Cross and Square
tread is zigzagged in
such a manner that re-
cesses cannot run for any
considerable distance in
one direction. At the
same time the numerous
different angles offer
greater traction resist-
ance and anti-skid effect.

It is claimed for the
new design that, beside
the equal distribution of
action over the tire and
the balance of pressure,
the extra rubber re-
quired in the finishing of
the design affords greater traction power, es-
pecially on slippery pavements or muddy roads.
Special features are being added to the design
for use in the construction of truck tires, it
is said.

A Commercial Register
of the United States

The 1921 edition of Hendricks' Commercial
Register of the United States for Buyers and
Sellers has just come off the press. An ex-
amination of the book shows that the publishers
have maintained the same high standard which
has been acknowledged for the past 29 years
and have retained all the good features which
have marked this publication and also added
some new ones. The book is arranged very
simply, with a complete index, convenient for
business men and municipal officials.

This book is particularly valuable, inasmuch
as with the great reorganization of business
following the war many changes have taken
place and are still going on, and such an annual
publication enables the buyer to check up and
be sure just what firms are still in the field.
This book is published exclusively by S. E.
Hendricks Co., Inc., 70 Fifth Avenue, New
York City.

THE AMERICAN CITY '<

January 1st, 1921,

The

Niagara Metal Stamping Corporation

takes over

the plant and business

of the

Niagara Falls Metal Stampiog Works

The High Quality of

Service and Products

upon which the prosperity of the old Company was based

will be Fully Maintained

[and

Added to

in the interest of

Present and Prospective Customers

When writing to Advertisers please mentioa Thk Ahxkxcah City.

Jan. 1921

METHODS, MATERIALS AND APPLIANCES

CRACKED HOSE, SHOWING WHERE HOSE OF

OLD CONSTRUCTION CRACKS BECAUSE OF

FLATTENING

Rebuilding Fire Hose

The Bi-Lateral Fire Hose Company, 326
West Madison Street. Chicago, 111., reports
that its improvements in the construction of
fire hose have been so generally accepted that it
is making over into Bi-Lateral hose thousands
of feet of hose of the old construction pur-
chased at the same time with Bi-Lateral. Many
sections of the old-style hose are being salvaged,
as shown in the illustration, thus saving cities
approximately 50 cents a foot over the cost of
new hose.

REHABILITATED HOSE, SHOWING OUTER
JACKET IN GOOD CONDITION WITH A NEW
INNER JACKET, BILATERALLY CONSTRUCTED

Engineering Work for
Louisville, Ky.

The Edmund T. Perkins Engineering Corn-
pany, 121 1 First National Bank Building, Chi-
cago, 111., has been engaged, in conjunction with
W. N. Brown of Washington, by the city of
Louisville, Ky., to make topographical surveys
and maps for use in its city planning, grade
crossing elimination and sewerage.

Waging the Fight Against Climb-
ing Caterpillars and Worms

A new tree band, made of heavy water-proof
paper with a sticky, repellant material under
the umbrella-like canopy, has been developed
by the Eggert Chemical Company, Canton,
Uhio. This canopy, which provides positive
protection and. lasts for an entire season, pro-
tects from the weather the gum on which the
climbing worms, caterpillars, etc., are caught,
and also keeps dirt, dust and falling leaves
from accumulating on it. It is claimed that
no climbing caterpillar or insect can pass this
sticky material, as it catches them and holds
them as soon as they set foot upon it.

Attached to the band on the inside is a strip
of fluffy felt, which fills up all depressions in
the bark and prevents passage under the band.
This eliminates the necessity of cutting away
the bark as the felt fills up all of the crevices.
The tree band is guaranteed to be effective for
the entire season in all weathers and at all
temperatures in which worms or insects are
active. It is put up in 25- and lOO-foot rolls,
flat when boxed, and mushrooms out when it
is tacked on to the tree. It has been approved
by men in the employ of the United States
Forestry Service and by the State Forestry
Departments of Massachusetts and Connecti-
cut.

Enlarging a Water District

The SherriU-Kenwood Water District of
Sherrill N. Y., is installing a new water-works
plant, consisting of about 70O tons of cast iron
pipe, 4- to 12-inch, valves and "Mathews fire
hydrants. This water district comprises the
ci^y of Sherrill and that portion of the city of
Oneida known as Kenwood, and is mainly popu-
lated by the employes of
Oneida Community, Ltd.,
makers of Community
Silver.

C. W. Knight & Son,
of Rome, N. Y., are the
engineers. The pipe,
fire hydrants and gate
valves were furnished by
R. D. Wood & Company,
Philadelphia, Pa.

Murdock Joins
Cummer

R. B. Murdock, for-
merly executive engineer
of The Asphalt Associa-
tion, has resigned, and
now represents the F. D.
Cummer & Son Company,
of Cleveland and New
York, manufacturers of
asphalt paving plants and
driers, at 19 West 44th
Street, New York City,
and will be in charge of
Eastern domestic and ex-
port sales.

THE MATHEWS
FIRE HYDRANT

THE AMERICAN CITY

REAL EFFICIENCY

AND

ECONOMY

BE AIM

SPRAYERS

Your Park and shade trees Boards
will insist that you get efficiency
and economy when you select your
machine for city spraying. You
have features in Bean sprayers that
will satisfy their most exacting demands. Each feature of the 17 special features means that
muc^ more towards long life — economy of operation and real results from spraying. Each
Bean sprayer is built oversize to stand the gruelling strain of continuous high pressure necessary
for your work.

We can satisfy your own idea on the machine you want for your work. A size for every need
and a complete line of spraying accessories, guns, etc.

Write today for Catalog No. 34A

BEAN SPRAY PUMP CO.,

L.A.IMSING
IWIICHIGAN

Clear Proof of

TIFFIN FLUSHER

Worth

Each year finds an ever increasing number of cities using Tiffin Two-
Motor-System Flushers.

This gives us an increasing number of
service records to refer you to.

It is now a simple matter to prove that
Tiffin Machines do more and better
work at a lower cost.
Do you want this proof ?

The Tiffin Wagon Co.

Tiffin. Ohio

When writing to Advertisers please mention The American Citv.

Jan. 1921 METHODS, MATERIALS AND APPLIANCES

A 6,000,000-OALLON DE LAVAL INSTALLATION

Water-Supply Plus Fire
Protection

In a statement which appeared in the Novem-
ber issue of The American City, it was noted
that the De Laval geared steam turbine-driven
centrifugal pumping unit illustrated herewith
regularly delivered 6,000,000 gallons per day
against a 378- foot head in domestic supply serv-
ice, but at an increased speed developed a fire
pressure of 343 feet. The normal head against
which these pumping units operate should have
been stated as 272 feet instead of 378 feet. The
duties developed by these steam turbine-driven
centrifugal pumps compare favorably with
those shown by the best triple expansion en-
gines when the latter are in first-class condi-
tion and less subject to falling off, as there is
no slippage past valves and plungers in the
centrifugal pump and no complicated steam
valve gears requiring adjustments to the tur-
bine. The cost of pumping is claimed to be
much less with a De Laval unit because of the
greatly reduced fixed charges following from
the much smaller first cost and lessened costs
for building and foundations, also from the
lessened expense of attendance and supplies.

Safety Lock Sewer Rods

In using the various instruments which have
been developed for removing obstructions from
sewers, it is necessary to have a section of rod
which can be depended upon to remain locked
while in use. The F. Bissell Company, 226-230
Huron Street, Toledo, Ohio, manufacturer of
various types of scrapers, screws, plungers,
gouges, brushes, claws, root-cutters, etc., for
removing obstructions from sewers, has de-
veloped a sewer rod with couplings to hold
the rod firmly together without slack and with-
out danger of separation in the duct but which
easily uncouples when removed. The coupling
is simple in design and made of malleable iron
to withstand the severe handling to which it is

subjected both in being transported and in the
manhole.

The rods are made from second-growth
hickory with the couplings swedged or shrunk
on very tightly, so that it is practically im-
possible to pull them off. No rivets are used,
thus eliminating the danger of breakage
through the wood at rivet holes. Coupling and
uncoupling is accomplished very readily and
quickly, and when in the duct slack is elimi-
nated between the joints, and the rods cannot
possibly uncouple, although they will lend
themselves to moderate bends. The rods are
light and come in standard lengths of 3 and
4 feet.

SEWER KODS THAT LOCK SECUEELT

New Sales Office in Atlanta

The Chicago Bridge and Iron Works, Chi-
cago, 111., has announced the opening of a new
sales office at the Forsythe Building, Atlanta,
Ga. Joseph L. Zeller, who has been connected
with the company for a number of years, will
be in charge and will handle the states of
Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Florida.
This company confines its activities chiefly to
the manufacture of elevated tanks, large stor-
age tanks and similar plate work. i

Warren Brothers Move

Warren Brothers Company, Boston, Mass., _.
well known as the originators and contracting ^
engineers of W'arrenite-Bitulithic pavement,,J|
have announced the removal of their general^ .
offices on December 31, 1920, to the Parkman"
Building, 9 Cambridge Street, Boston. Mass^ . .»„:

THE AMERICAN CITY

....ai

ftiW

fii.l

^^H

auMtotf^ri' 1/ ; MmSBBux rr'>'— •- ■■•,^*ifta.i

^^^^

-^1

J^,"'

' 4iijntiail

,«...

These two AUTOSWIvIv PICKS, sister machines of the famous ELGIN, do the work of four liorse-drawu sweepers

and sprinklers.

THE AUTOSWEEPER, as compared with horse-drawn sweeper, covers
twice as many miles per day, requires less than half as many men, no
regular constant care, less space to house, less ixnits per mile swept.

ON YOUR STREETS, it will be a thing of pride to the city and the de-
partment. The large, heavy, powerful broom, and the scientific spray-
ing system, leave a dampened ribbon of clean pavement.

Send for Circular No. 44- A

EL^Giiv sa.l.e:s corf»oratioim

OLD COLONY BUILDING
U. S. A. CHICAGO

501 FIFTH AVENUE
NEW YORK

The Key to Vigilance

HARDINGE SYSTEM

Police Registration

High Efficiency
Low Cost

Write for Book— "Key to Vigilance"

HARDINGE BROTHERS, INC.

4147 E. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago

No matter WHAT drinking
fountain you may put

INDOORS
^ This

The MURDOCK

PATENTED

ISANTI -FREEZING-^
BUBBLE-FONT

IS THE ONLY ONE THAT IS SAFE
TO INSTAL OUTDOORS BECAUSE

it is the only drinking fountain
made that was designed and is
built solely for outdoor use. It
does not have to be turned off
at the approach of cold weather.

THE ONLY FOUNTAIN MADE
THAT IS STRONG ENOUGH
TO WITHSTAND PUBLIC
ABUSE.

Write for fully illustrated literature to

The MURDOCK MFG. & SDPPLY CO.

FIRE HYDRANTS

YARD HYDRANTS

HOSE BOXES

CINCINNATI. OHIO

Builden of Water Service devices since 1853

When writing to Advertisers please mention Th« American City.

Jan. 1921

METHODS, MATERIALS AND APPLIANCES

A MOTOR-DRIVEN HAND MOWER IN WADE PARK, CLEVELAND

Power and Tractor
Lawn Mowers

On large and fairly large lawns and parks,
a power lawn mower, such as depicted here-
with, is needed. This mower, manufactured by
the Ideal Power Lawn Mower Company, Lans-
ing, Mich., is in operation to-day on some of
the most prominent lawns in the United States.
It is manufactured in different sizes and is
especially adapted for hand use. This machine
is also manufactured as a tractor-triplex
mower, which will cut a swath 84 inches in
width and travel at a speed varying from 2^/2
to 7 miles per hour, cutting as much as 25 acres
of lawn per day. Unlike other triplex lawn
mowers, it is easy to manipulate and turns
about in its own length.

Sanitary Drinking Fountains

One of the most recent developments in the
sanitary drinking fountain field is the Liberty
Puro Fountain manufactured by the Puro
Sanitary Drinking Fountain Company, Hay-
denville, Mass. This is constructed on tlie
principle that a fountain, as a medium for
supplying uncontaminated water, must above
all things be sanitary, and special stress has
therefore been laid on nozzle protection.

Bacteriological investigation has shown that
infection readily takes place when water falls
back from the drinker's mouth into the nozzle.
This occurs in some obHque jet fountains as
well as in the straight vertical bubblers when
the nozzle is left unprotected. Mucus from
mouth or lips, drippings or spatterings, how-
ever small, that can reach the nozzle are suf-
ficient to produce infection.

To remedy these defects in side-stream foun-
tains, means have been found by the engineers
of the Puro Sanitary Drinking Fountain Com-
pany to so isolate the nozzle as to make it
almost impossible to contaminate the stream.
The nozzle of the Puro Liberty Fountain is
completely out of sight of the drinker and is
nroterteH hv threp cuards in three different

ways, namely, a face guard, a hood guard and
an inner shield guard. All of these in turn
afford such protection to the nozzle as to make
it practically impossible for any foreign sub-
stance to reach it except through malicious
intent.

The accompanying illustration shows the
type of fountain and the special protection
given the nozzle. The bowl and hood are of
iron base covered with vitreous china enamel.
The face guard, faucet and connections are
made of solid and durable cast bronze heavily
nickel-plated. There is practically nothing to
get out of order, and the fountain is fool-proof.
It can be mounted anywhere that connections
can be made, or on a pedestal or cooler.

A TYPE OF PROTECTED SANITARY DRINKING
, . , , . POUNTAIN

THE AMERICAN CITY

ANNOUNCEMENT OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO ALL

PUBLIC OFFICIALS HAVING TO DO WITH

PUBLIC UTILITY PROBLEMS

Believing that public officials and other readers of "The
American City" who are confronted with public utility problems
will be interested to know of the organization, recently, of the
American Public Utilities Bureau, we submit below a brief state-
ment of the purposes for which it was established and an outline
of the scope of work which it is prepared to undertake.

The American Public Utilities Bureau was organized because
it was felt that such an institution was needed in view of the fact
that this is the most critical period in the adjustment of the public
relations of all the utilities. It will be a national agency for counsel
and expert service on all public utility problems. The American
Public Utilities Bureau believes in a square deal for all groups
concerned, but is pledged to the idea that public utilities are
primarily for public service.

With respect to scope of work, we are prepared to take hold of
any kind of a street railway, motor bus, gas, electric, water or
telephone problem, as we have associated with us specialists of
the highest professional standing who are thoroughly equipped
with the necessary technical and practical knowledge and experi-
ence.

Last, but not least, it is one of the primary purposes of the
American Public Utilities Bureau to enable public officials and
others who are in need of such services to secure at the lowest
possible expense the all-around preparation of their particular
cases, which is highly essential if the public rights are not to be
sacrificed in the present confusion in the utility field.

Descriptive bulletin sent on request

'f^n'JiIses American PubUc Utililles Bureau ^^^^'^

CONTRACTS An Association of Experts for Service to the Public ACCOUNTS

ARBITRATION VALUATIONS

TAXATION ACCOUNTING— ECONOMICS— ENGINEERING— LAW LABOR

LEGISLATION ITS FIFTH AVENUE ADMINISTRATION

OWNERSHIP NEW YORK RESEARCH

TRANSPORTATATION LIQHT HEAT POWER WATER COMMUNICATION

88 When writing to Advertiscn please mention Thb Ambrican Citt.

Jan. 1921

METHODS, MATERIALS AND APPLIANCES

lOI

Lead as Material for Jointing
Cast Iron Pipes

The question of an efficient jointing material
for bell-and-spigot pipe has caused much dis-
cussion among engineers and water companies
in the past, and a correct solution has not vet
been definitely reached. The growth of the
different systems in the last twenty years has
been so rapid, and distribution problems have
become so complex, that a material which was
considered satisfactory for jointing cast iron
pipes a few years ago has outlived its ef-
ficiency. New methods have come into exist-
ence, and each engineer of distribution has his
own ideas on the subject, being quick to ad-
vance his favorite material and defend it as
the occasion may arise.

The following interesting discussion of lead
joints vs. lead wool for water-mains is fur-
nished through the courtesy of the United
Lead Company, iii Broadway, New York City.
The coefficient of expansion of iron at ordi-
nary temperature is .00001061. This means
that if a bar of iron is heated so as to have a
temperature one degree higher than originally,
it will increase its length a little over 1/100,000
of its length. Conversely, when the same bar
is cooling, it will increase the same amount in
length if it goes through the same range in
temperature.

The coefficient of expansion of lead is
.00002924, and when its temperature changes
one degree Centigrade, its length increases or
decreases almost 3/100,000 of its original
length. When lead is poured into a joint, it
must be at least at 327° Centigrade, for it does
not melt until this temperature is reached. Of
course it is necessary to have it greater than
this temperature or it would chill too quickly.
^ In a 3-inch pipe the distance from the out-
side of the pipe to the inside of the socket is
0.4 inches. The temperature cools down to
ordinary temperature, say, 40° Centigrade,
which is a drop of 287° Centigrade. Therefore,
.4 x .00002924 X 287 = .0034 inches, which is
the actual distance that the lead shrinks away
from the socket in the joint of a 3-inch pipe.
In larger sizes where the distance between bell
and spigot is greater, the shrinkage is greater.
Some people state that this shrinkage is
taken care of when the finished joint is calked
once around. True, the lead has spread some-
what, but with a hand- or air-hammer it is im-
possible to exert enough force on the calk-
ing tool to spread the lead any deeper than
?4-inch. Furthermore, if the joint is hammered
too vigorously, the bell of the pipe may break.
This contact, which is only ^-inch wide
around the whole pipe, is soon destroyed alto-
gether when the pipe is jolted the least bit. It
is true that the iron of the socket also increases
in size because of expansion when heated by
contact with the hot lead. It stands to reason,
however, that the iron does not attain such
a high temperature as the lead and conseauently
does not have so great a drop in temperature
as the lead. Even if it did expand and con-
tract just as much as lead, the lead would still

be there, because the spigot would also expand
and finally contract and pull away from the
lead. It may be argued that these slight differ-
ences are so small that they may be ignored,
but in order to have a better idea of the shrink-
age on a 3-inch pipe, it might be appropriate
to say that a fairly good quality of Japanese
linen paper is just .003 inches thick. Thus it
is readily seen that after a cast lead joint has
cooled, there is an opening as thick as paper
around the whole joint. If the pipe is pressed
to one side, the opening in the opposite side of
the pipe is doubled in size.

If lead wool is used for calking a joint, no
heat is applied in any manner. First, a layer
of good quality oakum is calked tight, then the
wool is calked from one to four strands at a
time, depending on the size of the joint. In
the first place, the lead interlocks with the
strands of the oakum and makes a perfect bond
between the two materials. The wool is driven
in so tight that it enters every corner of the
joint. Its texture after calking is fibrous, and,
being so, is elastic to a certain extent. Calk-
ing lead wool with an air-hammer has never
been known to crack the bell. Some contend
that this is due to a certain elasticity in the
lead wool. With a Jead wool joint a greater
deflection may be allowed for the pipe after
calking than with cast lead. The latter forms
a mass which is easily distorted, but the lead
wool makes a solid mass in the whole joint,
which is much less susceptible to this distor-
tion. The shrinkage of the cast lead gives the
pipe a small amount of "play," but when the
joint is entirely filled with lead wool, the pipe
has no encouragement to make this start.
With cast lead the start is already made as
soon as the joint is cold.

Cast lead must be poured in a perfectly dry
joint, otherwise there will be trouble, which
usually results in a painful burn or an injured
eye. Lack of any chance for such an accident
is evident in lead wool, and, furthermore, the
joint can be calked when in a wet trench, or
when there is dampness in the joint itself. A
leaking water or gas pipe may be repaired with
lead wool while the water is leaking. The only
necessary precaution for calking with lead
wool is to keep oil and dirt out of the joint.

It requires a more or less skillful man to
pour lead joints, but lead wool can be calked
by an ordinarily intelligent laborer who will
do as he is told. Consider the disadvantage in
moving a lead pot along a trench, and contrast
it with the advantage of carrying a reel of
lead wool out on the job and having no bulky
apnaratus to move along.

If automatic hammers are used, the gasoline-
compressor is carried on a truck alongside the
trench. What more convenient method for lay-
ing cast iron pipe? The air-compressor can
be used also as a tamper when attached to the
proper tools. It can also serve as a means for
detectine leaks in -the pipe. Every joint should
be tested under high air pressure to insure a
perfectly calked main. Lead wool has been
calked successfully under water by a diver.

THE AMERICAN CITY

Estimates of Cost of Proposed Work
Reports on New Improvements
Preparation of Plans
Supervision of Construction

Dams and Reservoirs

Pipe Lines

Filtration Plants

New Water Supply Systems

James P. Wells

HYDRAULIC ENGINEER

Main Office

249 Cutler Building, Rochester, N. Y.

Branch Offices

In the South, Central West and Canada

When writing to Advertisers please mention The American City.

Jan. 1921

METHODS, MATERIALS AND APPLIANCES

103

New Sewage Ejector
Operating Valves

In its constant endeavor to improve the oper-
ation of mechanical equipment used in sewage
disposal, the Pacific Flush Tank Company,
4142-43 East Ravenswood Avenue, Chicago,
111., has placed upon the market a new sewage
ejector valve, known as the Cox Operating
Sewage Ejector Valve. This valve which will
be used in connection with the Pacific Flush
Tank sewage ejectors is controlled by an open
float instead of the former type of closed float.
The valve is very simple, with few parts ex-
posed to wear. This operating valve is a sim-
ple mechanism, the actual wearing parts con-
sisting of two standard cup leathers which can
readily be replaced quickly by purchase in any
city. The difficulty with earlier valves used in
the control of sewage ejectors was in the com-
plicated wearing parts, which caused the ejec-
tor to be out of commission most of the time.
The simplicity of the new valve and its ease of
maintenance, together with the advantage of

A VALVE FOR OPERATING SEWAGE
EJECTORS

the open float, as compared with the old type
of closed float, makes for a very reliable and
efficient ejector.

A Fountain Ruling Pen

Draftsmen in city engineers' offices and
others who make use of ruling pens in the
preparation of plans, diagrams, charts, etc,

will be interested in the "Minerva"
fountain ruling pen, which has recently
been placed on the market by Kolesch
& Company, 138 Fulton Street, New
York City. This pen is so arranged
that it can be used with any ink, and
one filling will do for a day's work. It
difi^ers from most pens of the ruling
type in that it will not leak or clog. It
gives the user his entire time for con-
centration upon his work. In using the
pen as depicted, it is unscrewed from
the handle, which is then filled with
ink. In order to fill the pen point, the
top is pressed gently to admit the
small amount of ink necessary for the
work immediately at hand.

Reorganization of Metal
Stamping Company

Announcement has been made that
the well-known firm of Niagara Falls
Metal Stamping Works, Niagara Falls,
N. Y., on January i effected a reor-
ganization with Charles R. Robinson,
formerly Vice-President of the Lacka-
wanna Steel Company, as President,
and Eliot Armstrong, who was asso-
ciated with him in that company, as
Vice-President. The name of the com-
pany has been changed to Niagara Falls
Metal Stamping Corporation. This
company was originally founded in
1897 by R. C. Eldridge and has been
well known in the stamped metal field
in the production of house numbers,
street name signs and license tags.

Park Benches

This illustration shows a 370 Special Settee,
a design of the Stewart Iron Works Com-
pany, Cincinnati, Ohio. This settee is con-

A SPECIAL TYPE OF PARK BENCH

structed with wood slats and channel iron
frame. It is a design that has been adopted
by many of the leading parks throughout the
country.

MANY COMMUNITIES SEEM TO HAVE A
SIMILAR VIEWPOINT

A farmer wished to insure his barn and a few
stacks.

"What facilities have you for extinguishing a fire
in your village?" inquired the superintendent of the
insurance office.

The man pondered a little while. Finally he an-
swered, "Well, sometimes it rains."

— Christian Register.

THE AMERICAN CITY

illlllillilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Bracket 10347 and
C. E. Nova lux Unit Form 4

THE ONLY WAY

To Obtain an Ornamental
Lighting System and
Retain Overhead
Wires

ELRECO

COMBINATION

POLES

serve the double purpose of Ornamental Lighting
Standards and Trolley Wire Supports.

Handsome brackets for supporting very latest
Novalux Lighting Units or the Ornamental Lumi-
nous Lamps improve the appearance of the plain
Trolley Poles.

You can string your wires along the top of the
poles, where they are practically unnoticeable and
out of the way of traffic.

You save the cost of additional lamp standards
and underground construction, and avoid further
obstruction of the curb Hne.

Catalog F describes this money-saving plan and
full details — ^free.

Comoinaiion Pole

and
Ornamental G. E.
Luminous Arc

Electric Railway Equipment Co.

Gincianati, Ohio
New York Office— 30 Church Street

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllli
When writing to Advertisers please mention Thk Amxkicax City.

Jan. 1921

METHODS, MATERIALS AND APPLIANCES

105

A PORTABLE SERVICE THAWING DEVICE USING HOUSE CURRENT

Thawing Frozen House Services

Through a new device, just developed by the
General Electric Company, frozen water pipes
may hereafter be thawed out electrically. The
apparatus which does away so effectively with
the annoyance of using hot cloths, and other
methods, may be attached to a lamp socket,
and in a few minutes the water returns to its
normal circulation. The device consists of a
transformer, 10 feet of cord for connection
with the lighting circuit, and secondary con-
nections for attachment to the pipe. The
transformer adjusts the lighting voltage to a
point where the current will produce enough
heat for thawing. It uses about as much cur-
rent as is consumed in operating an electric
flat iron.

In thawing out a pipe, the nearest faucet
should be turned on and the secondary leads
of the pipe thawer connected nearest the street.
Pipes should be heated in sections until the
water starts to flow out of the faucet. The
length of time it will take to thaw a pipe de-
pends first upon the degree to which it is
frozen, the size of the pipe, and the length of
the frozen section. Under most conditions
thawing may be very economically done with
the pipe thawer and without the customary
fire hazard incurred by the use of the blow
torch.

The portable Wayne Pipe Thawer weighs
,'>5 pounds complete. It is a valuable adjunct
to the equipment of plumbers, and furnishes
central stations with a means of helping their
customers out of difficulties in a manner that
is much appreciated.

From War-Time Revetments to
Modern Pavements Resiliency
Is Paramount

The first few days of Germany's rush upon
Belgium taught the Belgians and their allies
one lesson of immeasurable value : that forts

of stone and concrete
could not withstand the
terrible impact of the
enemy's giant explosives.
As the result of this
lesson, they dug them-
selves trenches in the
earth and erected para-
pets of sand-bags to ab-
sorb the impact of the
monster shells and to re-
duce their shattering ef-
fect to a minimum.

General Jackson ap-
plied the same principle
in the war of 1812; only
instead of using sand-
bags, he employed bales
of cotton to withstand
the shells from the Brit-
ish men-of-war. The
cotton-bales absorbed the
impact and withstood the
shattering effect of the
explosives better than
rigid forts !
The great service given
by sand-bags to the Belgians and by cotton-
bales to General Jackson was rendered through
their ability to absorb impact. It might be
said too, that their quality of resiliency, while
not so pronounced as those of a material like
rubber, was of considerable significance in
withstanding the shattering effect of the ex-
plosives. All materials that are compressible
have qualities of resiliency, and the ability of
the sand-bags and cotton-bales to resume their
original form after sudden and terrific impact
was of no little consequence in their great
service.

From war-time necessity for shock-absorb-
ing and resilient materials, we may turn readily
to commercial and civilian demand for ma-
terials having these same qualities. For in-,
stance, materials having resilient and shock-
absorbing qualities must be used in the follow-
ing: rubber tires — either solid or pneumatic —
for automobiles and motor trucks ; rubber
heels for shoes ; golf balls that withstand in-
cessant banging ; and roads and pavements that
undergo terriffic traffic. r

Toughness in a rubber tire is a necessary
means to its longevity of service, but its quality I
of resiliency is just as important, the same as
it is in a pavement. A rubber tire upon strik- ,
ing obstacles, whether in the form of a rut in \
a road or a rock or stone, must be able to
resume its original forrn and shape after the 1
impact.

The manufacturers ernphasize the idea that ;
zinc oxide in rubber tires helps perfect the all-
important feature of resiliency in the tires.
They do this knowing the significance of the
tire's ability to return to its original form
after encountering obstacles.

The manufacturers of rubber heels empha-
size the same quality of resiliency in their
product, and of necessity must apply the same
principle as do the manufacturers of rubber
tires.
And does not the same hold good in the

THE AMERICAN CITY

^IroUegMe

1 ^

We are

1 To those

prepared

I interested

to furnish

1 inmodem^

complete

I economiccil

Gombination

1 street

li^htin^e?

■ li^htin^.we

trolley pole

I wil send our

equipment

1 illustrated

including

1 booklet

brackets

I Send your

dNovalux

1 name and

units .

K addrejx

KING MFG.C9

55WJackson Blvd.,Chica^,III.

WARRENITEBITULITHIC
PAVEMENTS AND ROADS

LAID ON BITUMINOUS
CONCRETE BASE

THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING

Sawed Section of Warrenite-Bitulithic Pavement

Laid on Camp Lewis Roads — 1}^-In. Wearing

Surface and Zyi In. Foundation

Warrenite-Bitulithic City Pavements and
Country Roads have been laid on bituminous
concrete base so very extensively during the
past ten years as to prove beyond a doubt its
eflSciency and superiority under all conditions
of climate and traffic.

For further information and booklets apply to

WARREN BROTHERS COMPANY

Executive Of f ices : Boston, Mass.

DISTRICT OFFICESi

New York, N. Y. St. Louis, Mo. San Francisco, Cal.

Utica, N. Y. Phoenix, Ariz. Winnipeg, Man.

Portland, Ore. Toronto, Ont. Richmond, Va.

Vancouver, B. C. Washington, D. C. Nashville, Tenn.
Chicago, III. Minneapolis, Minn. Los Angeles, Cal.

When writing to Advertisers please mention The Auerican City.

Jan. 1921

METHODS, MATERIALS AND APPLIANCES

107

A CnMT'ACT si'KAVl.NU uUTflT FOR MUNICIPAL PARKS AND STREET TREES

production of golf balls? Think how long a
piece of stone or concrete would last under the
incessant pounding which a golf ball must
endure. A very short time, to be sure! The
reason why the golf ball lasts is that in addi-
tion to being tough, it is also resilient. The
stone or concrete, too, may be tough, but its
lack of resiliency results in its breaking.

Eminent engineers consider resiliency of
prime importance and infinite value in the con-
struction of roads and pavements. The same
principle holds good with these as with the
shock-absorbing and resilient sand-bags and
cotton-bales of war-time, and the resilient and
shock-absorbing rubber tires, rubber heels, and
golf balls of peace-time commercial life. The
inability of too rigid, non-resilient pavements
to "iron themselves out" under terrific modern
traffic is the reason for this general belief
among engineers.

Experiments begun by Government experts
to determine the destructive effect of impact
on pavements and to find a remedy, show some
striking results. Results now announced show
that a weight of 7,750 pounds on the wheel of
a truck moving at a speed of fifteen miles per
hour, becomes 43,cxx) pounds in its destructive
effect if the wheel has a drop of one inch.
Such a drop is very readily caused by any
small obstruction or crack in the pavement.
In solving the impact problem engineers use
an asphalt cushion course. The cushion will
absorb the shock so as to reduce the shatter-
ing effect of impact on the foundation.

Expenditure for construction and mainte-
nance of highways outside of cities is now
averaging some $500,000,000 a year.

New Jersey Buys Snow-Plows

The Good Roads ^Machinery Co., 813 Bulletin
Building, Philadelphia, has delivered 52 Cham-
pion snow-plows to the State Highway Depart-
ment of New Jersey.

A Sprayer with Tractor

The spraying outfit shown above is manu-
factured bv the Bean Spray Pump Company,
San Jose,' Calif., in two sizes, the regular
equipment of the larger size including a super-
Giant pump with 3-inch cylinders and a ca-
pacity of 15 gallons per minute at 50 r.p.m.
The nump is directly connected to the Fordson
engine, with spiral jaw clutch so placed as to
make it possible for the operator to move the
tractor without running the spray pump.

The operation of connecting the pump is
simple and is accomplished by a rod extending
back to the driver's seat. A tank of 300, 400
or 500 gallons capacity is carried as a trailer
behind. Two lines of hose and two guns are
furnished with the outfit.

The smaller rig has a Giant triplex pump
mounted exactly as in the larger outfit. The
regular equipment consists of a 200-gallon
tank with an option of a 300-gallon tank.
These outfits have been operated in the field
for a whole season and have been found en-
tirely satisfactory for use by commercial
growers. They are admirably fitted for mu-
nicipal service in spraying park trees and those
located along the thoroughfares.

The Bean Spray Pump Company also has
a factory at Lansing, Mich., in charge of H. C.
Lisle.

Record Purchase for Fire
Department

The city of Indianapolis, Ind., has just
awarded to the Stutz Fire Engine Company of
that city what is reported to be the largest
single order ever placed with one company at
one time for fire apparatus. The order con-
sists of twenty-five pumpers and ten city serv-
ice trucks to be delivered to the Indianapolis
Fire Department within the next month.

THE AMERICAN CITY

HIGHEST QUALITY ASPHALTS

Any Melting Point Any Ductility Any Penetration

PIONEER Mexican Asphalts and Compounds are different: less susceptible to
heat and cold, and will comply with the strictest ductility requirements.

RUBEROAD CEMENT

It's New

It's Different

It's Efficient

It sticks to concrete like molasses sticks to the fingers. It acts like liquid rubber
and will last longer.

THE PIONEER ASPHALT CO.,

Lawrenceville, 111.

PENNSYLVANIA

Portland Cement

Quality and Service Supreme

Pennsylvania Cement Co. 30 E. 42 St., New York City

Rvpair Your Streets 'weitlk

The Lutz Surface Heater

It wftena uphalt and other bitam>noas pavements.
It VukaniMB the old and new material into a perfect
bond. It cements Asphalt on Granite, Brick, Cob-
ble, or oUier hard pavements. It makes re-eurfaclng
kdA maintenance easy and inezpendve.

lUustrated Particulars on ReQUesl

Equitable Asphalt Hainttnmnc* Co.

1901 Campbell St. Kanaaa City, Mo.

Repairlof ao Asphalt
Pavement. New Vork

HAVE YOU

SEEN

the lists of valuable catalogs
on pages 4 and 67 A careful
study of these pages will be
of help to you in locating the
machinery, materials or ap-
paratus you want.

CATALOGS
YOU NEED

Wbro writing to Advertisers please mention Tbb Ay imiCAN CiTT.

109

VOLUME XXIV

NUMBER 2

NEW YORK

FEBURARY,

1921

The Motor Vehicle Highway Creed

By D. C. Fenner

Systems of Highways

I BELIEVE in
A Federal Highway System ;
A state highway system in every state
connected wath the Federal Highway Sys-
tem.

Establishment of Highways
I believe that

Federal highways should be constructed,
maintained, paid for and controlled by the
Federal Government;

State highways should be constructed,
maintained, paid for and controlled by state
governments ;

County highways should be constructed,
maintained, paid for and controlled by
county governments in conjunction with and
under the supervision of state governments.

Selection of Routes for Highways
I believe that

Routes for the highways of these systems
should be selected with the sole view of
meeting the highway transportation needs
of the nation, its states and their counties.

Structural Standards for Highways
I believe that

Federal, state and county highways should
be free from grades of more than 5 per cent ;
should be free from sharp turns ; should be
laid along the shortest route between centers
of distribution and not through the main
streets of all the towns along the route ; and
should be free from crossings at grade with
railways or other highways. A modern
hard-surface highway should be wide
enough to provide for two streams of
vehicular traffic 96 inches wide. This means
a road paved to a width of at least 20 feet,

and the total width between inside edges of
ditches should be not less than 30 feet. At
points of congestion shoulders of proper
width should be provided. Highway bridges
should be of 20 tons capacity with a clear
width of roadway of not less than 24 feet.

Bridge and highway structures should be
strong enough to support wheel loads of
11,200 pounds distributed not more than 800
pounds per inch of tire width, said width in
the case of rubber tires to be measured be-
tween the flanges of the rim, and axle loads
of 22,400 pounds with a minimum distance
of 4 feet between axles.

They should further be able to support
vehicular units of a maximum weight of
28,000 pounds and durable enough to pro-
vide throughout their entire length and
breadth smooth and economical transporta-
tion at all seasons of the year.

The highway surface must be of such a
nature that it is weather-proof and depend-
able under severe usage. It must be wear-
resistant, so that extensive or frequent re-
pairs are not necessary, arid quick to repair
without interruption of traffic and with
simple tools and materials; low in tractive
resistance; offering a good foothold for
horses and rubber tires and yet smooth
enough for good speed.

This country needs roads; it cannot pros-
per without them. But it cannot have them
as long as its highway officials continue the
practice of laying road-surfacing materials
on an unprepared foundation and calling the
result— a road. Roads which will resist the
attack of the elements will stand the heaviest
traffic without injury; roads which will not
resist the elements are the cause of our

IIQ

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

present great concern over an unfortunate
waste of money.

It is no longer possible to adopt one speci-
fication for the entire length of a road. Each
foot of subgrade conditions must be ana-
lyzed, the subsoil must be properly drained
so that water may be kept off, out of, and
away from, the road and its foundations.
A proper foundation to meet the conditions
at any particular point can then be laid.
Give a wise builder a contract for a building
from Philadelphia to New York; tell him
that there must be no breaks, that the whole
structure must settle uniformly and evenly
throughout its length. Will his foundations
all be alike? The building of permanent
roads is certainly a foundation proposition
with proper attention to drainage and to
subsoil conditions.

Maintenance Requirements for Highways

I believe that

Federal, state and county highways should
be constantly maintained in conformity with
the minimum structural standards prescribed
for them and that in winter-time main-line
highways should also be kept reasonably
free from snow and ice for motor vehicle
trafHc.

Financing of Highways
I believe that

The construction of Federal, state and
county highways and their establishment as
connected and coordinated systems will bring
into being improvements of infinite value to
every man, woman, and child in every walk
of life, and should therefore be a general
charge against all citizens.

The maintenance and administration of
Federal, state and county highways should
be placed upon the users thereof in propor-
tion to that use.

Highway construction charges should be
financed on the pay-as-you-go policy, if
possible; otherwise, by bonds to be retired
within the life of the improvements.

Highway maintenance and administration
charges should be financed on a cash basis
from current assets.

Administration of Highways

I believe that

The administration of Federal, state and
county highways should be vested in officials
of the highest integrity and ability; should
be absolutely divorced from politics and
political considerations and have unrestrict-
ed freedom to function in the best inter-
ests of the public as a whole and that por-
tion of it which owns and operates motor
vehicles.

Oil on the Troubled Sands

Shifting sand dunes which cover up a
highway soon after it is completed have
formed a serious obstacle to improved road
building in some parts of the country,
particularly in the Northwest. To remedy
the €vil, the Bureau of Public Roads of the
United States Department of Agriculture
has employed a more extensive application
of the agency that has been used in the past
to lay dust on ordinary highways — oil.

Fifty-three miles of construction of the
Columbia River Highway from The Dalles
eastward lies through sandy country, in
many places of a volcanic ash as light as
flour. As fast as cuts are opened up and
fills made in this light soil the wind whips
out the fill slopes, and sand dunes creep
into rock cuts, completely blocking the
road. Oil is the only agency yet found to
stop the trouble. The equipment used to

spray the crude oil consists of two supply
tanks, or drums, in which the oil is carried
from the storage tank at the railway siding,
and a tractor, which draws the oiling rig
and supplies the steam through a hose to
the compressor tank, which is carried on a
trailer. The oil is heated by the steam
and forced through a hose with a nozzle
consisting of a half-inch pipe. The steam
atomizes the oil and sends it in a fine spray
for 100 feet or more, depending on whether
the spray is projected in the direction of
the wind or against it. For obvious rea-
sons, spraying is usually carried on in the
direction of the wind.

Where sufficient oil is used, this means
of controling the sand dunes is very effec-
tive, and it is believed that the cost will
not be excessive, though exact figures are
not obtainable at this time.

February, 1921

III

Central Mixing Plant in County Road

Work

By K. C. Wright

Resident Engineer, State Road Commission, Brigham City, Utah

THE contract to construct nine miles
of state road from Brigham City to
the Utah Hot Springs, both in Box
Elder County, Utah, was awarded in May,
1919, to the Phelps Construction Company
by the Utah State Road Commission. This
piece of road skirts the western slope of
the Wasatch Mountains and is part of the
state highway, extending north from Salt
Lake City to Idaho and other sections. It
is, in fact, the only highway through the
southern end of Box Elder County leading
from central Utah to the state on the north.
The Wasatch Range descends rapidly on
its western slopes to the shores of Great
Salt Lake. The change from the rocky
foothills to the swamps adjoining the lake is
made at some places in a very few hundred
feet, leaving only room efiough for one
highway.

The traffic over this road is, by reason of
its peculiar location, very heavy. Plain
concrete 6 and 8 inches thick and 18 feet
wide was chosen as the type of hard sur-
face best adapted to meet the conditions.

The contracting company started actual
paving work in August, 1919, and almost
immediately encountered labor troubles.
Silt developed in the sand to such an extent
as to require washing. Cars for shipping
cement became scarce, and a multitude of
other troubles hindered the work, so that
at the close of the season, on November i,
1919, only about three-fourths of a mile
out of the nine miles had been completed.

THE OEKTBAL MZZHTO PLANT IK BOX ELDSB
C0X7NTT, UTAH

The Change to the Present Method

The contracting company saw that a
change from the old way of road building
was compulsory and so decided upon the
method which is now being used and which
has proved a success in many ways. It
is, to say the least, a very great improve-
ment over the use of the old highway
paver with its mile of aggregate on the sub-
grade and its other inherent weaknesses.

The central mixing plant has been used
this year. After mixing, the concrete is
delivered to the subgrade in trucks, spread
by means of a horse and a special scraper

and finished with a finishing machine.

The plant is eqiupped with two i-yard
mixers, each operating independently of the
other. Storage is provided, by means of
overhead bins, for enough sand, gravel and
cement for a half-day's run. The prevail-
ing idea which governed the design was to
insure as far as possible steady operation,
and this has been realized so far as the
mixing plant is concerned.

Many sizes and styles of trucks have been
tried, but the 2^-ton truck has proved most
successful. Each truck is required to haul
two batches of mixed concrete, one batch
being dumped from each mixer as the truck

112

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

comes into position. A two-batch (lo-bag)
load seems to slip from the truck better
than a larger one, and is very much easier
to handle on the grade. Trucks of this
size and capacity travel faster than the
larger ones, and make better time both
loaded and empty.

The state specifications require that the
concrete shall be in place within thirty min-
utes after mixing, and it has been possible
to haul the concrete a distance of four
miles and keep under this time limit. Very
much better results have been obtained
where the haul has not exceeded two miles,
and from observing results obtained in both
cases, the writer has come to think that
specifications permitting the use of a cen-

tral mixing plant should limit the distance
over which the mixed concrete is hauled
by truck to two miles, as well as limiting
the time to thirty minutes.

It has been our experience that materials
will separate on the long haul to such an
extent as to cause a serious condition, de-
Spite the fact that we have used a relative
consistency not higher than 1.05, and a
rough mix, based upon the maximum size
of the aggregate.

Good speed has been maintained, the
average for the summer's run being nearly
500 linear feet of road per day, with the
haul varying from a few hundred feet to
four miles. The maximum run, to date,
is 678 feet in 8 hours.

Economical and Sanitary Problems of
American Cities

By George G. Whipple

Professor of Sanitary Engineering, Harvard University

MANY thoughtful people to-day are
pessimistic as to the future of all
large cities, believing them to be
physical monstrosities and economic ab-
surdities. As cities grow in size they tend
to lose individuality and become alike. Fi-
nancially, their life depends upon their
growth. Anticipation of growth demands
extensive public works, and in recent years
these have led to increasing per capita mu-
nicipal debts and taxes. On the other hand,
parsimony is not economy, and preparedness
is as necessary in sanitation as in war.

It has been my fortune lately to travel in
the Orient, and one cannot observe the
dense populations there, the reduced natu-
ral resources of the land, the lack of ani-
mals, and the universal use of human ex-
crement as a fertilizer, without reflecting
on the awful waste of nitrogen, which
is taking place in the cities of our western
civilization, and without wondering what
may be the food conditions in America a
number of centuries from now. It is not
a pressing problem, that of utilization of
nitrogen and fats in sewage and garbage,
but it is one which should be kept in mind.
We throw sewage with its nitrogen and
fats into the sea because at the present time
it would cost more to recover these sub-
stances than they are worth in the market.

That may be economically sound, but, never-
theless, it is a waste which some day must
be corrected.

In small communities, comfort, which im-
plies health and agreeable conditions of
life, can usually be procured at a reason-
able cost. In large cities, comfort can also
be procured, but only at increasing cost.
The question for any community to solve
is this — can comfort be secured at a cost
which the people can afford to pay? If the
limit is approached, will it mean abandon-
ment of comfort in order to maintain sol-
vency? Will it mean repudiation of debts?
Or will it mean limitation of growth? The
ancient cities were large and prosperous
because they were financed from the re-
sources of conquered territory. The mod-
ern city is built upon a different basis. If
it cannot stand the economic strain, it will
fall. Ex-Mayor McClellan of New York,
once pointed out that when the tax rate
reaches the normal interest rate, the taxes
become confiscatory.

In consideration of all sanitary problems
the financial element must of necessity con-
trol. Relative values must be studied, and
then, with fixed appropriations determined
by economic considerations, a dollar must
be made to buy just as much health and
comfort and beauty as possible.

113

Should Counties Ask Bids from Engineers

for Road Work?

Engineers of High Standing Respond Unanimously in the Negative

THE notice reproduced on this pa^ge ap-
peared in a local newspaper in the
South some time ago. Through the
requirement that an engineer must bid for
the position of road engineer and furnish
a certified check and a bond for the faithful
performance of his duty, the engineer is
placed in the class
of commercial bid-
ders, and no repu-
table engineer would
consider such work.
A city or county
could secure only
second or third rate
engineers under
these conditions of
employment. The
method is to be dis-
couraged under all
circumstances.

Copies of this no-
tice were forwarded
to a number of en-
gineers interested in
highway construc-
tion and city plan-
ning, and summar-
ies of their responses
are given below.

A firm of engi-
neers in Philadel-
phia, acqu a i n t e d
with the situation
and conditions in the
locality, state that
the practice of invit-
ing competitive bids
for engineering is

unfortunately not uncommon in certain sec-
tons, but this particular firm has made it a
rule not to enter into any such competitions,
as it is felt that the outcome of such meth-
ods is usually unsatisfactory to both client
and engineer.

A New York consulting engineer states
that it would seem as if such a method of
securing engineering services would not be
successful, for few men who value their
standing and future in the profession would

NOTICE TO BIDDERS
.Notice is hereby given that the County

Commissioners of the County of

will receive sealed bids for the engineer-
ing upon the roads to be constructed by
special road and bridge district number

3, County, , and

that such bids will be received up until
lo o'clock Wednesday morning, October
8, 19. .. It will be the duty of the Engi-
neer employed by the Board to prepare
plans and specifications for the work to
be done in the said district, and to super-
vise the work during its progress, and to
do all other things usual and necessary
for similar cases. A certified check for
five hundred dollars must accompany
each bid and the successful bidder will
be required to give bond for the faithful
performance of his duty in such sum as
may be fixed by the County Commis-
sioners. The Commissioners reserve the
right to reject any and all bids and to
employ from the bidders the engineer
who in their opinion is most responsible
and best qualified for the work to be
performed. The Commissioners will
open such bids as soon after the above
time as practical.

(Signed) ,

Chairman of the Board of County Com-
missioners.
Attest :

(Signed)

Clerk, Board of Conntv Commissioners.

care to seek a commission under such cir-
cumstances. A professional man's quali-
fications and experience should be the guide
for the client in selecting his services. The
request for a bond for the faithful per-
formance of duty is an insult to the pro-
fession.

A well -known
Pittsburgh city plan-
ner writes as fol-
lows : "Local con-
ditions sometimes
justify this method
in order to protect
public interests from
the erratic tenden-
cies of low bidders;
and, furthermore,
the interpretation of
certain state laws
'-.reates an open ques-
tion on the expendi-
ture of public funds
over a specific sum
without competition.
Of course, there is
usually a rejection
clause inserted, but
this fact alone does
not always guarantee
protection. The best
protection is to en-
gage the profes-
sional services of an
engineer who is
faithful, capable and
honest, with the
same confidence and
interest that an indi-
vidual has in his physician or attorney,
who is never placed on the auction block."
A firm of New York paving engineers
states that "this is a very undesirable method
for selecting an engineer and is very likely
indeed to result in second and third rate
engineering supervision. It would be ne-
cessary for an engineer to visit the county
and determine just what roads and bridges
were to be constructed before he could pre-
pare a bid. No provision is made in the

114

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

proposal for any record as to his ability and
qualifications, and the deduction to be drawn
from it would be that the lowest bidder
would probably get the work. Calling for
a certified check and a bond for the faith-
ful performance of his duty appears to us to
be putting the matter on a commercial
rather than on an engineering plane, and if
the engineer were incompetent, we fail to
see how the bond would protect the county.
Personally, we will refuse to bid on work
under these conditions, and we believe that
the majority of reputable engineers would
also decline to have anything to do with it."

A firm of Rochester, N. Y., consulting
engineers writes as follows: "Such a pro-
posal hardly deserves comment. Let us
hope that it met the fate it deserves, and
there can be no question but that it did. No
professional man of ability would consider
offering himself on such a market. The
legal mind that evolved this proposal must
have been gathered to the fold under a simi-
lar arrangement. For instance, of what
value is the certified check for five hundred
dollars, except to show that the 'engineer'
has that much credit? The commissioners
cannot, under their proposal, hold the
money, if the 'lucky' man decides to with-
draw. We must admit, however, that these
commissioners are honest. They throw no
camouflage over their real desire, namely,
to get the cheapest man at his best figure,
while many county and other engineers are
selected by such boards for the same reason,
although the item 'salary' is only 'among
those present' in the advertisement. Times
have changed in this respect, however, and
engineers are being employed to a much
greater extent for their ability, training and
experience. The engineer recognizes, and
the public is coming to recognize, his true
professional standing, and he is not going
to barter his talent under any such crude
proposal as that mentioned above."

A firm of Pittsburgh engineers of na-
tional reputation agree "that this method of
securing engineering services is most ob-
jectionable and that not only must it neces-
sarily fail to secure the protection which
was no doubt the laudable intention of the
conscientious public officials who were re-
sponsible for it, but, in addition, it is almost
certain to lead to the engagement of second
and third rate services through awarding
the work to the bidder who is willing to cut
his price the lowest because of inability to

secure engagements on any other basis. We
have had in our experience abundant op-
portunities to observe the excessive cost to
municipalities and counties through law-
suits and through failure or unsatisfactory
quality of work, of services secured upon
similar bases; and we desire to commend
The American City for its efforts to in-
duce municipal officials to recognize that
the public interest is best served by secur-
ing the professional service of reputable
and experienced engineers at the usual and
reasonable rate of compensation, rather
than to attempt to buy engineering as they
are accustomed to purchase brick or cast
iron pipe."

An Illinois engineer states that it is his
"personal opinion that these people will get
just exactly what they pay for; in other
words, advertising for bids for any profes-
sional work, whether engineering or not, is
a mistake and cheapens the work all down
the line, affecting the contractors and going
so far as to bias the attitude of the men.
I would as soon think of advertising for
bids for this kind of work as I would
think of advertising for bids for a dentist
or a physician. In every way The Amer-
ican City should discourage action of this
kind, and if you are successful you will
have rendered a service to the community
in which the work is to be done as well as to
all reputable engineers."

A municipal and industrial engineer says :
"I give very little attention to such abortive
efforts to secure engineering services. They
are so rare and unfruitful in results and
this case is so ridiculous that it does not
seem to be entitled to much attention. It
would be interesting, however, to know just
what results were secured and what type of
engineers or surveyors responded and who,
if anyone, was selected."

A well-known North Carolina engineer
says : "This is the second instance that has
recently come to my notice of placing en-
gineers on a par with digging ditches and
delivering cast iron pipe. I do not believe
that an average engineer would care to bid

for a job of surveying in

County, This is the only in-
stance in which I have seen a certified check
required and noticed that the successful
bidder would be required to give bond. I
suppose that some engineer would bid for
this work, but I do not believe that any
self-respecting engineer would."

A National Point of Vie^v in Education

By George D. Strayer

Chairtnan of the National Committee on Chamber of Commerce Cooperation with the

Public Schools; Professor of Educational Administration, Teachers

College, Columbia University

HOW shall we finance education in the
United States? Anyone who knows
the present situation in education
must recognize the fact that we are face to
face with a national crisis in education.
From an inquiry made by the National Edu-
cation Association last fall, it was shown
that there were 30,000 vacancies among
teachers in American schools. Superinten-
dents of schools reported that more than
60,000 teachers entering the schools for the
first time this past fall were below the grade
of those whose places they took in education
and professional train-
ing. In the United
States only one-fifth of
our teachers have had
the equivalent of a four-
year high school course
plus two years of pro-
fessional training. No
other civilized country
in the world makes so
poor a showing with re-
spect to the qualifications of its teachers.

Startling Facts

There are still communities in the United
States in which children have as little as
twelve weeks of school provided for them.
There are tens of tTiousands of children who
are in attendance in schools in which the
language of instruction is not English, but
a foreign tongue. There are tax-supported
public schools in the United States in which
the teachers are unable to speak English
correctly, and in which English, if taught at
all, is considered a modern foreign language.

The total number of adult illiterates has
been variously estimated. That the number
is exceedingly large was established by the
examinations given in the army camps
which showed one man out of four unable
to read an English newspaper and to write
an intelligent letter home.

No one will deny the importance of a
program of education which will provide
for the Americanization of the foreign-
born. If those who come to us from for-

Abraham Lincoln said:
"I hope that the time
may come when our
country shall guarantee
to all an unfettered start
and a fair chance in the
race of life."

eign lands are to contribute most to our
civilization, they must be given an oppor-
tunity to understand and to appreciate our
institutions. It is not merely a matter of
teaching them the English language, but
quite as much the need for the kind of as-
sociation with them that will enable us to
learn from them as well as to teach them.

That we have neglected the physical well-
being of boys and girls was made evident
by the physical examinations conducted by
the army, which showed one out of every
three men unfit for "combat service." We
need opportunities for
play and physical educa-
tion in American schools
no less than we need
better teachers of the
subjects now found in
our school curricula.

Boys and girls in ru-
ral America have not had
a square deal. Approxi-
mately half of all the
public school pupils of the United States
are enrolled in rural and village schools.
In these schools we have to-day, for the
most part, uneducated and untrained teach-
ers. Thirty thousand of these teachers at
the present time have no more than a sev-
enth or eighth grade elementary school edu-
cation. The schoolhouses in which these
boys and girls are at work are for the most
part without proper equipment in books or
apparatus, and in very many cases unsani-
tary and inadequate in practically every
respect. The boys and girls from the farms
and from the villages of the United States
are coming into our cities. The strength
of the city no less than the productivity of
our farms is involved in the education pro-
vided for these children.

How is the situation to be met? Through-
out the United States we have had local and
state-wide campaigns for the increase of
teachers' salaries, and for money to build
school buildings involving increases in state
and local taxation for public education. The
situation has not yet been met. Teachers

ii6

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

are actually less well paid now than they
were in 1914. The increases in salaries
have averaged approximately 61 per cent,
while the cost of living has increased to a
greater extent. Encouragement and aid
from the National Government should be
provided.

Support the Smith-Towner Bill

The Smith-Towner Bill, which was re-
ported favorably by the Committee on Edu-
cation of the House of Representatives on
Tuesday, January 11, should be supported
by all who believe in the future development
of our system of public educa'tion. The bill
provides for the organization of a Depart-
ment of Education with a Secretary in the
President's Cabinet. There are now in
Washington more than two score offices,
bureaus, divisions, boards, or branches of
government concerned with education. An
efficient and economic administration of the
funds now granted by the National Govern-
ment in support of education requires that
they be organized under a single head. The
dignity and practical importance of public
education in our national life requires that a
representative of education sit in the Cabinet
of the President.

The Smith-Towner Bill provides, as well,
for appropriations of $100,000,000 to be dis-
tributed to the states for the removal of il-
literacy, the Americanization of the foreign-
born, the training of teachers, the develop-
ment of a program of physical education
and health service, and the equalization of
educational opportunity as between rural
and urban areas. This encouragement of-
fered by the National Government is by the
provision of the bill to be met by expendi-
tures by the state in every case as large in
amount as that received from the National
Government. It is provided, as well, that
a state, in order to participate in the dis-
tribution of funds, must maintain schools
for all its children for at least twenty-four
weeks in the year ; that it must have a com-
pulsory education law requiring attendance
between seven and fourteen years of age;
and that it shall enact a law requiring that
the English language shall be the basic lan-
guage of instruction in the common school
branches in all schools, public and private.

Education: an Investment and an Insurance

There are those who have suggested that

we cannot afiFord this increased expenditure
for public education at this time. The most
adequate reply to this type of objection is
found in the argument advanced by the
British Minister of Education in advocating
greatly increased expenditures for education
during the period of the war. In answer
to his opponents he declared that England
could not afford not to spend vastly in-
creased sums of money for education. He
pointed out in no uncertain way that monev
spent for education is to be considered as a
productive expenditure. In America to-day
we may well ask ourselves whether we may
hope to hold our own in the economic world
struggle which lies ahead of us if we fail to
provide adequate education for all our peo-
ple. When one considers, as well, the in-
fluence of the bolshevistic or anarchistic
agitator over the illiterate or foreign-born
member of our society who has little or no
appreciation of the meaning of our Amer-
ican democracy, he may well reach the con-
clusion that education is at the same time
an investment and an insurance.

Our National Government has encouraged
education from the very beginning. With
the formation of states out of the North-
western Territory, land was granted in sup-
port of education. As each state has been
admitted to the Union since that time,
grants of land in support of the public
schools of the state have been made in in-
creasing amounts. Since 1863 appropria-
tions have been made for colleges of agri-
culture and mechanic arts. More recently
money has been provided by Congress for
the development of vocational education of
high school grade. The suggestion that the
nation encourage the states, as is provided
by the Smith-Towner Bill, is in line with a
well-developed policy. Taxes paid to the
National Government need not necessarily
be increased in order to provide the funds.
In the estimates submitted to Congress it is
proposed to spend sixteen hundred million
dollars for the War and Navy Departments.
It may well be argued that one hundred mil-
lion dollars taken from this amount and ex-
pended for education would bring vastly
greater returns to the United States. We
have less to fear from the enmity of a for-
eign people than we have from the lack of
understanding of our democracy by those
who constitute a very considerable percent-
age of our population.

February, I921

THE AMERICAN CITY

117

Courtesy of the Old Colony Magazine

IMMIGRANT CHILDREN JUST LANDED AT ELLIS ISLAND, NEW TOEK

Xlieix future usefulness to the community depends largely upon tbe pubUc scbools. The cost of their

education represents an investment in American ideals

THE AMERICAN CItY

Vol. XXiV, No. 2

State and Local Authority Upheld

Arguments against the enactment of the
Smith-Towner Bill have been advanced by
those who have suggested that the propo-
nents of the bill seek to centralize the con-
trol of education in the National Govern-
ment. Nothing could be farther from the
spirit and express provisions of the bill. In
Section 14 of the bill, as reported on Jan-
uary II, are the following provisions : "That
courses of study, plans and methods for
carrying out the purposes and provisions of
this act within a state shall be determined
by the state and local educational author-
ities of said state, and this act shall not be
construed to require uniformity of courses
of study, plans and methods in the several
states in order to secure the benefits herein
provided; and provided further, that all the
educational facilities encouraged by the pro-
visions of this act and accepted by a state
shall be organized, supervised, and adminis-
tered exclusively by 'the legally constituted
state and local educational authorities of
said state, "

If anything further were needed to estab-
lish the fact that the centralization of au-
thority or control of education is not con-
templated, it can be found in the resolution
favoring the passage of the measure adopted
by the National Education Association at
its annual meeting at Salt Lake City last
July. A commission of this association
drafted the bill originally and has supported
it vigorously during the past eighteen
months. The resolution reads as follows :

"We urge the immediate passage of the
Smith-Towner Bill by which federal par-
ticipation in the support of public education
is provided and which, at the same time, pre-
serves the autonomy of the state in the
management of its schools. We condemn
the efforts of the enemies of the public
schools to defeat this measure, particularly
by stigmatizing it as a measure which in-
volves national control of education. Such
control is not only clearly unconstitutional,
but it is out of harmony with the spirit of
American institutions. This Association
pledges itself unreservedly to oppose any

movement or proposal that would centralize
control of the public schools."

Wide Endorsement of the Bill

The Smith-Towner Bill has the warmest
support of those responsible for the adminis-
tration of public education in the United
States. Every state superintendent of
schools, with possibly a single exception, has
approved the measure and is working for its
passage. The state, city, and county super-
intendents of schools in their last annual
meeting, with more than four thousand men
present, unanimously endorsed the measure.
It is even more significant that laymen's or-
ganizations have debated the question and
have endorsed the measure and are working
for its passage. Among those that have
given their unqualified support are : Amer-
ican Federation of Labor, American Feder-
ation of Teachers, General Federation of
Women's Clubs, National Congress of
Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations,
American Library Association, National
Council of Jewish Women, Association of
Collegiate Alumnae, Patriotic Order Sons
of America, National League of Women
Voters, and National Society Daughters of
the American Revolution.

America must wake up if she is to hold
her place among the great peoples of the
world. A failure to provide education for
all the boys and girls of America is to in-
vite disaster. The most direct and effective
channel through which the forces of social
control can operate is the public school. Ig-
norance cannot be segregated. The failure
to provide education in one part of the
country is a weakness that affects the whole
country. If we are to make good the prom-
ise of democracy in terms of an equalization
of educational opportunity, the nation must
encourage and aid its schools. May we not
look forward to the realization of the ideal
of our democracy as expressed by Abraham
Lincoln when he said :

"I hope the time may come when our
country shall guarantee to all an unfettered
start and a fair chance in the race of
life."

119

Combined Open Air Swimming Pool and
Hockey Rink at Milton, Mass.

By Robert Spurr Weston

Weston & Sampson, Consulting Engineers, Boston, Mass.

or polluted, or
For such, arti-

EVERY boy, every
girl for that matter,
needs a "swimmin'-
hole" or its equivalent.
Fortunate indeed is the
youngster who has access
to one, or to clean and
copious streams, or to
pond, bay or ocean. Not
all are so situated. Fre-
quently

"The bridge of the railroad

now crosses the spot
Where the old divin'-log

lays sunk and fergot."

Often where there are the
most who desire to bathe,
the streams are small
the waters are unsafe,
ficial pools and ponds are being provided in
increasing number. These pools have been
very popular, and usually the number of
users has been underestimated by their de-
signers.

S'uch a pool has recently been completed
in Cunningham Park, Milton, Mass., one of
the southerly suburbs of Boston. This pool
is so arranged that it may be converted into
a hockey rink in winter, thus greatly ex-
tending its yearly period of service.

The Source and the Site

The source of supply for the pool is a
small, clean brook which rises in the near-
by Blue Hills of the State Reservation. In
summer the discharge of this brook is fre-
quently less than lOO gallons per minute.
For that reason and others, the contents of
the pool are circulated continuously through
a filter, a method commonly used for keep-
ing indoor tanks in proper condition.

The site is a low-lying meadow,which
was formerly flooded in winter. The soil
consists of wet, slippery clay and many
boulders, and, while water-tight, obviously
increased the difficulties of construction.
Around the meadow in which the pool is
located, on the bordering hillocks, are fine
old evergreens and second-growth hard-

THE SWIMMING POOL, MILTON, MASS., SHOWING HOW IT HAS
BEEN DESIGNED TO FIT THE CONTOUR OF THE GROUND

wood trees of good size, which have been
supplemented receiitly by plantings of white
pine and hemlock, designed to give the pool
a natural setting as shown in the illustra-
tion above.

Design of the Pool

The pool is irregular in shape. The shore
lines are curved. The outlines of the pool
are clearly shown in the photograph. Its
greatest length is about 315 feet, and its
average width about 150 feet. Its greatest
depth is 8 feet, and there is a sand beach
with shallow water for wading, around the
whole pool. This beach slopes towards the
concrete lining of the deeper section. This
lining covers an area of 180 by 80 feet,
which are the dimensions of the hockey
rink. Around its border are sockets which
support stanchions. These project 4 feet,
above the water, and are of 2-inch pipe,
spaced 8 feet center to center. They sup-
port the 16 by 4-inch sections of the wooden
barrier which is placed about the hockey
rink in winter.

The pool and rink are well lighted from
overhead by four 7S0-watt Mazda lamps,
and are used in the evenings, both in winter
and summer, thus giving pleasure to many
who otherwise could not enjoy them.

The pool is provided with a chute and a
diving float. The chute is located at the east

120

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

end, in shoal water, and is used by small
children and other non-swimmers. The div-
ing float consists of a platform 13 by 18 feet,
supported upon twenty 50-gallon oil barrels.
On one side of the float is a spring-board of
the usual type. On the opposite side is a
spring-board with a low platform above it,
arranged so that bathers may jump from
the platform to the spring-board. Between
the spr.'ng-boards is a diving-stand with a
platform 4 feet wide by 5 feet 6 inches long,
elevated 7 feet above the surface of the
float.

The Filter

The sand filter, which is of the slow or
English type, is 18 by 30 feet in area, and
is located in the south bank of the pool. It
is built of concrete, with roof of reinforced
concrete, the latter covered with earth over
which vines have been planted so as not to
detract from the natural appearance of the
pool. The filter contains 3 feet of sand
supported on graded gravel and under-
drained in the usual way, with tiles. Ad-
joining the filter is a small house, 10 feet
square, which contains the devices for reg-
ulating the filter, and a i^-inch motor-
driven centrifugal pumping unit which cir-
culates the water of the pool through the
filter and also empties the lower section of
the pool, which is too low to be drained by
gravity. The walls of the filter house have
a stucco finish, and its roof is covered with
"color-blend" asbestos shingles.

The waters of the brook are diverted to
the pool by means of a low dam, a,nd flow
through a 6-inch pipe-line, which discharges
into either the filter or the pool, as desired.
During most of the year the brook water
is so clear that its filtration is not necessary,
but if it is not clear, the pool can be filled
through the filter. The pool holds about
750,000 gallons of water, and the filter is
designed to circulate its contents weekly.

The Pool is Popular

The hockey rink was used during the
winter of 1919-20, but the pool was not used
until the last of July, 1920. The pool came
into favor instantly, and although the sum-
mer was below the average in coolness, it
was used beyond all expectation. The
Trustees estimated that as many as 250 per-
sons a day might use the pool, but on the
last Saturday in August, five hundred,

mostly boys and girls, availed themselves
of the privilege. Over 8,000 bathers used
the pool during the protracted hot wave in
August, 1920.

Cunningham Park is a large estate held
in trust for the benefit of the citizens of
Milton. The property, over 200 acres in
area, consists largely of forest and meadow,
with .some arable land. Within the park,
the Trustees have established a conva-
lescent home, and a gymnasium with bowl-
ing alleys, tennis courts, etc., and have
flooded the meadow for skating during the
winter. None of these means of amuse-
ment, however, have been so popular with
the residents of Milton as is the new swim-
ming pool. This experience is similar to
that of other places where open-air pools
have been constructed. Nothing costing so
little seems to please so many people so
much.

Keeping the Pool Sanitary

The sanitation of the pool has been a
matter of deep concern. Bathers were per-
mitted to use the pool before any bath-
house could be built. The boys and girls
came in their bathing-suits, or changed
into them in the near-by gymnasium. It was
impossible to insist upon baths before they
entered the pool. Bacteriological samples
have been collected weekly, and the findings
are good, considering the promiscuo.us use
of the pool. The numbers averaged 672 per
c. c, which is considered quite remark-
able in view of the fact that the brook water
sometimes contains 500 bacteria per c. c.
although the average is less than 400 per
c. c. This is a fair bacteriological condition,
and is due to the disinfecting action of light
and other agencies of self-purification, and
to the low bathing load due in turn to the
large size of the pool. It is considered very
important to operate the pool under bacteri-
ological control.

Because its construction was in wet clay
and boulders, the cost was abnormally high,
even for the present times. With filter, dam
and connecting piping, it was about $40,-
000. In most places this cost could be re-
duced materially even with prevailing prices
for materials and labor.

The plant was designed by Weston &
Sampson, consulting engineers, with the
advice of Loring Underwood, landscape
architect, all of Boston.

121

The Municipal Forest in Fitchburg, Mass.

By G. A. Hubbard

City Forester, Fitchburg, Mass.

FITCHBURG, a city of hills, in Worces-
ter County, Mass., located fifty miles
from Boston, with a valley running
from the Leominster line through the heart
of the city to the Westminster line for a
length of four or five miles, lined with manu-
facturing plants whose products go all over
the world, was the first city in America to
establish a municipal forest. On December
29, 1914, during the administration of Hon.
B. A. Cook as mayor, a petition was intro-
duced by Dr. D. S. Woodworth, Chairman
of the Park Commission, as follows:

Ordinance for placing wider control of the
City Forester certain tracts of land belonging
to the city.

Ordered : that the tracts of land herein men-
tioned and belonging to the city, be and hereby
are placed under the supervision, control and
management of the City Forester as a part of
the public domain, to be devoted to the culture
of forest trees and, incidentally in some meas-
ure, to the preservation of the water-supply of
the city :

First, a tract of land of approximately 50
acres, located on Turnpike Road (so-called)
and known as the Wanoosnoc Lot.

Second, a tract of land of approximately 31.24
acres, located on Rindge Road and known as the
Taylor Farm.

Third, two tracts of land of approximately

16 and 8 acres, respectively, and located on the
Ashby Road, and known as the Raymond Lot.
The order was adopted in concurrence,
presented to the Mayor and approved by him
December 29, 1914.

Description of Tracts

The land forming the forest is composed
of four lots with a total of 109 acres and
s tuated in different parts of the city. The
upper Raymond tract consists of 10 acres on
the boundary line of Fitchburg and Ashby.
This 10 acres is covered with hard wood of
about 25 years' growth, and is in good grow-
ing condition. A little west of this tract is
the lower Raymond Lot, which consists of
21 acres. More than half of this area is well
covered with white pine of about thirty
years' growth, the remainder of the lot
being in hardwood, and a small portion of
pasture covered with juniper. A small part
has been cleared preparatory to planting with
pine.

A little nearer the city is situated the
Taylor Lot of 31 acres. About 19 acres of
this lot is covered with pine of probably 40
years' growth. The remainder, aside from,
a small portion that naturally seeded, has
been planted with white and Scotch pine. A

SMAIiIi FINES WITH FHUB HAZABD OF DBY OBASS

122

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

A STAND OF WHITE PINE — BETWEEN SO AND 40 TEARS' GROWTH

portion of this planting has been in for five
years, and the rest of the lot has been
planted three years. The planting and the
condition of this lot make a good object
lesson, and show conclusively that planting
pine where natural seeding does not do the
work is a practical undertaking. After the
young stock becomes established, — which
usually takes the first year, — rapid progress
is made. During the third year the growth
is frequently from i to i>^ feet, and after
five years individual trees have been noticed
with a new growth of fully 3 feet.

The Wanoosnoc Lot is situated on
Wanoosnoc Hill in the southern part of the
city adjoining the Leominster line, and has
an area of 47 acres. About 15 acres is
covered with hardwood growth and chest-
nut about post size. A portion of the chest-
nut has been cut and the remainder must
soon be cut, as the chestnut blight is making
headway and nearly all the trees are
affected. This disease is reducing the chest-
nut stands in Massachusetts very rapidly,
and within a few years it will be impossible
to find chestnut timber for poles, posts,
plank, and many other important needs
which this valuable tree has filled. The good
old days of chestnutting, which was often
a source of revenue as well as pleasure, will
be a thing of the past, remembered only by
the older people, who will tell the younger
generation about picking up chestnuts by the
bushel when they were young. It is hoped
to find a method of fighting the blight.

Success of the Project

Forestry firms doing planting by contract
usually guarantee from 70 to 80 per cent of
planted stock to live, but in the experience
of Fitchburg a much larger percentage is
made to survive. The planting done during
the last three years shows over 90 per cent
alive to-day. Of course sufficient rainfall
during the first month or two is essential.
Assuming that the trees are properly planted
and there is reasonable precipitation, the
per cent should show well above 90. The
earlier the planting can be done after the
ground opens, the better.

Waste land is a liability and usually
entirely non-producing. This liability can
be changed to an asset by adopting reason-
able and inexpensive methods which are
beyond the experimental stage and have
been demonstrated as practical, good busi-
ness. Many states are to-day buying up
and reforesting waste land, a plan which is
being followed by many progressive in-
dividuals and which should be adopted by
municipalities.

Many cities and towns already own land
used as watersheds or otherwise which could
be planted. The main thing is to plant,
whether it be done officially through a
municipal forest or not. Every tree warden,
every park board, every water board, and
every individual who has land suitable for
this purpose should do a little each year.
The surroundings of reservoirs and sources
of supply must be wooded to a certain extent.

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

123

These many acres can be planted, and as
they reach harvesting age, can be thinned
and replaced, making a source of revenue,
as well as helping to conserve moisture and
to improve appearance.

The Necessity of Fire Lines

Fire lines must be maintained in planting,
for the fire menace is greater w^hen the trees
are small than later on. Fire not only
destroys the young trees but also reduces
the humus cover, which is fertilizer and re-
tains moisture. Especially is this true for
old pasture land. During the first five years,
until the stand is capable of making shade,
all sorts of weeds and grasses make a fire
hazard which should be guarded against by
fire-breaks; then, should fire start it could
be handled without sacrificing the whole.
Forest fires cause a loss of over twenty mil-
lion dollars a year.

A fire line cleared of brush from 10 to 20
feet wide around or through a lot will insure
protection from approaching fire by giving
a position from which to fight. Fire notices
should be posted in conspicuous places each
year, and. replaced if removed.

In the larger areas of newly planted stock
the fire-break is of great importance, for the
grasses form a fire hazard which is nearly
always like tinder, drying in a few hours
after rain, and as fire creates its own wind,
sometimes traveling at race-horse speed. In
the view on page 122 is shown a lot entirely
of white pine of from 30 to 40 years' growth.
The shade causes moisture to be retained,
and the fire-lines need be only around the
outside as protection from adjacent lots.
Cases of fire loss in pine of this size are
rare, for any serious damage would be
caused by crown fires, which would come
from the outside and be very intense.

The Value of Reforested Land

The present high prices of lumber are a
great temptation for a man who has waited
a long time for his pine lot to mature, and
many are putting pine into money too soon.
The writer has seen large quantities cut when
to have left it a few years would have been
the better investment. Owners of pine lots
need have no fear of a slackening demand
or a diminishing price, for waste in hand-
ling due to the old idea that timber re-
sources are inexhaustible is gone, and rea-
son and common sense are urgently calling
to intelligent people's attention the duty of

reforesting. This must be emphasized
generally, not only to state and city forestry
departments, but to individuals. Those acres
which are not working should be made to
pay. The initial expense is small, and after
a few years comes the steady increase in
value.

In the spring of 1919 the Forestry Depart-
ment of Fitchburg planted for an ex-mayor
of the city an area taking 125,000 pines.
This man is 65 years old, and there is no
thought of his cutting these trees at
maturity. He is planting for the future,
and his pleasure in watching the trees grow
is a sure reward.

Land suitable for this purpose can usually
be obtained at very low cost, probably
around $5 per acre. Planted 6 by 6, it costs
about $12.50 per acre for the transplants,
and with $8 for the cost of planting, the
total cost is $25.50 per acre. In some states
land so improved is exempt from taxes for
a period of years. This is not all the prob-
able expense until maturity. In large areas
a few replacements may be necessary, but
usually, provided 90 per cent live, the few
trees that die are so scattered they are not
replaced.

City Forests Invaluable

In state or individual planting white pine
is generally used, being of more monetary
value than any other. In city forests, from
an educational standpoint, a few Scotch and
Norway pine may well be planted. In our
locality, where the gypsy moth is at home, it
is not advisable to have pine and hardwood
together. The hardwood should be removed,
leaving the pine, and thus making it immune
from moth pests. In lots of hardwood
growth, white ash is recommended for
planting, as it is practically moth-proof.

The results visible in the Fitchburg muni-
cipal forest at this writing show conclusively
that tracts of land not suitable for crop
culture can be utilized and made to produce
valuable products. The value of this work
for a community or an individual is of far-
reaching consequence, and demonstrated
success is an incentive for increased efforts.

Of course in the forming of a municipal
forest from four-year-old transplants a con-
siderable period of time must elapse before
the stand shows that it is a practical busi-
ness proposition. Rather than having to
begin from the ground up, it is advisable to
purchase land at a higher cost than that of

124

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

waste land — for example, a lot partially
covered with young growth, giving oppor-
tunity for planting. Private owners or state
plantings can use with success the waste
land; but with a city, if the land is to serve
a recreative and instructive purpose, a
partly grown portion is to be preferred.

The acquisition and maintenance of a
municipal forest ought to be an easy matter
for any city or town. Some man who is alive
to the benefits must move, and the beginning
requires a hard push, but after the first lot
is obtained and a start made, the positive

results soon and easily obtained will warrant
enlarged operations. In many places there
are people public-spirited enough to give for
this purpose land that is not suitable for crop
cultivation. Trees and rocks are the best of
friends.

The last session of the Massachusetts
Legislature passed a bill providing for the
purchase and planting of 100,000 acres of
land. Many lumbermen appeared in sup-
port of the measure, which is ample proof
of the need of insuring our future lumber
supply.

Traveling Forestry Exhibits for Public
Libraries in New York State

New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse Spreads Educational
Material Throughout State

THIRTY-SIX libraries in New York
State through cooperation with the
State College of Forestry will have an
opportunity to demonstrate to their patrons
the different phases of forestry and what
forestry is doing in the state to help develop
idle lands. This demonstration is made by
traveling "pocket exhibits" which are sent to
the various libraries by the College of
Forestry. The exhibit consists of eighteen
panels divided into sets of six panels each.
Each set is in a town or city for two weeks
and is then sent on to the next town on the
circuit and the second set installed for a
second fortnight.

The Nature of the Exhibits

How the ambrosia beetle destroys trees by
growing its own feed in a form of fungus
which discolors and impairs the value of the
timber, is graphically shown by Set No.
I. The work of this beetle which, like that of
the elm leaf beetle, threatens destruction to
the beautiful shade trees of New York
State, is illustrated in pictures and samples
of the affected trees. The ambrosia beetle
grows within the holes it makes in the
wood, and damages lumber by running in-
dividual food gardens. The work done by
fungus is also shown, with the story of the
blister rust, which has worked havoc among
the white pines of America and whose
ravages have caused a nation-wide cam-
paign to eradicate the pest.

The reforestation panel included in Set
No. I shows what happens when cut-over
lands are allowed to be burned and the
erosion which follows makes what was once
a productive forest a waste of barren rock.
The panels are designed to show that New
York should add to its forest wealth by
making its forest lands grow crops of trees.

Set No. 2 shows how the waste of the
forest can be converted into clothes-line and
other such substances. Here is shown the
progress of the tree from the forest to the
clothes-line. First, it is converted into pulp
by grinding, and is cooked and treated in the
paper mill until it is ready for the next step
in the process of manufacture. It is conver-
ted from pulp into kraft paper, a tough type
of paper, which is then twisted and treated
until the ground wood paste has been turned
into clothes-line that will not soften or
weaken when the Monday wash is hung up-
on it. Another feature of the exhibit is the
silk made from what was also the waste of
the forest. To-day artifical silk stockings
are being made from sawdust, by chemical
conversion of the wood into cellulose, and
its weaving into fabric. There were 15,000,-
000 pairs of artificial silk stockings made
from wood in America last year.

This set includes a panel which is of parti-
cular interest to those who are thinking of
taking up forestry as their life work, as it
shows typical episodes of student life. Pic-
tures show the students not only in college,

FebruarV, 19^1

THE AMERICAN CITY

125

wmA

6 ^

SAMPLE PANEL OF THE TRAVELING EXHIBITS

but also in summer camp at Cranberry Lake
and at the State Ranger School at Wana-
kena.

The story of forest recreation and city
forestry is graphically told by art photo-
graphs in the third and last set of the pocket
exhibits. One panel, for instance, shows the
municipal forest of Los Angeles, which has
a public camping ground in the Angeles Na-
tional Forest, known as Camp Seeley, where
whole families are allowed to go at the

lowest possible
cost, for two
weeks each. It
costs only about
$9 a week per
person, and for
this amount each
family is pro-
vided with its
food from the
camp kitchen, its
own cottage, and
even the railroad
fare of about 75
miles to and
from Los An-
geles.

How the city
forester works to
give a city the
proper types of
shade trees and
to keep the
streets and parks beautiful from the stand-
point of the forester, is also shown, as
well as the development of school and home
grounds. Various pictures of the Adiron-
dack forest, an Adirondack lean-to and a
state camp fire are also displayed in this set.
The exhibits are furnished by the College
of Forestry, and the libraries pay the ex-
press charges between the cities on the cir-
cuit, thus carrying the gospel of forestry to
many thousands of people.

Highway Departments Store Road Material in Winter

Attention has been called in the editorial
pages of The American City to the need
for shipping and storing road-building ma-
terial during the winter and early spring, in
order to expedite construction work in the
short open season, particularly in the North-
ern States. We beg to call attention to
some instances where governmental units
have taken advantage of this method of ex-
pediting road construction.

Ogden, Utah, shipped in sufficient ma-
terial for 20 miles of roadway last winter,
and this road was completed in record time
during the 1920 construction season. The
state of Delaware has followed this prac-
tice for three years. The Board of Free-
holders of Passaic County, New Jersey, has
acquired a central storage yard for stock
piling road materials this winter. An
Illinois city, Belleville, has already stored

cement for next season's work.

A number of states, recognizing the advan-
tage of the early transportation and storage
of material, have made it possible 'to pay
the contractor in full or in part for the ma-
terial when it is delivered. It can now be
done in the following states: Alabama,
Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecti-
cut, Georgia, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois,
Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Minne-
sota, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire,
New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota,
Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wis-
consin, Wyoming, District of Columbia,
Oregon and Vermont. In ten other states
such procedure is not possible at the present
time under existing statutes. In only three
states is there any sentiment against this
procedure.

126

"House-Cleaning*' for Water-Mains

Flushing of Mains in Terre Haute Worthy of Note by Municipalities

O matter how good
the water-supply,
nor how clear and
sparkling the water sent
into the service mains of
a city, there is bound to
be some accumulation of
sediment, just as there is
some dust always to be
found in the home that
is swept and dusted
daily. In order to re-
move this sediment and
to keep the mains in
good condition, the
Terre Haute Water
Works Company, Terre
Haute, Ind., flushes out
the mains two or three
times a year. Extra
help is secured, and the
hydrants nearest the sta-
tion are opened up so
that there are six 2j^-
inch streams discharged
at one time with two
nozzles to a hydrant. As
soon as the water from
the hydrant nearest the
station is running clear,
and while it is being closed, the man at the
fourth hydrant is just opening that up and
the man from hydrant number one goes to
number five. In this way the discolored
water is confined to a limited area. Freshly
filtered water follows up the flushing, flow-
ing through the pipes that have been cleaned.

When the hydrants in the business dis-
trict are being flushed, the gang goes out
about 4 :30 in the morning, so that the work
can be done before heavy trafhc appears.

In order to do efifective cleaning, it is
necessary to materially increase the velocity
or rate of flow in the mains. Hence, three
hydrants are opened at one time. In order
to get the greatest benefit from the flow,
the water is permitted to run out onto the
street instead of running through a hose to
the nearest catch-basin, because the friction
of the hose would reduce the rate of flow.

We Are Gleaning House

Twice a year, we flush aur street mains.,
which is similar to Cleaning House, thus follow-
ing the example set by all good housekeepers.

Cleaning house is expensive and not the most
agreeable task in. the world, but we believe the
good people of Terre Haute are entitled to the

best possible service. ....

Jf the water does not become clear in a little

while, kindly advise us.

THE TERRE HAUTE WATER
WORKS COMPANY

XELEPHOIME— 215

THE NEWSPAPER ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE ' 'HOUSE-CLEANING' '

In Terre Haute it usually takes about
6,000,000 gallons to flush the hydrants, and
the extra labor amounts to several hundred
dollars, in addition to the value of the
water used for flushing. This work vir-
tually amounts also to a testing of the hy-
drants, so that it is insured that they are in
good condition for use by the fire depart-
ment. On one occasion two hydrants were
found broken below the ground. They had
evidently been hit by automobiles or trucks,
and no notification had been sent to head-
quarters.

It would be well for more municipalities
to seriously consider this proposition of
regular flushing of the service mains, in
order that there may be fewer complaints
by consumers after fires. If sediment is
regularly removed through flushing, there
is no opportunity for such complaints.

127

Maintenance Cheaper Than New Roads

By Philip P. Sharpies

THE 1920 road program throughout
most of the United States was a pro-
gram reduced at every point until in
reality it amounted to little beyond an at-
tempt to finish work begun during the previ-
ous year. Road officials were forced to see
what could be done with the roads they al-
ready had, or, in case construction was ab-
solutely necessary, were obliged to turn
from more expensive types of road surfac-
ing to the contemplation of cheaper means
of providing a road suitable for modern
traffic.

The money that can be saved by revamp-
ing an old road, rather than reconstructing
it, may best be stated in figures: to rebuild
a road of standard 18- foot width with any
of the modern first-class pavements costs in
the neighborhood of $40,000 for the top
alone, irrespective of the grading and drain-
age. The interest on this money at the
present time, even at 5 per cent, amounts
to $2,000 per year. We must also provide
for replacing the road when it is worn out.

Giving the road the extraordinary long life
of 20 years would call for $2,000 a year to
be set aside for replacement. In addition
to this, every road requires maintenance
and up-keep, and this can hardly amount to
less than $500 per mile per year through
any period of years. We thus have as a
total of our yearly expenditures, in case we
build a new top, $4,500 per mile per year.
In other words, if in any way we can so
take care of the road that is already in use
as to make it acceptable to the traveling
public for anything less than $4,500, we
have saved the city, county or state money.
This is an aspect of road building that has
not been popular with road engineers. It
has been more fun to design and construct
new roads than to devise means for caring
for our old roads and then carrying out the
work economically and acceptably.

Pennsylvania's Road Thrift

The state of Pennsylvania has realized
for some time the merits of taking care of

WHITZSHAUi BOAD, BIUSKEaON COUNTY, MICHIGA27

This photograph shows the contrast between an untreated gravel road and one which has received

annual treatments with Tarvla "B" and coverings of limestone chips since 1915

128

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

the roads they have. If this had not been
so, it would not now be possible to travel
over the Lincoln Highway from one end
of Pennsylvania to the other with com-
paratively little discomfort. It is true that
the old road breaks up in places in the
spring, but these are put in shape again and
the road receives maintenance by patching
with some of the new road-patching com-
pounds, and by surface treatments of bitu-
minous materials. These simple means for
car'ng for the state's macadam roads are
sufficient to keep them going except where
the traffic becomes extremely dense and
heavy. Even here the state has foun
means of resurfacing the old macadam roads
at a comparatively light expense so that they
may again carry the traffic of trucks and
automobiles over a smooth and easy-riding
surface. The writer refers particularly to
the work that has been done on the Lan-
caster Pike going out of Philadelphia.

Other states have devised other methods
of handling the same problem ; for example,
the work on the old National Pike in Mary-
land, carried along year by year in a very
acceptable way with bituminous surface
treatments. The state of Massachusetts,
the oldest in a constructive highway policy,
has improved year by year its original high-
ways by very simple methods of resurfac-
ing. The penetration method has given ex-
cellent results, and even the heavy motor
truck traffic in the vicinity of Boston is
largely carried on this type of road. Simi-
lar methods to that used on the Lancaster
Pike have also been used in Massachusetts
with success.

The problem is the same in cities and

towns. Philadelphia, for example, has a
large mileage of old macadam streets that
it can ill afford at the present high prices to
throw away. William H. Connell, former
Chief of the Bureau of Highways, showed
what could be done in the residential dis-
trict on this type of road by smoothing up
and rebuilding many miles and then sur-
face-treating them with tar materials. The
work started by him is still carried on by the
city.

Pennsylvania state highways traverse
many incorporated boroughs. Some of
these evince the pride of ownership and have
put the streets traversed by the state high-
way in good condition; others have lost
their sense of pride, or else abide their time,
thinking that if the road is bad enough the
state will step in and help them. These
borough thoroughfares are a neglected part
of the state's programs for good roads.
Some of the well-known cheaper methods
of road building would be applicable to
these now abandoned thoroughfares. The
main street of Leroy, N. Y., a splendid,
wide thoroughfare between the stores, tra-
versed by the East West Mohawk Valley
Trunk Line, was in deplorable condition
last year, and it was thought it would be
necessary to appropriate a large sum of
money to rebuild it. The town engineer,
however, seeing that the appropriation
would not be possible for the town's
finances, begged to be allowed, to try a
simple experiment in rescarifying, reshap-
ing and treating with a cold tar application.
The result was a splendid success, and the
street is carrying a heavy traffic and is a
pleasure to the town's inhabitants.

The Looks of the Town

By L. S. Cole

Most of our cities depend primarily on
geographical or geological location for their
prosperity, yet some of those most fortunate in
these respects often fail to attract desirable
industries, and even frequently fail to hold
those already located within their borders. In
many cities "booster" clubs tell of the wonders
and glories to be found therein, and when we
approach these cities, we are greeted with the
most uninviting, tumble-down assortment of
buildings imaginable. Our railroad depots are
sometimes located in the worst parts of town.
How can we expect the town seeker to be
other than disappointed? How else is he to

measure the community service we have to
offer? Surely the town that is made pleasant
to live in from the standpoint of merchant,
workman, and property owner alike is assured
of peace and plenty. And just as surely, the
town that fails, through lack of foresight or
planning to provide the proper civic service
will pay the penalty due to the stultified growth
and decadence which must surely overtake its
industries.

Acknowledgment. — From an address delivered be-
fore the annual convention of the Indiana Real Estate
Association, Muncie, Ind.

129

Remodeling and Enlarging the Water
and Light Plant at Perry, Oklahoma

By W. C. Harmon, Jr.

EXTENSIVE im-
provements to the
water and light plant
have just been completed
by the city of Perry, Okla.
These include a concrete
dam, a flow line of 12-
inch cast iron pipe, a low-
service pump pit, and mo-
tor-driven centr i f u g a 1
pumps, reconstructed set-
tling-basins, new rapid
sand filter plant of 1,000,-
000 gallons per day capa-
city, new motor-driven
turbine pump for high
service, Diesel oil engines
and generators to replace
the present steam power
plant equipment, and necessary changes to
buildings.

The water-supply had previously been se-
cured from two impounding reservoirs, one
of about 20,000,000 gallons capacity located
on the west side of the town, the other in the
hills southeast of the town, having a capac-
ity determined by its drainage area of about
one square mile. Both of these are con-
nected to the new plant. The low-service

INTERIOE VIEW OF PERRY, OKLA., FILTEE PLANT

pumps can draw from the pipe line from the
west reservoir, while the reservoir in the
hills is high enough to discharge directly
into the filter plant.

The Dam and the Reservoir

To secure the needed additional water-
supply, a new impounding concrete dam was
built in Cow Creek, just above the water
plant. The dam is built of mass concrete,

130

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

ONE OF THE DUPLICATE SETS OP 180-HOBSE-POWEB DIESEL
ENGINES

290 feet long, 21 feet high above low water,
and 23 feet above the rock on which it is
founded. There are reinforced concrete
wing-walls at each end of the dam, having
a total length of 63 feet on one end and 73
feet on the other. The dam is designed to
pass a flood 3 feet deep over its crest. A
notch in the crest at the location of the
stream channel, 6 inches deep and 30 feet
long, gives an opening for the ordinary
flow of the stream.

The new reservoir thus formed has a
drainage area of 30 square miles, a water
area of 30 acres, and an average depth of
9.5 feet, with a total storage of over 100,-
000,000 gallons and an available storage of
83,000,000 gallons. A dam and reservoir of
the Santa Fe Railway will be submerged by
the new lake, and in figuring the available
storage a maximum allowance is made for
water used by the Railway Company. This
reservoir, with the two present reservoirs,
will give the city sufficient storage capacity
to supply 500.000 gallons per day over the
longest known dry period.

There was no record of the consumption
of water available at the time the designs
were made, but it has probably been less
than 200,000 gallons per day. The popula-
tion was estimated at about 4,000, so that
the 500,000 gallons per day from the plant
will be sufficient for some time to come.

An intake manhole is built in the dam, in
which are three sluice-gates at different ele-
vations so that the best water may always
be used. Each sluice gate is protected by a
screen of bar iron with 2-inch clear open-

ing. From the intake
manhole a 12-inch cast
iron pipe leads to the low-
service pump pit.

The pit for the low-serv-
ice pumps is built of rein-
forced concrete, 12 feet
square and 24 feet deep.
This is low enough so that
water reaches the pumps
by gravity most of the
time. There are two 400-
gallon-per-minute, centri-
fugal pumps, horizontal,
direct-connected to three-
phase, 220-volt induction
motors. The water is dis-
charged into the first mix-
ing basin of the new plant
from these pumps.
The old settling basins were revised and
used in the new layout. The two basins
were each 50 feet by 85 feet on top, total
depth 10 feet, and concrete-lined with slop-
ing sides. They were separated by a thin
buttressed partition wall. The capacity of
the basins was increased by building a wall
on top of the outside curb, increasing the
depth to 13 feet 6 inches, with a water depth
of approximately 12 feet. This was re-
quired so that the filters could be located at
a desirable elevation, to furnish an anchor-
age for the weirs and to lengthen the period
of sedimentation. Inlet and outlet weirs
were built in each basin so as to make the
flow uniform, and the partition wall was
raised to the same height as the outside
walls. The water now passes through one
basin and then through the other. The re-
vised basins have a capacity of 650,000 gal
Ions, which gives a settling period of 15^
hours, when the plant is operated at a rate
of 1,000,000 gallons per day. The average
speed of horizontal travel is i/io-foot per
minute for the 1,000,000-gallon rate.

The Filter Plant

The new filter plant is built at the end of
the power plant and adjoins the settling
basins. It includes two coagulating basins,
two filter units, and a clear well, and is built
of reinforced concrete surmounted by a
building of stone masonry and stucco on
metal lath.

The two coagulating basins each have a
period of flow of approximately 50 minutes
at the rate of 1,000,000 gallons per day.

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

131

They are equipped with mechanical agi-
tators for mixing in the coagulating chemi-
cals, consisting of two steel paddles in each
basin, all driven by a water motor. The
water enters one basin from the low-service
pumps, and may be dosed with either lime
or sulphate of alumina. After passing
through the coagulating basin, the water
goes through the settling basins and enters
the other coagulating basin. It is there
dosed with sulphate of aluminum, and after
mixing flows to the filters.

There are two filter units of reinforced
concrete, each 14 feet by 14 feet in plan.
Operating at a normal rate of 2 gallons per
minute per square foot, the two filters have
a total rate of approximately 1,125,000 gal-
lons per day. Since the estimated maximum
average consumption is less than half of
this, 500,000 gallons per day, it may be sup-
plied by about 11 hours' run of the filter
plant. This capacity allows for the supply-
ing of extraordinary demands and for oper-
ation with one unit out of service.

The filters are of standard construction,
with a 30-inch bed of filter sand supported
by an 18-inch bed of graded gravel. The
underdrains consist of a cast iron manifold
tapped for wrought pipe laterals, 6 inches
center to center. The lateral pipes are
placed above the concrete floor, and have
3/16-inch holes on the bottom, 4^ inches
apart, with alternate holes staggered from
side to side, having an angle of 90 degrees
between them. Bronze bushings are tapped
into the lateral pipes for these openings.
Venturi type effluent controllers are used,
with a float controller butterfly valve to
stop the filter when the clear well is full.
Float-type loss-of-head gauges are used.

High velocity wash, without air, is used.
There are three cast iron gutters in each
filter unit, designed to handle a washing
rate of 16 gallons per square foot per min-
ute. The wash water is stored in a cypress
tank on the second floor of the plant, which
has a capacity of 17,500 gallons.

The greater part of the building is two
stories high, and reinforced concrete was
used for the floor construction. The second
floor is used for chemical storage, and con-
tains the wash-water tank and chemical
solution tanks. There are two cypress solu-
tion tanks for aluminum sulphate, discharg-
ing into either of two orifice boxes. One
orifice box may be used to dose the raw
water as it enters the first coagulating basin,

and the other one may dose the settled water
as it enters the second coagulating basin.
A dry lime feeding machine on the first
floor is fed from a hopper on the chemical
floor, and in turn feeds the chemical into
the first basin. It is electrically driven.

The high-service pumping equipment is
completely revised for electrical operation.
The city had on hand a 500-gaIlon-per-
minute turbine pump, motor-driven, de-
signed to pump against a head of 231 feet.
This is to be used as a fire pump. A new
400-gallon-per-minute motor-driven turbine
pump, operating against 200-foot head, was
purchased for use as a service pump. Both
pumps were installed on the pipe gallery
floor of the new plant and draw from the
clear well below. The water is sterilized by
the application of chlorine into the pump
suction.

The work also includes the rebuilding of
the electric light plant. The old single-
phase steam-driven generators were replaced
by new oil-engine-driven units. These are
i8o-b.h.p. Diesel engines driving 150-kv.-
amp., 2,300-volt, 60-cycle alternators. A
new switchboard and new station wiring
were required.

For One -Man Operation

It should be noted that the water and light
plant is designed for one-man operation.
The operator standing at one end of the
filter operating floor will have in view the
raw water as it enters the plant, the coagu-
lating basins, the filters, the high-service
pumps on the floor below, and the oil en-
gines, alternators and switchboard in the
engine room. The starters for both the
high-service and low-service pumps will be
within reach. The only part of the plant not
visible from the one position is the low-
service pumps in their pit 150 feet away.

The plant was designed and construction
was supervised by Black & Veatch, consult-
ing engineers, Kansas City, Mo. C. G.
Bayles was resident engineer on the job.
The dam, filter plant, and pipe lines were
built by Alderson and Knox, of Perry. The
filter equipment, filter piping, wash-water
tank, and chemical equipment were furnished
and installed by the Roberts Filter Com-
pany, of Darby, Pa. The Diesel engines
were furnished and installed by the Busch
vSulzer Bros.-Diesel Engine Company, and
the pumps by the F. M. Beeson Machinery
Company, of Kansas City.

132

Unusual Service of a Storm Drain

How a Corrugated Iron Drain Carried Debris and Heavy Boulders

in Pomona, Calif.

By Carence E. Bay ley

City Engineer of Pomona, California

ONE of the municipal improvements
of which the city of Pomona, Calif.,
feels proud is the 4-foot corrugated
storm drain which was installed in 1915.
This drain consisted of 581 feet of 14-gauge
Armco ingot iron corrugated pipe and in-
cluded seven elbows.

As it turned out, the drain was installed
in the nick of time, for, on January 16,
1916, Pomona and vicinity was visited by
a storm which for destructiveness was per-
haps the worst in the city's history.
Bridges and culverts were washed out right
and left, as well as long stretches of paved
highway. Very extensive damage was done,
the storm waters undermining and ruining
many structures which had been placed with
reasonable expectations of permanence.

It did one's heart good, however, to see
how the new corrugated storm drain stood
up and did its work. By its successful
operation thousands of dollars worth of
property was saved which would otherwise
have gone down to destruction.

The aspect of the matter which made the
• greatest impression on the author's mind
was the absence of any noticeable damage
from the rocks, gravel and debris which the
flood waters carried through the corrugated
pipe. An automobilist who was caught in
the flood states that he was driving down the
road at twenty-five miles per hour, during
the storm, and the trash carried by the
ditch into which the pipe empties was trav-
eling as fast as was his car. The pipe
was installed at a grade of about two per
cent, and with the debris being carried
through at such speed, it certainly under-
went a service test. All sorts of material
went through the pipe, including some boul-
ders which were nearly a foot in diameter.
These came bounding through, making the
curves and all, and apparently never dam-
aged the pipe in the least.

To-day the drain, after four and a half
years of service, seems to be practically as
good as new.

Acknowledgment. — Illustrations courtesy The High-
way Magazine.

TWO VIEWS OP THE STOEM DEAIN THAT WITHSTOOD THE EAVAOES OF POMONA'S

WORST STORM

133

Standard Schedule for Grading Cities
and Towns for Fire Insurance

Part II

With Reference to Their Fire Defences and Physical Conditions

By John S. Caldwell

Engineer, New England Insurance Exchange, Boston, Mass.

Editorial Note. — The first instalment of this article, appearing in the January issue, out-
lined the application of the Standard Schedule and discussed in part the place of water-supply.
This portion concludes the discussion of the water-supply and takes up the fire department.
The concluding portion will complete the Are department analysis and take up Are alarm,
police, building laws, hazards and structural conditions.

IN considering the minor distributors and
gridiron system, 6-inch is considered the
minimum size satisfactory for hydrant
supply in residential districts to be closely
gridironed with 6-inch cross-connecting
mains at intervals not exceeding 600 feet ; or
where initial pressures are high, a satisfac-
tory gridiron may be obtained by a liberal
per cent of larger mains cross-connecting
the 6-inch at greater intervals ; in new con-
struction, 8-inch should be used where dead
ends and poor gridironing are likely to
exist for some time, and 6-inch only where
blocks are 600 feet or less in length; in
high-value districts the minimum size to be
8-inch with cross-connecting mains at dis-
tances as given above; 12-inch and larger
mains to be on the principal streets and for
all long lines not cross-connected at frequent
intervals.

The mains of the distribution system
should be of satisfactory quality and prop-
erly tested for soundness and tightness of
joints. The use of cast iron pipe under
pressure double that specified for the class
is considered as introducing an unreliable
feature, particularly where pressures are
raised for fires ; tests before back-filling the
trench and service records of several years
may, however, be assumed as offsetting this
defect in part.

Electrolysis conditions should be studied
and methods of prevention applied.

The distribution system should be
equipped with a sufficient number of gate
valves, so located that no single case of ac-
cident, breakage or repair to the pipe sys-
tem, exclusive of arteries, will necessitate

the shutting from service a length of pipe
greater than 500 feet in high-value dis-
tricts, or greater than 800 feet in other sec-
tions, and will not result in shutting down
an artery; all valves to be inspected yearly
and large valves more frequently, and be
kept in good condition. The presence of
some valves operating in opposite directions
is to be considered the equivalent of unsatis-
factory condition, ranging from fair to
poor, depending on the number and im-
portance.

In considering hydrant distribution it is
readily apparent that proper distribution
depends first upon whether the system is on
a direct hydrant or engine stream basis,
realizing, of course, that wider distribution
could be permissible where engines were
ordinarily used than where hydrant stresses
were utilized, also that the fire flow required
for the district is a determining factor, as
the same distribution cannot be expected in
a residential district as would exist in a
manufacturing or mercantile section. The
required fire flow is determined and the fol-
lowing table used :

ENGINE

STREAMS

Fire Flow Rec

[uired,

Average Area Per

Gallons Per Minute

Hydrant Square Feet

1,000

120,000

2,000

110,000

3,000

100,000

4,000

90,000

5.000

86,000

6,000

80,000

7,000

70,000

8,000

60,000

9,000

65,000

10,000

48,000

11,000

48,000

12,000

40,000

134

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

DIRECT HYDRANT STREAMS

1,006 100,000

1,600 90,000

2,000 85,000

2,600 78,000

8,000 70,000

4,000 65,000

5,000 and over 40,000

Hydrants should be inspected in the
spring and fall of each year, after use at
fires during freezing weather, and daily in
high-value districts during protracted peri-
ods of severe cold.

The standard requirements for hydrants
specify that they should be able to deliver
600 g. p. m. with a loss of not more than
23^ pounds in the hydrant and a total loss
of not more than 5 pounds between the
street main and hydrant outlet; they should
have not less than two 2j^-inch outlets and
also a large suction outlet where engine
service is necessary. They should also be
of such a design that when the hydrant
barrel is broken off the hydrant will remain
closed. Street connection should be not less
than 6-inch in diameter and should be gated.
Flush hydrants requiring chucks to be
screwed on are considered undesirable, es-
pecially in sections of the country subject
to heavy snow-storms, because of delay in
getting into operation.

Fire Department

The subjects considered under the fire
department are as follows :

1. Number of Officers

2. Number of Operators

3. Qualifications of Chief Officers

4. Tenure of Office of Chief

5. Appointment and Tenure of Office of Officers

6. Enlistment Requirements

7. Retirement Requirements

8. Number of Hose or Engine Companies (Appa-

ratus)

9. Number of Ladder Companies (Apparatus)

10. Distribution of Companies

11. Total Required Manual Strength of Department

12. Manual Strength of Existing Companies in the

High-Value District Considered

13. Engine Capacity

14. Reserve Engines

15. Condition of Engines and Hose Wagons

16. Fire-Boats

17. Powerful Stream Appliances

18. Chemical Equipment

19. Reserve Hose Wagons

20. Amount of Hose

21. Hose Larger than 2^ -inch

22. Condition of Hose

23. Minor Equipment

24. Fuel

25. Repair Facilities

26. Horses

27. Suitability of Fire Stations

28. Discipline

29. Drills and Training

30. Responding to Alarms

31. Fire Methods

32. Conditions Affecting Fire Department Operations

33. Building Inspections

34. Records of Fires, etc.

In considering the number of officers the

Schedule requires that there should be a
chief and an assistant or deputy chief for
over two and up to twelve companies, and
another assistant, battalion or district chief
to each additional eight companies. There
should be two officers to each engine, hose
or ladder company ; a captain and two lieu-
tenants may be considered sufficient for a
combined company. Call officers — that is,
officers who receive some pay for services
but who do not devote their entire time to
fire department duty — and volunteer officers
are considered as equivalent to one-half
full-paid officers.

There should be a sufficient number of
competent operators — that is, engineers,
stokers and chauffeurs — so that one will be
on duty at all times for each engine or
motor-driven apparatus.

Chief officers should be experienced in
fire service and a chief should hold office
for an indefinite term and be removable
only for cause after public trial. Officers'
appointments and promotions should be
based on examination, seniority and record,
under civil service rules with tenure-of-
office provisions. Privates' enlistment
should be under civil service rules and
based on physical and mental examination
with satisfactory age, weight and height
limits, permanency to be only after a satis-
factory probation period of six months, spe-
cial training and examinations being re-
quired for engineers and chauffeurs. Full-
paid members should be retired at the age of
62 unless unusually efficient at that time;
proper and ample means should be provided
for pensioning men for long service or dis-
ability.

The amount of apparatus in service and
regularly responding to alarms should be
sufficient to properly protect the city and
should be on the basis of companies re-
quired, it being assumed that each hose com-
pany will be provided with a hose-carrying
vehicle and that in cities of over 100,000
population one-half the engine companies
required for first-alarm response in high-
value districts will be provided with a steam
or automobile fire engine and a separate
hose wagon; other engine companies may
each have only a combined pump and hose
wagon assigned to it.

Every properly equipped piece of appa-
ratus regularly responding to alarms should
be considered as a separate company,

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

135

whether so organized or not, except that to
be considered as an engine company it must
have an accompanying hose wagon or carry
hose on the pumping equipment. Apparatus
may be hand-, horse- or motor-drawn, and
where 80 per cent of the apparatus is motor-
ized the formula for automobile companies
may be used.

FORMULA FOR NUMBER OF COMPANIES

P =^ Population in thousands for cities or towns
under 50,000

Number of Engine or Hose Companies

1.0 + 0.14 P for Horse-drawn

0.85 + 0.12 P for Automobile

For cities 50.000 to 200,000

4 + 0.08 P for Horse-drawn

3.4 + 0.07 P for Automobile

For cities having a population in excess
of 200,000, the number of engine or hose
companies depends on the distribution and
on the ability to handle two simultaneous
fires without leaving all other sections of the
city unprotected.

In certain cities a number in excess of the
above will be required, depending on the
structural conditions found in the city.
Where the topography and general layout
of the city require for proper distribution
a greater number of companies than deter-
mined by the formula, the deficiency is ap-
plied under the item of distribution of com-
panies.

In cities almost solely residential in char-
acter, such as suburbs in metropolitan dis-
tricts, or where the city has small local
high-value centers needing less protection
than the formula for companies calls for,
the estimate will be based on the population
corresponding to the fire flow believed neces-
sary, except that where such cities have con-
gested shingle-roof frame districts, at least
two additional companies must be provided
to protect the city in case of a second fire.

The number of companies in service
should be assumed as increased by compa-
nies available as outside aid, where, by regu-
lar assignment, the response of such compa-
nies is provided for to the district consid-
ered or to fill in ; such increase to be on the
basis of one outside company equalling one-
half a company in service, but not to exceed
a total increase in excess of one-third the
total number of companies required. Where
adequate provision is not made for mutual
aid from outside aid companies, the full
number of companies available within thirty
minutes should be allowed as a credit equal
to one-third the points which this number
decreases the deficiency in actual companies.

NUMBER OF LADDER COMPANIES
In localities having five buildings three stories or
higher there should be one ladder company; in places
over 20,000 population the number of ladder com-
panies should equal 1 + 0.03 P; over 20p,000 popula-
tion the number of companies will depend on dis-
tribution. Where no ladder company is required,
application should be made on the basis of deficiency
in ladder equipment on other apparatus.

An aerial ladder must be provided in a district
where five buildings are four stories or higher, and
one ladder truck in five shall be of the aerial type.

In general, the distribution of companies
should be such as to provide an engine or
hose company within the following dis-
tances of every point in a district measured
by the most direct route :

DISTRIBUTION TABLE

Horse-drawn Automobile

Engine Engine

District or Hose Ladder or Hose Ladder

Merc'I or M'fg. . 5/2-mile ^-mile ^-mile 1 mile
Closely built res. 1 mile 1J4 miles 1J4 miles 2 miles

Strength of companies should be main-
tained as follows:

Least Number of Men

on Duty, Continuous

Duty or Two-Platoon

Systems

Companies Day Time Night Time

Within or Near High-Value Dists.

Engine Company 7 9

Ladder Company 7 9

Hose Company 5 7

Water Tower Company 1 1

Other Districts

Engine Company 5 7

Ladder Company 5 7

Hose Company 3 5

There are many modifying features to
the above table, such as motor pumpers,
drivers not performing fire duty, auxiliary
squad, aerial ladder companies, etc., which
would necessitate additional or less men per
company than the table calls for.

In departments having call or volunteer
members, with tappers in houses and places
of business or sufficient tower bells, horns
or whistles, four call or eight volunteer
members may be considered as equivalent
to one full-paid member, up to one-third
the least number required to be on duty at
all times. Volunteer members receiving pay
for fire service shall be considered on call
basis. Call or volunteer members sleeping
at fire stations may be considered as the
equivalent of full-paid men in estimating
the night strength. With the two-platoon
system, if proper arrangements are not
made for the response of men on off-shift
for large fires, the least number of men on
duty as given in the above table shall be in-
creased one-fourth. For outside aid com-
panies regularly assigned in the running
card and assumed as equivalent to compa-
nies in service, one-half the combined least

136

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

number of men on duty will be allowed.
For outside aid companies available within
30 minutes but not regularly assigned, the
actual least number of men will be allowed
up to one-third the points which the com-
bined least number of men on duty in these
companies reduce the deficiency in men.

In considering engine capacity where the
domestic water-supply cannot deliver at di-
rect hydrant stream pressure a quantity in
excess of the fire engine capacity in service
plus one-third the required fire flow, there
should be provided a total pumping capac-
ity equal to two-thirds the required fire flow.

In cities of over 200,000 population and
requiring fire flow for two simultaneous
fires, engine capacity must be provided
equal to two-thirds the total fire flow re-
quired for the district.

In cities where the fire flow required in
the high-value district is less than that cor-
responding to the population but there is a
residential district of large extent and high
conflagration hazard, the engine capacity
. required shall be on the basis of a fire flow
of 2,000 gallons in addition to the amount
necessary to protect the high-value district,
to provide protection for a simultaneous
second fire.

Where fire streams are available, in the
district considered, from a high-pressure
fire system, its capacity shall be considered
as engine capacity, except that if residual
pressures are less than 250 pounds, actual
engine capacity should still be provided.

In estimating engine capacity, reserve en-
gines or engines from outside localities for
which a regular assignment is made, they
are to be considered at one-half actual ca-
pacity but not to exceed one-third the total
engine capacity required. When provision
is not made for mutual aid, the full engine
capacity available within 30 minutes shall
be allowed as a credit up to one-third the
points which this capacity decreased the
deficiency; capacity of engines to be that ob-
tained at tests. Where no test capacity is
available, no engine is to be considered at
more than 80 per cent of its rated capacity,
and no engine in excess of 1,000 gallons
capacity.

In districts having a domestic water-sup-
ply capable of delivering at a residual
pressure permitting direct hydrant streams
a fire flow in all parts of the district in ex-
cess of the engine capacity available plus
one-third the required fire flow, application

shall be made under "Adequacy of Water-
Supply" and no deficiency applied for en-
gine capacity, except that where buildings
are four stories or higher some engine ca-
pacity, depending upon the pressures at
which direct hydrant streams are available,
may still be required.

Engines should be kept in good condition ;
the absence of annual tests and tests after
repairs, in accordance with the National
Board of Fire Underwriters' rules for test-
ing, may be considered a deficiency. Hose
wagons should be in good condition and of
sufficient strength for the service and weight
to be carried, and if automobile, should have
motor of good capacity and in good condi-
tion. A fire-boat should be required where
there is an occupied wharf frontage of one
mile, and additional boats such as to give a
proportion of one to each three miles of
wharf frontage; total fire-boat capacity to
be equal to one-half the required fire flow
for the district protected. For privately
owned fire-boats or tugboats with fire pumps
and turrets, if operating only in the harbor
and if arrangements are made for their
regular response to water-front alarms and
for their operation under the chief of the
fire department, credit would be allowed
equal to one-half the points which such
boats decrease the deficiency in municipally
owned fire-boats. If such boats are not
regularly tested, this credit shall equal only
one-third the points.

Suitable appliances should be provided for
handling powerful streams, except where
less than 1,000 gallons of water is avail-
able as direct hydrant streams or from fire
engines, or where not more than five build-
ings in the high-value district considered are
three stories or higher, these should include
turret or monitor nozzles, Siamese connec-
tions, deluge sets and cellar pipes, properly
distributed. A water-tower or ladder pipe
should be provided where five buildings are
four stories or higher ; water-towers are re-
quired in high-value districts having over
ten buildings six stories and higher, such
that one will be within i^ miles of every
building six stories high.

Each piece of apparatus carrying hose or
ladders should have two 2JE^-gallon extin-
guishers; and sufficient apparatus, either
chemical engines, combination hose wagons
or ladder trucks, should carry 35-gallon or
larger chemical tanks to enable two pieces
so equipped to respond to each first alarm.

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

137

Water-tanks operated in conjunction with
booster pumps or compressed air or gas are
considered the equivalent of chemical tanks.
Companies carrying 150 feet of small hose
for use on 2j/2-inch water lines are con-
sidered as one-half value of chemically
equipped apparatus. Where static hydrant
pressures are less than 60 pounds, allow-
ance of one-half credit is made for chemical
tanks on pumping engines.

There should be maintained in reserve at
least one hose wagon for each twelve, or
fraction thereof, steamers in service, or
eight, or fraction thereof, automobiles. One
or more reserve hose wagons should be
loaded with at least 1,000 feet of hose, pre-
ferably 3-inch. Where more hose wagons
are in service than called for, a reserve
loaded wagon is not required.

Each engine or hose company should
carry at least 1,000 feet of 2j/^-inch hose or
larger and be provided with a complete
spare shift ; hose on reserve wagons may be
considered as spare hose where two or less
hose companies are required. For cities of
less than 50,000 population, if more compa-
nies are provided than called for, the total
amount of hose carried by all apparatus, di-
vided by the required number of companies,
would be considered as the average amount
carried per company.

For hose companies responding to first
and second alarms in mercantile or manu-
facturing districts .where direct hydrant
streams are used, at least half the hose car-
ried on wagons should be 2^-inch or 3-
inch; if engines are used, and in all other
districts, at least 200 feet of large hose
should be carried on each wagon ; large hose
not to be required where less than 1,000
gallons of water are available as direct hy-
drant streams or from engines, or where not
more than five buildings in the high-value
district considered are three 'storHes or
higher.

Hose should be in good condition ; a serv-
ice of seven years should be expected be-
fore being in such condition as to require
discarding: hose not over five years old
should be used in important companies, and
if not regularly tested such hose should be
considered as in poor condition.

Complete minor equipment should be pro-

vided for each company, this to include
shut-off nozzles from ^-inch to i%-mch,
and open smooth-bore nozzles from iJ/^-inch
to i^-inch, short ladders, portable extin-
guishers, salvage appliances, including
water-proof covers and sufficient small
equipment to enable the firemen to perform
their work with the greatest facility and
despatch.

Good-quality quick-steaming coal, and
gasoline where automobiles are used, should
be provided in sufficient quantities at con-
venient points and ready for quick handling.

Adequate and preferably department fa-
cilities for making ordinary repairs in any
municipality, and major repairs in cities
over 50,000 population, should be provided.

It is particularly desirable to have equip-
ment standardized, such as wheels, poles,
all hose couplings, playpipes, tips and minor
equipment. Spare parts, fittings, tools,
poles, wheels and tires should be kept on
hand.

Suitable horses for horse-drawn equip-
ment should be provided for all apparatus
necessary for the required number of com-
panies, reserve horses to be provided, equal
to 5 per cent of the number in service, but
not less than two horses when over six
pieces of apparatus are in service. If hired
horses are used or if horses are used for
other than fire department purposes, they
are to be considered as 50 per cent deficient.

Fire stations should be adapted for the
service as applying to ease and quickness
of response; each engine or hose company
should have hose-drying facilities and en-
gine heaters provided for steamers depended
upon for first streams.

Provisions should be made in complete
printed regulations for control of the de-
partment and authority given the chief to
enforce them, subject to review or confirma-
tion by the supervising body or the civil
service commission. Discipline should be
rigidly maintained and fines and suspen-
sions impartially imposed and sustained.

Drills in charge of a competent officer
should be regularly held at a drill tower, for
all company members of the department.
Drills should be classed as deficient if any
for newly enlisted men, or if no drill tower
is provided.

(To bt concluded in the March issue)

138

MO BBIDB PARK, ISLAND OF KAUAI, H. I.

A County Park in Hawaii, to Be Main-
tained by the Life Insurance of the Giver

McBRIDE Park is situated in the
Hawaiian Islands on the Island of
Kauai. It occupies the crest of one
of the low foothills overlooking the sea,
with a fine view upon fertile valleys, cane
fields, and back to the high mountains. The
hillsides are covered with pineapples, and
the lower reaches with sugar cane, but the
top has been planted with a splendid forest
of eucalyptus and pine trees. Ornamental
shrubs and trees, beautiful flowering beds,
fountains, and some fine statuary decorate
the park, which occupies about lOO acres.
It was built as a private park by Mr.
McBride, and is in the open country, ten or
fifteen miles from a town of any size, and

with no American residences within a mile
or more. Mr. McBride made this park him-
self and maintained it for the first few
years. He then had his life insured for
$60,000 with the provision that at his death
this $60,000 should go to the maintaining of
the park. After carrying it for a few
years, he turned it over to the County Com-
missioners of the Island of Kauai with the
understanding that the commissioners were
to keep up the life insurance and at his death
they were to have the park as a county
park with the $60,000 life insurance for
maintenance. This is believed to be one of
the most unique methods of maintaining a
public park that have been attempted.

Provision for Playgrounds in New Suburban Sections

A Kansas City bank president suggests that local laws should provide that in every new-
suburban section opened near any city there shall be one or more squares or blocks of land
set aside permanently for playground and recreational activities. This, he feels, will increase
the value of surrounding property and thus provide ample compensation for the real estate
owners who develop the new area. It will also help to provide opportunities for healthful,
wholesome neighborly activities, for play and recreation, for community organization, and for
such joyous neighborliness as American communities sadly lack and greatly need. — The
Playground.

139

Forward ^teps

£oportod to THE AMERICAN CITY

byJiunicipal Officials & Department Heads

(Jity Engineers

Good Roads for Westerly

Westerly, R. I. — Because Westerly is
located on the Rhode Island-Connecticut
state line, it will have added to its already
good system of improved roads more than 25
miles of state highway by next summer.

The state of Connecticut is just complet-
ing 18 miles of bituminous construction
from Norwich, Conn., to Westerly, through
one of the wildest and most picturesque sec-
tions of eastern Connecticut. Poor roads
and a rugged country have been responsible
for a sparse population in this region. The
road makes a direct route to the shore re-
sorts of southern Rhode Island — Watch
Hill, Narragansett Pier and Newport —
from Hartford, Conn., and the Connecti-
cut River valley to the north of Massa-
chusetts.

Early in December this road was prac-
tically graded, and it is now open to traffic.
The seal coat of bituminous construction
yet remains to be completed. The tar is on
the ground, and the work will probably be
finished by summer. The continuation of
this road through Westerly along the shore
towards Narragansett Pier is being con-
structed by the state of Rhode Island. Eight
miles are practically finished, and the re-
maining gap of ten miles between the West-
erly section and the section built a year ago
at Wakefield has been contracted for.

Westerly is installing a sewerage system,
but because of labor conditions progress has
been very slow. The problem facing the
Highway Commission is the reconstruction
of nearly 7 miles of highways, where the
sewers are being installed. They expect to
secure the services of a trained highway en-
gineer, not only for this work but to take
care of all the roads of the town in the

future. With the rebuilding of its roads

after the damage caused by the installation

of the sewerage system. Westerly expects to

have more and better roads than any other

town in the state.

THOMAS Mckenzie,

City Engineer.

Municipal Handling of Garbage

Grand Rapids, Mich. — This city owns
and operates its garbage collection system,
and very satisfactory results have been ob-
tained under this plan.

In collecting the garbage, both wagons
and motors are used, the vehicles being fitted
with large covered tanks. The garbage
collectors carry with them steel baskets
into which they empty the garbage at
each residence, and from which the refuse
is dumped into the steel tanks on the
trucks.

Each property owner or tenant who wants
the garbage collection service is required to
pay for his own garbage can. Collections
are made regularly once a week in winter
and twice a week in summer. The garbage
must not be mixed with paper, cans, or
ashes; such rubbish is disposed of by the
individual property owner. The garbage is
sold under contract to the American Stock
Food Company located at Sullivan, Mich.,
about twenty miles from this city. When
collected, it is loaded on cars at a central
loading station, and shipped to that point,
where it is fed to hogs.

The broad idea in handling the garbage
municipally is that it discourages people
from burying it, burning it, or otherwise
disposing of it in an unsanitary manner.
The cost to the property owner for the col-
lection of his garbage averages about $1.24
a year.

140

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

THESE TRUCKS ABE EASILY EMPTIED INTO GONDOLA CAES

The accompanying illustration shows the
municipal trucks discharging their contents
into a gondola car for shipment. The city
has in operation two 3j^-ton and one 2^-
ton United trucks. They are driven along-
side the car, and by a simple but ingenious
arrangement the steel bodies are mechanic-
ally lifted over the open car and their con-
tents dumped.

JOHN McNABB,

Mayor.

J^ocreation
Departments

Winter Sports Promotevl

Minneapolis, Minn. — The city of Min-
neapolis, climatically, is ideally situated for
the carrying-on of all out-
door winter sports. Plenty
of ice and snow can usually
be depended upon during
the season, which is about
two months' duration.
Good use is made of all the
facilities. The estimated
attendance at park rinks
during the season of 1920
was approximately i ,000,-
000.

That the people of our
city may enjoy the greatest

of all winter sports — skat-
ing, . 23 rinks are main-
tained and are located so
that a rink is available
within walking distance
of any part of the city.
Each rink is well lighted,
and the ice is kept in as
good condition as is pos-
sible in an outdoor rink.
Warming-houses are pro-
vided at all rinks, where
wraps may be checked and
skates rented.

In connection with the
rinks for general skating,
five hockey rinks are
maintained. Hockey be-
came such a popular sport,
and so many teams were
organized and wished to
play, that it was found
necessary to light the rinks, so as to make
evening play possible.

The following is a brief description of
the lighting system used:

Size of rink 176 x 70 feet

Lighted area 200 x 80 feet

Sixteen 500-watt lights, with white enam-
eled steel reflectors, which total 8,000 watts.
The lights are suspended from two cables,
18 feet from the ice, eight to a cable, each
eight 25 feet apart.

The distance between cables is 40 feet.
A system of this arrangement gives a
light which is equal to sunlight for playing
purposes.

A formal program of winter activities is

promoted, which has proved very popular.

Hockey in Minneapolis has reached a

stage where it is the most entertaining

and bio-^est attraction of the outdoor winter

A SKATING RINK IS WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF ANT FART
OF MINNEAPOLIS

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

141

sports. The season of 1919-1920 saw
twenty- four team's, divided into three
leagues (Senior, Junior No. i, and Junior
Nt). 2) playing in the municipal leagues.
The leagues had a wonderfully successful
season, and all their games were attended
by large crowds, who greatly appreciated
the fine brand of hockey furnished by the
players.

Skiing has long been a popular sport in
Minneapolis, but as carried on by private
organization it did not offer much oppor-
tunity for any one but the expert. During
the latter part of the winter season of
1920, a Municipal Ski Club was organized.
It met with immediate success. Three
tournaments were held, with 88 participants,
and approximately 3,000 spectators were
present. The program of events included
jumps of various descriptions, and embraced
Senior, Open, Novice, and Boys' and Jun-
ior classes. With the increased interest
shown this season, the club expects to make
use of two slides, one for novices and one
for experts.

The Municipal Hiking Club, whose mem-
bers hike the year around, plan on organiz-
ing a Cross-Country Ski Club. This is a
phase of the sport that everyone can in-
dulge in and enjoy.

The Norwegian American Skating Club,
an organization of this city, with an aim
to advancing skating contests, fancy skat-
ing, and skating as a recreational measure,
affiliated itself with this department last
year, and under the organization of the
Municipal Skating Club, a number of inter-
esting meets were held. Each year a series
of five skating meets are run for the boys.
The city is divided into four sections where
races are held for the boys living in those
districts, respectively. The contestants plac-
ing first, second and third in these sectional
meets, skate at a central rink to decide the
city championship. No previous registra-
tion is necessary, the only restriction being
residence in the district where the meet
is held. The boys are divided into three
classes according to height, namely: 5 feet
3 inches and under ; 5 f'?et and under ; 4
feet 9 inches and under. The events were :
50-yard dash; lOO-yard dash, and 220-yard
dash.

A great deal of interest in coasting and
tobogganing is shown each year. Three
natural hills are maintained to accommo-
date the laree number of enthusiasts in this

branch of outdoor activitiy. The hills are
well illuminated, and every afternoon and
evening a great number of people take ad-
vantage of this opportunity.

K. B. RAYMOgSTD,
Supervisor of Recreation.

Doparimenis

An Active Health Center

Glover.sville, N. Y. — The public health
work of Gloversville is carried on from a
central building. This consists of two
floors, on the first of which are located the
offices of the Health Officer and Registrar,
plumbing and sanitary inspectors, and the
Clerk, and the conference room of the city
Board of Health, also the distributing sta-

TTTT? riT.riTT'PTJGTTTT T T* TTT» A T nrtTT r<T»"fcTmTtT»

142

THE AMERICAN CITY-

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

tion for the county laboratory supplies and
antitoxins. These offices are well equipped
and centrally located.

All vital statistics are kept in the Regis-
trar's office for public reference. All the
communicable diseases are reported to the
Health Officer, who sends out a nurse to in-
vestigate the cases, and make reports on
the housing conditions, family history,
sources of infections, instructions to famil-
ies isolated, etc. A report of all these dis-
eases is filed monthly with the Board of
Health.

The plumbing inspector investigates all
new plumbing work, to make sure that the
fittings are standard and that there are no
leaks; also that all regulations are complied
with. He issues plumbing licenses and
looks after all complaints of defective
plumbing and sewer connections.

The sanitary inspector attends to the
complaints of public nuisances and any
other matters of interest to the public
health, by regular weekly inspections.

The Health Center accommodates the
county distributing station for laboratory
supplies and antitoxins. This is of great
assistance in case of epidemics, because of
the time saved by not having to send to the
state, and in winter a great amount of
trouble from freezing and from slow trans-
portation will be eliminated. This station
is in charge of the city technician, who has
certain hours for the distribution of sup-
plies. The city laboratory is located in the
hospital building, which is apart from the
Health Center. The laboratory work is of
a diagnostic type for the most part, and is
under the direct supervision of the city bac-
teriologist. Reports from this division of

the public health work are sent to the state
department monthly.

The meat and dairy inspector scores the *
dairies and approves the milk brought into
the city for sale. He inspects the markets
and other places where food is sold.

On the second floor are the two clinics,
one for the tuberculosis work of the city and
the other for the venereal work. Each
clinic has a public health nurse on duty.
The itubercujosis nurse investigates |any
suspected cases reported by the doctors, to
see that the patient is properly attended, that
he is isolated from the rest of the family,
that his food is correct, and whether the
case should be transferred to a sanitarium.
This nurse does the diphtheria culture work
for the city. The cultures are taken and
sent into the laboratory for examination
and then reported to the Health Officer.

The venereal clinic is very well equipped
with all the necessary apparatus for carry-
ing on the work properly. A physician is in
charge of the public clinics held twice each
week, at which time new patients are exam-
ined and treatments are given. The nurse
investigates new cases and does general
social follow-up work. Outside of the
clinic hours her duties are to look up the
family histories, locate the source of infec-
tion if possible, look up the patients who are
negligent about their treatments, and give
instructions as to the care of the patient in
the home. Blood Wassermanns are taken
at the clinic, but are sent into the state
laboratory for examination. This clinic
occupies two large rooms, one a consulting-
room, the other a waiting-room.

A. L. JOHNSON. M. D.,

Health Officer.

orvuar

d^ieps

. fathered
Here & There

Schools Aid ia Fire Prevention
Campaign

Texas is making effective use of the public
schools in its fire prevention campaign. Fire
prevention education is a fire cure. The fire
waste in lives and property in this country is
appalling. It is believed that instruction,
especially to the young in the schools, vy^ill

greatly reduce this vast fire waste. There-
fore, the State Fire Commission, which un-
der the laws of the state of Texas makes
rates, has passed a resolution granting
a credit of 3 per cent on their key rates to
such cities and towns as teach fire preven-
tion in their schools. This course of in-
struction ig npt onerous j it occupies but little

February, 1921 THE AMERICAN CITY

143

of the time of the pupils of the schools, and
calls for but one or two simple text-books.
This proposal has met with quick approval
by mayors and school superintendents in
Texas.

The school program laid down by the
State Fire Marshal follows:

"In the third and fifth grades ohc period
each week, of from fifteen to thirty minutes,
must be given to the study of fire prevention.
This period must be named 'Fire Prevention'
on the daily program. The book to be used is
'Safeguarding the Home Against Fire.' In
the third grade this book shall be in the hands
of the teacher; in the fifth grade it shall be in
the hands of the pupils.

"In the sixth and seventh grades one theme
each term must be written on fire prevention.
Ill the High School one theme each term must
be written on fire prevention.

"The work in the third and fifth grades, aside
from the use of the above-named book, may
consist of written or oral stories along fire
prevention lines; the discussion and reports of
large conflagrations, both state and national ;
the discussion and reports of fire hazards, and
particularly local hazards and conditions.
'Uncle Jim, the Fire Chief,' an adopted state
text-book in the supplementary reading course
of the intermediate grades, might well be used
in this course.

"The work in the sixth and seventh grades,
of one theme each term, should consist of the
study of the large conflagrations ; a study of the
child's own home and its hazards ; a study of
the protection against and the removal of his
own home hazards; a study of similar school
conditions ; a study of the modern means of fire
protection ; a study of the ways of turning in a
fire alarm.

"The work in the high school, of one theme
each term, should consist of the study of the
great conflagrations of history; a study of the
fire department of the city; a study of fire
hazards in the student's own home and school ;
a study of the best use for civic progress to
which the preventable fire waste might be ap-
plied ; a study of the progress of fire prevention
in the past ten years.

"The theme work in the high school and the
sixth and seventh grades might well be done
during the months of October and April."

A. P. WOOLDRIDGE.

State Fire Marshal.

City Planning in Buffalo

Buffalo, N. Y.— The Council of Bufifalo.
consisting of five Commissioners, including
the Mayor, has been operating under the
commission form of government since Jan-
uary I, 191 6, and the many details con-
nected with the location of garages, laun-
dries, industries, etc., demanded so much
attention that the need of zoning regulations
was soon apparent. Consequently, about

two years ago a City Planning Committee
of six city officials (heads of bureaus) was
appointed to devise a comprehensive plan-
ning and zoning system for the city of Buf-
falo and to report to the Council.

The committee was instructed to prepare
a zoning system first, but the necessity for '
a new municipal building became so pro-
nounced that the matter of a civic center
forced itself for consideration, and no little
time and study have been given this matter
concurrently with the study of the zoning
problem. It is hoped soon to present some
definite zoning regulations.

In the studies made, due attention was
given the danger of super-centralization in
a large, growing city like Buffalo. Sub-
centers were considered highly advisable
for the group-'ng of minor units. Three city
planning experts were consulted upon this
matter in an advisory capacity, and a report
favoring the fjolicy of a civic center was
made by the committee to the Council. The
Council, however, deemed it advisable to
submit the question of desire for a civic
center to a vote of the people at the Novem-
ber general election.

Meanwhile the Buffalo City Planning
Association was formed, representing over
100 different organizations with a member-
ship of over 30,000, for the purpose of co-
operating with the City Planning Committee
and of educating the public in the principles
of city planning.

This association did a wonderful work in
the matter of publicity. Talks and stereop-
ticon lectures were given before many or-
ganizations, clubs and societies at noon,
afternoon and night, whenever the oppor-
tunity presented. The women were of
great service in the cause.

The vote was 42,000 in favor with 30,000
against, and considering the unfavorable
conditions — strong newspaper apposition,
many other public questions claiming inter-
est and possible large expenditures, and a
stormy election day — it is deemed a notable
victory — one reflecting the strong civic
spirit that prevails in Buffalo, and it is
hoped that this article may be helpful to
other cities, even as a previous article pub-
lished in The American City on Mil-
waukee's similar victory last April was help-
ful to Buffalo.

harry j. march.

Executive and Engineer, City Planning
Committee,

144

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

A New City Office

Sacramento^ Calif. — Sacramento has
added to its staff of municipal officers a
City Landscape Architect. Realizing that
unless such an office were kept entirely free
from political control it would have no at-
traction for the type of man the city wanted
to fill it, the position has been made ap-
pointive and not elective.

The duties of the City Landscape Archi-
tect include most of the functions ordinarily
expected of the visiting consultant, along
lines of city planning and of general land-
scape architecture. In addition to these
duties, he must, in connection with the park
board, take general charge of planting
within the city. Sacramento has a wise
ruling which forbids the moving, planting
or trimming of street trees without the con-
sent of the park board. The Landscape
Architect is to have charge of this work
also, together with the park board.

The position has been recently filled for
the first time by the appointment of Freder-
ick Noble Evans. Mr. Evans comes to
California from the University of Illinois,
where he has been in charge of the profes-
sional school of landscape gardening, lec-

turing also to the classes in city planning.
Some time ago Dr. John Nolen prepared a
most valuable report on the parks of Sacra-
mento. This report and the plans which ac-
company it will be followed as far as pos-
sible in the working out of the park system
for the city. In cities where city landscape
architects are permanently employed, the
consultant' will have the advantage of having
the ground prepared for his suggestions,
and of an intelligent and competent support
in working out the plans.

There is little doubt that the time will
come when most cities of size will create
such an office, for the reason that it brings
together certain functions of city adminis-
tration too often separated. The person
who fills the office should be able to ad-
minister the affairs of the parks both from
the business and from the creative side, and
should be sufficiently trained in the prin-
ciples of city planning to work toward the
coordination of all branches of city activity,
such as traffic, zoning, districting, selection
of building sites, etc. Most of all, he must
have an interest in the individual lot owner
and make him realize his civic responsi-

b'^^*y- LUCY LOWE.

The Problem of Unemployment

IN a statement by the American Associa-
tion for Labor Legislation, a number of
valuable suggestions are made for com-
munities now facing problems of serious
unemployment. A part of the report fol-
lows :

"The appointment of an unemployment
committee by the mayor, if improper politi-
cal influence is guarded against, insures
semi-official standing and greater prestige.
Membership should include all classes con-
cerned, such as employers, workingmen,
public officials, social workers, civic leaders,
and representatives of churches, lodges and
women's clubs. To carry out preventive
measures, permanent organization rather
than temporary activity during the crisis is
essential. Educational work, based upon
careful information gathered from employ-
ment offices, relief agencies and all other
available sources, should be undertaken in
order to bring the facts of the unemploy-
ment situation home to every citizen, with
emphasis upon civic and industrial responsi-
bility.

"Start or push forward special public
work, using private contributions in time
of urgent need if public funds cannot be
obtained. This should not be "made" or
unnecessary work, but needed public im-
provements in as great variety as possible,
so as to furnish employment to other sorts
of persons besides unskilled laborers. Give
preference to resident heads of families if
there is not enough work for all applicants.
Employ for the usual hours and wages, but
rotate employment by periods of not less
than three days. Supervise the work care-
fully. To avoid the difficulties of emer-
gency action, make systematic plans for the
regular concentration of public work in
dull years and seasons, by special provi-
sions in the tax levy, or by other appropri-
ate method. Urge the repeal of laws re-
stricting cities to contract work. Secure
the aid of state and national officials in
stimulating local action. Steady the em-
ployment of the regular force, retaining
employes on part time in preference to re-
ducing their numbers."

145

Bituminous Macadam Pavements in a
Ne\v Jersey Town

By E. B. Lloyd

To'wn Superintendent, Montclair, N. J.

DURING the seasons
of 1919 and 1920,
the town of Mont-
clair, N. J., carried out
an extensive paving pro-
gram, a small part of which
consisted of the resur-
facing of about five miles
of streets with bitumin-
ous macadam built by the
penetration method. All
these streets were on more
or less of a grade, and it
was desired to have the
surfaces left in such
shape that there would be
the least tendency towards
skidding or slipping in
wet weather. It was
therefore decided to put
on the bitumen in one ap-
plication and to omit the
seal coat for at least a
year.

In each case there was
an old telford foundation
upon which to build.
After the old macadam
surface had been removed and spread to
serve both as gutter and shoulder, the
telford was renewed where needed. Any
further inadequacies which became apparent
after rolling were made up with the old
macadam, and the foundation was brought
to an accurate grade. The depth of the
wearing surface was made 3 inches after
compression with a lo-ton roller, and con-
sisted of stone passing a 2i/^-inch screen
and retained upon a ij^-inch screen. This
wearing surface was rolled until absolutely
firm and until there was no movement un-
der the roller, and was then given an ap-
plication of asphalt at the rate of i^ gal-
lons per square yard of surface. After the
application of the binder coat, stone pass-
ing a ^-inch screen and retained upon a
3^-inch screen was spread on the surface
to fill the voids, and the pavement was then
well rolled. Before opening to traffic, the

APPLTING THE BITUMINOUS BINDER, AND THE FINISHED
BOAD IN MONTCLAIB, N. J.

surface was given a second covering with
the ^-inch stone, and enough was spread
to leave a slight surplus after entirely filling
the voids. Approximately five miles of
streets were resurfaced in this manner dur-
ing the season of 1919, the work extending
from early May until late October.

In the spring of 1920 some defects ap-
peared in the last-built roads, which could
largely be accounted for by weather condi-
tions at the time of construction. The
earlier roads came through the severe win-
ter without damage or the appearance of the
slightest defects, and it was decided not to
give these streets a seal coat until such time
as it may be required in the future. After
all defects had been corrected in the streets
designated for sealing, the surfaces were
carefully swept both by a mechanical
sweeper and by hand, and a seal coat of ^-
gallon per square yard was applied, cov-

146

THE AMEl^lCAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

ered with the ^-inch stone, well rolled, and
opened to traffic. Asphalt of the same pene-
tration (90) as the binder course was used
for the seal coat.

In addition to the slightly rough ^•urface
obtained as a result of this method of con-
struction, the postponement of the seal coat

for a year appears to be advantageous in
that any defect in workmanship or material
is sure to appear after the street is sub-
jected to a winter's weather and traffic, and
it can then be easily repaired before the seal
coat is applied and the street is finally
completed. , _ * •

Street Lights to Advertise Charity
*^ Campaigns

A .NEW and unique feature of the use
of street lights for the advertising of
a charity campaign was evolved and
used in Schenectady, N. Y., to call atten-
tion to the Fourth Red Cross Roll Call, held
during the first week of December, 1920.
A large Geneva cross covered with red
cheesecloth was placed on either side of
each street-lighting globe along the main
street. In order that there should be no
diminution in the amount of light from the
street-lighting standard, no cloth was placed
on the sides toward the roadway and the
sidewal^.^"'^?

The idea of using the street lights in this
manner was originated by W. D'A. Ryan,
director of the Illuminating Engineering
Laboratory of the General Electric Com-
pany. This is probably the first time that
street lights have been used in such a man-
ner, but it is believed that the idea will be
copied by other cities when local or national
drives or campaigns are being actively car-
ried on.

The Geneva crosses, which were 4 feet
wide and built of basswood, were firmly
secured to the lighting poles by blocks at
the bottom drawn together by 16-inch bolts.
The framework with the cloth already on
it was erected by carpenters from a tower
wagon belonging to the street railway com-
pany. The fact that Schenectady went over
the top for the first time in a Red Cross
drive speaks well for the success of this
advertising feature. Similar designs which
are distinctive to certain local or national
charitable organizations may well be fea-
tured in this way during all types of civic
campaigns.

A UNIQUE FEATURE IN CHABITT CAMPAIGN
ADVERTISING

147

New Segment Block Storm Sewer

An Outline of a Design of a Sewerage System on Flat
Grade with Provisions for Extensions

By Frank LeCocq

City Engineer, Aberdeen, S. Dak.

THE city of Aberdeen, S. Dak., located
in the north central part of the state,
has a population of about 16,000 and
is steadily growing.

The territory within the city limits is
about 2,000 acres. The general slope is
from west to east and from north to south,
extending towards Moccasin Creek, south-
east of the city. The surface of practically
the entire area within the city limits and
the surrounding territory is extremely flat,
varying not more than 10 feet in elevation,
the extreme difference in elevation being 30
feet. The topography is characterized by a
series of slight elevations and depressions,
and a large drainage area enters the city
from the northeast through a ravine. Moc-
casin Creek is very sluggish and acts simply
as a storage reservoir for surface water.
After traversing a large territory this creek
empties into the James River. The Moc-
casin forms an irregular loop, over 50 miles
in length, south of the city, and comes back

within 7 miles southeast of the city. In this
50 miles there is only 13 feet of fall.

The Present Sewers

The city has two separate sewer systems.
The sanitary sewers are used for building-
connections only. All of the sanitary sew-
age has to be pumped. The present storm
sewers are small in size, and the grades are
very flat, making it difficult to keep the
sewers clean, and they are very inefficient.
During heavy rains large areas of the city
are flooded and considerable damage is
done. • I * ;

About eight years ago a storm-sewer sys-
tem was designed by a former city engineer.
Plans were submitted for a complete storm-
sewer system which was supposed to meet
the future growth of the city. According
to the plan the city would be traversed with
fourteen small trunk lines ranging in size
from 24- to 36-inch. All these outlets would
he located east of the city along Moccasin

THE SECTION WHERE THE gO-INCH SEGMENT BLOCK SEWEB IN ABEBDEEN, S. DAE., IS

ENI.ABGED TO 96 INCHES

148

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

Creek.

Two of these small trunk lines were built
in 1914, making a total of four outlets at
the present time. Each of these lines serves
certain particular districts, and they are
too small to provide for future extensions.
After spending about $50,000 on these two
small trunk lines, it was found that other
lines would have to be put in immediately
to serve territory where paving was being
petitioned for. Several petitions for pav-
ing had been filed with the Board of Com-
missions, but had to be denied, as there were
no storm sewers to serve these particular
streets.

Investigations

The writer was instructed to make a care-
ful study of the storm-sewer problem. It
was found from the records that the aver-
age annual rainfall for Aberdeen is about
30 inches. A study of the rainfall records
covering a period of about 25 years showed
that out of 47 storms there were 7 storms
in which the rainfall exceeded i inch per
hour. There were 4 storms during which
the rate was from i^- to i inch per hour,
ahd the rate during the remaining 36
storms was less than J/^-inch per hour. It
was found that the storm sewer serving the
business district of the city was entirely in-
adequate and had to be relieved. A large
number of small 8- and lo-inch laterals were
completely filled with mud. After a care-
ful study it was concluded that a dififerent
system would have to be designed in order
to take care of the present and future
growth of the city.

Design of System

On June 16, 1919, the writer submitted
complete plans and specifications for a
storm-sewer system. This system is com-
posed of a trunk line running north and
south through the central part of the city.
The outlet is southeast of the city limits
and enters Moccasin Creek. All of the
present east-and-west lines are intercepted
by the trunk sewer; other laterals from 18
to 36 inches to be added in the future will
enter the trunk line from the east and the
west. The main trunk line is 2i/^ miles
long, ranging in size from 96 to 60 inches.

This system resembles a symmetrically
shaped tree with the main trunk line gradu-
ally growing smaller from the outlet up,
and with branches spaced equally extending
into outlying districts. The plans also pro-

vide for an open ditch 6 miles in length,
extending southeasterly from the outlet and
cutting off the 50-mile loop of Moccasin
Creek. A fall of 13 feet would be obtained
by the construction of this ditch, and the
sewer outlet would be connected directly
with the James River.

The system as designed will take care of
about an inch of rain per hour. It was
found that the cost of designing the system
to provide for storms of the greatest inten-
sity would be too great. The sewers have
to be laid on very flat grades, and in order
to provide for the maximum rainfall the
sizes would be prohibitive. The only thing
possible under these conditions was to util-
ize all the fall available, which is 2 feet to
the mile, and to design such a system as is
feasible in cost but which would take care
of the drainage in a reasonable way and
greatly improve present conditions. The
main outlet will have a capacity, flowing
full, of about 12,000 cubic feet per minute
with a velocity of 3.7 feet per second.

The ultimate cost of this system will be
much less than if the former plan was car-
ried out, since the cost of large sewers per
unit of carrying capacity is much less than
for small sewers. With a central trunk line
the materials can be easily and economically
added from time to time as they become
necessary.

The plans for this system were adopted
by the city. The contract for the main
trunk line was let on August i, 1919, to J. J.
Dunnegan, of Shenandoah, Iowa. The lay-
ing of all of the 96-inch and 90-inch pipe.
4,400 feet in length, has been completed
this year. The sewers included in the con-
tract will be finished in 1921. The cost of
the work will be $325,000.

Material Used and Methods of Construction

The sewer is being built of segment block
of the interlocking type. This block is
manufactured by the Red Wing Sewer Pipe
Company, of Red Wing, Minn. This type
of block has just been placed on the market,
and the Aberdeen job was the first on which
the new block was used. The block is eas-
ily laid and has been satisfactory for this
type of construction. It is not laid with
cement joints, only a thin grout being used
in the bottom and on top of the sewer after
a section has been laid. Between the top
and bottom sections of the forms, four jack-
screws are used for raising and lowering

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

149

the top part of the form. This type of
form has proved to be of great value, as it
is easily moved and put back in the proper
position.

Several hundred feet of the 96-inch sewer
had to be laid in quicksand. Progress w?s
very slow, but the sewer was laid satisfac-
torily by placing a bed of gravel under it up
to the quarter line.

When the work is completed, Aberdeen

will have the foundation for an adequate
system of drainage and will undoubtedly
enter into an extensive paving program,
which has so far been held up for lack of
proper street drainage. Although the city
is located in a swamp, it will nevertheless
become a place where frog-ponds will be
things of the past. When completed, it will
mean more to this city than any other pub-
lic improvement ever undertaken here.

Does It Pay to Clean City Streets
in Winter?

Snow Removal Expedites Transportation and Saves the Road Surface

THE scene depicted below is a familiar
one in cities where snow is not re-
moved from business streets shortly
after a storm has ceased. Can you im-
agine the damage incurred to a pavement
when a dual rear wheel of a motor truck
having four or five loose chains locked over
it starts thrashing around like the one in the
illustration? The chains strike a fearful
blow on the snow and ice, and soon reach
the pavement and continue the damaging
work. Perhaps many engineers will think
this is only an incident, but in a number
of cities all but the very hardest pave-
ments have been damaged to considerable
extent in this manner. There is not only
the street to be considered — think of the
damage to the truck when as each chain
strikes the pavement, the wheel is instantly
and momentarily checked in its speed, thrust-
ing a great additional torque on the axle.
Transportation facilities in cities are greatly
hindered by snow in the streets. Snow-
should not only be removed from the center
of the roadway to permit a single or double
line of traffic, but should be removed from
near the curbs in order that traffic may
have ample space to operate and manoeuver.
The various methods of snow removal
which have been developed within the last
two years include the use of tractors with
either pusher-type or V-shaped locomotive
plows, several types of machines for load-
ing snow into trucks, including the "snow
tank" and material-handling machinery
slightly modified to handle snow and ice.
The use of motor street sweepers has been
advocated and will, undoubtedly, be suc-
cessful if used from the very start of the

THRASHINGS THAT RUIN BOTH PAVEMENT
AND TRUCK

snowfall to continually push the snow to
the sides of the street where it may be taken
up by hand or by different types of ma-
chinery. Such devices promptly used
should prevent damage to pavement and
trucks with its consequent losses and con-
gestion of traffic.

ISO

Automobile Headlight Regulations

By James R. Cravath

Illuminating Engineer

IT is interesting to note that at the present
time states comprising about 25 per cent
of the total automobile registrations in
the United States have adopted the rules
recommended jointly by the Headlight Spe-
cification Committee of the Illuminating En-
gineering Society and the Standards Com-
mittee of the Society of Automotive Engi-
neers. Headlight regulations adopted by
many states heretofore, with the idea of re-
ducing the dangers of glaring headlights,
have until the last two years necessarily
been rather indefinite in specifications, be-
cause those expert in lighting matters had
not themselves made the necessary tests to
form^ate definite specifications as to what
could^e permitted on the road without
causing:* dangerous headlight glare. The
committees referred to, however, have
worked "out such specifications, so that they
are available for all states and municipalities
desiring to pass regulations which represent
the best unbiased expert opinion available.
These rules specify nothing as to the kind
of appliances to be used on an automobile,
but specify in candle-power at various points
the results that must be attained by automo-
biles using the highway, if they are not to
emit dangerous glare or dazzle and at the
same tihie give sufficient light for safe driv-
ing and reasonable speed. They specify the
candle-power in maximum and minimum
values to be permitted at certain points 100
feet ahead of the car. The measurement of
this candle-power would have been a rather
elaborate operation a few years ago, but,
thanks' to recent developments in light-
measuring apparatus, a small and relatively
inexpensive, easily operated instrument is
now available called a foot-candle meter,
with which this can be done with reasonable
accuracy by any intelligent man after a lit-
tle instruction. The states which had
adopted these standard specifications up to

October 1, 1920, were Connecticut, New
York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Wisconsin,
California, and the province of Ontario,
Canada.

There was discussion at the last Illumi-
nating Engineering Society convention,
both formally and informally, regarding
feasible methods of enforcing these head-
light laws. It appeared to be the consensus
of opinion of the experts in these discus-
sions, that while punishment of the worst
offenders will doubtless be necessary in the
enforcement of any such law, education of -^
garage mechanics and car owners in the »,
making of proper headlight adjustments
and the equipment of public garages with
the necessary things to make such adjust-
ments quickly and easily, are to be the most
important elements in improving the gen-
eral headlight situation. It was suggested
that probably municipal testing stations-
vvould have to be established, where tests
could be made with an instrument to deter-
mine whether a given car was violating the
law, or certain officers would have to be
equipped with instruments for making such
tests on suitable stretches of road. The
better equipment of public garages for head-
light testing and repair and adjustments
was strongly urged, and with proper law
enforcement, it was pointed out, it would
pay many garages so to equip themselves.
The point was also made that headlight
adjustments are difficult with most of the
car equipment now on the market, and bet-
ter appliances for focusing and pointing of
headlights were urged.

It was evident from the discussion that
the enforcement of these headlight laws
will not take care of itself any more than
the enforcement of various other laws on
our books. The whole matter, however, is
gradually drawing nearer to a satisfactory
solution.

"If we are to regenerate our cities, to preserve their beauties, and to make them
better, more is required than the good intentions of a group of technical experts
or public servants; for this end a veritable civic conscience must be developed in
all citizens."

151

HOLT TRACTOR PULLING BLADE GRADERS IN GANG MAINTENANCE WORK

A Comparison of Road Maintenance

Methods

Team, Tractor and Truck Patrols Analyzed

By George E. Johnson

State Engineer, Lincoln, Nebraska

THE patrol maintenance system organ-
ized in Nebraska the first of April,
1920, has been in operation nearly a
year, has covered a fairly good mileage,
and offers a rather interesting and repre-
sentative report.

At the beginning of the season, the five
division engineers, each of whom has di-
rect charge of a portion of the work on
the state highway system, held meetings
with the county boards of their respective
divisions, at which time they took up
the matter of county road maintenance
and available funds. In nearly every
county there were funds left over from the
1919 automobile license tax, and this
amount, added to the minimum amount
which the county board and the county
treasurer estimated would be collected in
that county for the 1920 automobile tax,
constituted the total available fund for the
maintenance expenditures on the state
roads of each county.

Maintenance Methods

There are three methods of maintaining
these roads, namely, by team, by truck, and
by tractor. The team patrol consists of one
man, who furnishes his own team and equip-
ment, and who is paid an average of $175
per month. It can be seen that there is no
depreciation cost, nor feed cost, nor interest
on teams to take into consideration when
figuring the cost per mile for such mainte-

nance. The equipment necessary may be
listed as follows:

1 six-foot blader

1 farm wagon

1 planer

1 scraper or fresno

1 plow

Small tools

6 miles average team patrol section

Two men are required for the truck pa-
trol method, and each is paid $120 per
month ; the gas and oil are furnished by the
county boards, which are, in turn, reim-
bursed by the state. This method is used
where there is a large mileage to cover.
The trucks used are part of the equipment
turned over to the state by the war depart-
ment, for use on state roads. The price of
these trucks to the counties was the amount
of freight and expense put on by the state,
and averaged near $1,000, varying according
to the type of body. The price of the
trucks, were the county to purchase them at
market value, would average from $3,500
to $5,000 apiece. This would necessarily
increase the cost of maintenance accord-
ingly. The equipment usually found is as
follows:

1 truck

1 scraper

1 maintainer

2 planers

1 scraper or fresno

1 plow

17 miles average truck patrol section

The tractor patrol method also calls for
two men, and is used in counties where such
equipment was already on hand at the be-

15^

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

ginning of 1920, the county having pur-
chased it for county work, or preferring it
to the other methods used.

The equipment necessary for such a main-
tenance patrol would consist of the follow-
ing:

2 highway maintainors

2 small tractors

Plow

Wisconsin planer

Buck scraper

Shovels

14 miles average tractor patrol section

Investigation of Methods

In order to determine the best methods of
maintenance, the writer visited twenty-two
different states and investigated the methods
used and the results obtained. It was con-
cluded that the conditions in Wisconsin
were the most similar to those in Nebraska,
and that that state was getting a great deal
more benefit from the money expended than
any of the others. The Chief of the Bu-
reau of Roads spent two weeks studying
the methods of the Wisconsin Highway De-
partment, and the results of his investiga-
tion were explained to the county officials
before any definite system of maintenance
was adopted.

Before completing a maintenance system,
it was necessary to consider that the state
had in its possession over 200 army trucks
which were available for use on state roads.
This fact made it necessary that a plan for
patrol maintenance of this type be recom-
mended to counties having a large mileage
to cover. Also, in some of the counties in
which portions of State and Federal Aid
projects were partially completed during
1919 it was advised last fall that these coun-
ties do something toward maintaining the
finished portion of these projects. As at
that time teams were hard to find, and the
army trucks not yet available, it was recom-
mended that the counties purchase light
farm tractors with which to pull the high-
way maintenance equipment. Thus the
three types of maintaining state roads de-
veloped and were put in operation April i,
1920.

Comparative Analysis of Metliods

Now after four months of continuous
operation it is possible to make a compara-
tive analysis of the three methods used. In
making the comparison, a three-month
period of operation has been taken — April,
May and June. The writer has not taken
into consideration the conditions of the

soils of the various roads maintained, nor
the weather conditions, upon which the con-
dition of all roads is dependent. This fac-
tor naturally enters into the costs, and either
increases or lowers them, according to the
existing conditions.

The following cost figures are quoted as
an average, representative of the cost of the
three kinds of patrol maintenance, per day,
per mile, on roads which are a part of the
state highway system. Attention should be
called to the fact that it was necessary to
buy a large part of the small equipment, as
well as the machinery. Nevertheless, the
counties taken show a representative amount
and kind of work. It was necessary to in-
clude depreciation costs on all state-owned
equipment, as well as on that owned by the
county, in order to arrive at the actual cost
per mile for the different types of mainte-
nace.

AVERAGE COST OF TRACTOR PATROL

APRIL, MAY, JUNE, 1920— 14-MILE

PATROL SECTION

Based on 5 Tractor Patrols

Total maintenance cost of five counties for
three-month period, plus depreciation on

equipment $7,532.15

Total maintenance cost of one county for
three-montix period, plus depreciation on

equipment 1,506.4,S

Cost of one patrol for one month 502.14

Cost of one patrol for one day 19.31

Cost of one patrol per mile per day 1.38

TOTAL MAINTENANCE COST OF TRUCK

PATROL APRIL, MAY, JUNE, 1920—

17 MILES AVERAGE PATROL SECTION

Based on 11 Truck Patrols

Total maintenance cost of 11 truck patrols
for three-month period, plus depreciation

on equipment — 17-mile section $13,692.64

Total maintenance cost of one truck patrol

for three-month period 1,244.79

Cost of one patrol per month 414.94

Cost of one patrol per month 15.96

Cost of one patrol per mile per day .94

TOTAL MAINTENANCE COST OF TEAM

PATROL APRIL, MAY, JUNE. 1920—

6 MILES AVERAGE PATROL SECTION

Based on 10 Team Patrols

Total maintenance cost of 10 team patrols
for three-month period (several team pa-
trols from one county) $6,493.26

Total maintenance cost of one team patrol

for three months 649 . 32

Cost of one patrol for one month 216.44

Cost of one patrol per day per mile 8.32

Cost of one patrol per mile per day 1.38

From the figures shown above it can be
seen that the average cost of maintaining
one mile per day by the tractor is $1.38.
One must take into consideration, however,
that this figure is based on a 14-mile patrol
section; while the average cost of main-
taining one mile per day by team is $1.38, it

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

153

1.28 will bring-

is based on a 6-miIe pa-
trol section. It would
seem from the figures that
the tractor patrol covered
twice the mileage covered
by the team patrol, and
at the same unit rate.
This is not the case, how-
ever, as the cost of the
team patrol per day is
$8.32, and the section cov-
ered is 6 miles. In order
to find the cost of the
team patrol for 14 miles,
it would be necessary to
consider the same mileage.
This means that the cost
oi lYs team patrols would
be added to the cost of i
team patrol in order that
the mileage covered should
be 14; thus, $11.29 added to
the cost of the team patrol for 14 miles
to nearly the same figure as the tractor
patrol cost for 14 miles, or $19.41, a differ-
ence of only 10 cents. The cost of the
team and tractor patrol for a 14-mile sec-
tion is practically the same.

For an all-round careful patrol the team
cannot be excelled, as it is much easier to
stop and fix ruts, small chuck-holes and the
like when driving a team than when driving
a tractor or a truck. In so far as the amount
of work accomplished is concerned, this
factor is entirely dependent upon the care
of the patrolman, for a conscientious pa-
trolman will work diligently, doing the most
careful work possible in the shortest length
of time. This is one reason why the Wis-
consin State Highway Department favofs
the team patrol. However, in Nebraska,
where there is a large mileage to cover, it
has been found that the truck is perhaps
the most economical and the best type of
patrol.

The costs quoted are, as stated before,
averages based on average patrol sections.
The cost per day per mile does not actually
mean that one mile is gone over but once
for the cost quoted, but as many times as
necessary.

In considering the influence of weather
and soil, it must be appreciated that the con-
dition of the road will determine the num-
ber of times the road will have to be gone
over. The figures, on face value, would in-
dicate that the truck maintenance method is

THIS TYPE or PATBOL STATION HOtSES THE MAINTEKANCE
EQUIPMENT AND IS A HEADQUARTERS FOR THOSE WORKING
ON STATE ROADS IN THE DISTRICT

the most desirable in all cases; however,
there enters the matter of the reliability of
machinery, against that of the teams. For
instance, on a newly constructed grade,
with deep fills, it is evident that the larger
part of a patrolman's time will be spent in
using the slip, if the patrol is team, while
on a more level road a truck and a highway
maintainer would take care of 90 per cent
of the work.

There is one more thing that should be
taken into consideration with regard to the
cost per mile per day for the different kinds
of patrol maintenance ; that is, that the cost
of each patrol section will materially de-
crease if the road is kept in first-class con-
dition the greater part of each season. The
back slopes in the cuts, especially, will soon
become grass-covered, and thus will re-
quire little maintenance, as they do not
wash. At the present time the new cuts
have a tendency to wash, and unless there
is some kind of ditch check, the slope will
be worn in a short time. The patrolman
should be vigilant in noting any tendency of
this nature, and immediately place brush to
protect the ditch washing, until such a time
as he can furnish better protection.

The cost of patrol maintenance is a fac-
tor that is almost entirely under the control
of the patrolman, for after the road is com-
pleted the problem of drainage and road
surface belong entirely to him, and he must
render the invaluable service of keeping it
in first-class condition for the traveling
public.

154

Novel Provisions of the Milwaukee
Zoning Ordinance

By Arthur C. Comey

Consultant on City Planning, Cambridge, Mass.

MILWAUKEE is the third largest city
in the United States to put zoning
into effect. The ordinance presented
by the Board of Public Land Commissioners
and adopted by the City Council on Novem-
ber 15, 1920, combines many of the best fea-
tures of ordinances in other cities, and in
several respects goes a step in advance of
any of them.

Relation Between Floor Space and Street
Space

As the level central portion of the city
wa§ originally laid out with practically all
streets 80 feet M^ide, thus facilitating the
spreading out of the business section, the
skyscraper problem could be attacked with
more vigor than usual. A height limit of
125 feet, which approaches the ideal, was
set for the district of tallest buildings. Com-
pare this figure with that of any other city
of 500,000 or more, or, in fact, with height
limits of much smaller cities. Boston alone
has as low a limit, necessitated in its case
by a condition opposite to that in Milwaukee
— the almost total lack of wide streets.

Towers up to 225 feet, the height limit
previously in force, are permitted over one-
quarter of the area. of a building, but this
will not materially reduce the light and air
afforded nor increase the amount of traffic
arising from the buildings. In fact, Mil-
waukee is probably the only large city which
has established a relation between floor
space and street space that will permit its
business buildings to be served by a number
of automobiles in any degree adequate for
modern needs. Most cities are already
faced with the utter impossibility of provid-
ing room for the operation, not to mention
the storage, of even a fraction of the auto-
mobiles that would otherwise penetrate
their central sections. Milwaukee, on the
other hand, is perfecting its system of
streets still further by projecting two great
distributing arteries through its heart, one
of which, 200 feet wide, is already author-
ized.* Its street system and its zoning pro-

* See The American City, August, 1920, page 135.

visions together make acute traffic conges-
tion a remote problem. The gain to busi-
ness alone of being readily reached by auto-
mobile would well repay this far-sighted
policy, while other benefits, such as in-
creased area of high land values and rela-
tively low cost of transportation, affect a
large part of the city's life.

Ventilation and Light Throughout the
City Area

The indiscriminate location of apartment
houses throughout the residential districts
has just begun. Milwaukee has therefore
been able to step in in time and stop this
tendency. Apartment houses are absolutely
excluded from large sections of the city by
the requirement that in the 40-foot height
districts no building used in any part for
residence purposes by more than one family
shall be in excess of two and one-half
stories, the half -story being so defined that
it cannot contain an independent apartment.
Note that this provision is so drawn as to
avoid unnecessary restriction of one-family
dwellings, which may, if desired, be built to
40 feet. With this exception, residences are
everywhere limited as to stories to some-
what lower heights than other buildings in
the same height district, thereby nullifying
any tendency to crowd in extra stories by
reducing ceiling heights to the absolute
minimum the law allows.

Every room must have windows equal to
one-tenth its floor area opening on a street
or alley, or on a yard or court of sufficient
dimensions to give a fair amount of light
and air even in the most dense building dis-
tricts. In most of the city, where prevailing
existing conditions have not forced crowd-
ing to be permitted, yards and courts are
required to be so wide that there will be a
really adequate supply. Furthermore, in
the "D" area districts, which comprise most
of the sections recently built or now build-
ing up, these required windows must open
on a street or yard of reasonable size, and
there must be at least one side yard; no
building shall occupy more than 30 per cent

FEitKUARY, I92I

THE AMERICAN CITY

T5S

THE FACTORY ON THE CORNER LOT DETRACTS FROM THE VALLE OF NEIGHBORING

RESIDENCES

of an interior lot ; and not more than twenty
families shall be housed on any one acre of^
land, thus producing practically garden
suburb conditions. In these and similar
ways this city is providing as no other yet
has for openness — ventilation and light
throughout its area.

No Garages on Apartment House Lots

In residential districts small private
garages are permitted as accessory to
dwellings, but garages of any sort are ab-
solutely prohibited on lots with apartment
houses. Prior to the passage of the zoning
ordinance one building was erected which
provided space for one hundred automo-
biles on its first floor. A convenience for
dwellers in the apartment house — granted;
but consider the baneful effect on surround-
ing property, particularly opposite it, of in-
troducing this business on a residential
street. Furthermore, once built, how can
cars of others than residents of the build-
ing be kept out of it? In other words, how
prevent it from becoming to all intents a
public garage?

The argument in favor of a small garage
on a lot with an apartment house was dis-
posed of by the consideration that only a
few of its many families could benefit by its
use, while all would suffer from the undis-
puted element of nuisance involved in any
garage. Moreover, this would in such
cases be accentuated, as among other things
the proximity of apartment houses would
increase the noise, and the garage would
usurp much of the meager play space for
children and at the same time introduce a
new element of danger to them.

Definite as to Details

In its details the Milwaukee zoning ordi-
nance includes many novel provisions de-
signed to make it more exactly effective in
the work it is to do. Reference can be made
to a few of these only in this article. Uni-
form setback provisions apply in residence
districts in "C" and "D" area districts
where at least one-quarter of the frontage is
built up. No new buildings except those be-
tween projecting buildings are permitted
to project in front of the average setback
unless they leave open spaces on each side
twice as wide as they are deep. This will
permit shallow bays and entrance porches
and reasonable use of a narrow corner lot
facing an intersecting street without ma-
terial injury to the open front yards estab-
I'shed by the majority.

Accessory uses — the "no man's land" of
most zoning ordinances — are much more
explicitly defined so as to prevent undue de-
velopment of home industries or the nui-
sance of rented garage space. Permission
for a certain amount of manufacturing in a
local business district is strictly confined to
products the major port'on of which are to
be sold at retail to the ultimate consumer.
The method of fixing the precise boundaries
shown on the map, as being either the cen-
ter lines of streets or lines 120 feet back
from the less restricted street unless other-
wise indicated by dimensions, renders dis-
pute impossible. In fact, throughout the
ordinance little is left to the discretion of
the building inspector. This is as welcome
to him as it is to the architects and builders
or property owners operating under the
code.

156

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

The zoning ordinance was prepared with
the legal advice of Hon. Edward M. Bas-
sett, of New York City, who was invited to
meet with the Board of Public Land Com-
missioners and its consultant for detailed
consideration of the tentative ordinance
prior to presentation of the printed report.
Mr. Bassett's addresses to the City Council,
the Rotary Club and to other civic organ-

izations opened the publicity campaign,
which enlisted wide support of the ordi-
nance by the citizenship. His answers to
destructive criticisms when the final draft
was up in the Council helped to secure its
passage practically intact. The zoning or-
dinance is already proving its value and
promises to be of inestimable value to the
Milwaukee of the future.

A Striking Message to City Officials

THE PARALLEL PARADOXES OF THE

AND THE

'WAGE FUND"

Once upon a time a group of workmen held a meet-
ing. Someone had a "happy thought." Said he:

"These hard times will make the amount of work
to be done in this town much smaller than a year ago.
So let us take it easy in our work, and thus secure jobs
and wages for as many men as possible."

So the misguided conspirators cut down their hourly
production. The result, of course, was an mcrease m
unit costs to the manufacturer at a time when lower
costs were needed to keep the factories going.' And
the "wage fund" became increasingly difficult for the
emplpyer to provide.

The workers realized too late that a wage fund can
be created only by producing something that satisfies
human wants, and that by redoubling their efforts they
might have stimulated prosperity through a combina-
tion of lower prices, bigger sales and increasing em-
ployment. They know now — or will some day learn
— that efficient work adds more to the wage fund than
docs the work of the slacker, and that a period of busi-
ness depression is the time abov: all others when pro-
ductive se»vice should be rendered with the utmost

TAX FUND"

Once upon a time "a city council held a meeting.
Someone had a "happy thought." Said he:

"These hard times will make taxes in this town
more difficult to collect than a year ago. So let us
stop new construction work of all kinds, and appro-
priate the tax • fund only for ordinary running ex-
penses."

So the misguided city fathers cut down their bond
issues and appropriations for public works. The result,
of course, was increased unemployment there and else-
where at a time when public works would have helped
to restore the demand for labor and materials. And
the "tax fund" became increasingly difficult for the
citizens to raise.

The official^ realized too late that the amount of
collectible tax money depends on the prosperity of
their citizens and the municipal assets of the com-
munity, and that there is much greater economy in
issuing bond» for roads or waterworks or bridges or
playgrounds than in breeding privation and discontent.
They kpow now — or will some day learn — that well-
planned municipal improvements add more to realty
values than they cost, and. that a period of business de-
pression is the time above all others when the building
of public works should be pushed with the utmost
vigor.

Courtesy of Comonunity Leadership

The Federal Employment Service estimates that 3,473,466 fewer persons were
employed in industry in the United States in January, 1921, than a year ago. If you
want your city to do its share in restoring local and national prosperity, the prompt
and vigorous advocacy of a constructive program of public works would help greatly.

If not wholly convinced as to the wisdom of such a policy, please tell us why.
Perhaps we can help you find the answer. Reprints are available of the editorial from
The American City for December, 1920, on "Public Works as Panic Prevention,"
if you want them.

157

Modern Cast Iron Pipe

By A. F. Macallum

Commissioner of Work, Ottawa, Can.

WHILE cast iron pipe has been in use type of cast iron pipe involves the applica-
in France at Versailles for over tion of the principle of centrifugal force to
150 years, its use in America did molten metal at a high temperature (about
not commence until about 181 7. In that 1,800 degrees F.) in a permanent revolving
year cast iron pipe was laid in Philadelphia mold. A regulated quantity of this cast
as an experiment, which was so successful iron is introduced into a revolving water-
that it has been almost exclusively used for cooled cylinder where, by the centrifugal
water-mains, and more recently for gas- force exerted, the molten metal is spread
mains, since that date. It is a factor of uniformly upon the surface of the mold,
great magnitude not only in the development Within a minute the pipe is withdrawn from
of modern water-supply projects, but in the the mold at a white heat. The pipe is brit-
broadening of many industries. tie after leaving the mold, on account of the

While many attempts have been made to outer surface being chilled, but after passing

introduce varieties, the bell-and-spigot joint through an annealing furnace it becomes

has been for over a century, and is yet, the tough and much stronger than ordinary

standard joint, and because of its long use cast iron pipe, as shown by the tests made

may be regarded as having proved its in- by Professor Gillespie,

herent merit of design. Flanged pipe, al- The pipe made under these conditions has

though made for the first installations, was a decided contrast in structure to pipe cast

found too rigid for underground lines, be- in sand molds, where the casting is much

sides being more expensive, and is now used slower and has not the segregation of im-

only for special purposes. purities often found in the sand cast pipe.

Cast iron pipe was generally cast on its As a consequence, the pipe is a homogenous,

side, but because of its tendency to be "out dense, fine-grained iron throughout, having

of round" or of uneven thickness, thus giv- no water or gas bubbles, and because of

ing a pipe easily broken and unreliable, this this density and strength the pipe can be

method of casting was abandoned and the made much thinner.

pipe was cast vertically in molds. This In tests made by Professor Gillespie a 6-

vertical casting of pipe gave very satisfac- inch pipe made by this machine was com-

tory results, although the pipe was still sub- pared with a 6-inch Class C, ordinary sand-

ject to blow-holes. molded pipe, and out of the same iron, with

the following results:

The New Method CENTRIFUGAL CAST PIPE

The present specifications for cast iron Thickness 28 inches

^ , , . , . , ., Ten sile strength 37,000 lbs. per sq. in.

pipe are based on iron having a tensile Modulus of elasticity 14,500,000

strength of 20,000 pounds. When higher Sly"iaL7T.\":::::::::::::: :••• ''K

standards are given under the present f oun- " ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^

dry methods and mixtures, the pipe is apt Thickness 51 inches

to be more brittle. On account, however of J^^i'^^^^----^ . '':''' .'*'.^- ^1^,^^,

new methods being adopted in the method Modulus of rupture 33,900

of manufacturing iron pipe, consideration Q"^"*^ ^^''*°'" ^-^

is now being given to the revision of the From which it will be seen that the cen-
specifications to meet these new conditions. trifugal pipe has a very high tensile cross-
This new method, developed by DeLavaud, bending and resistance to shock values,
a French engineer, is now being used in As found by these tests, the ratios of these
this country after being subjected to tests to other coefficients similarly found for the
in comparison with the ordinary standard sand-mold pipe from the same iron are as
cast iron pipe, by Professor Peter Gillespie two to one, or twice as strong,
of the Department of Applied Science, In the tests for corrosion made by Pro-
Toronto University. fessor Gillespie he found no difference, but
The process of manufacturing this new jn tests made at Sao Paulo, Brazil, it was

158

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

found that the centrifugal cast pipe showed
much better results than the sand-molded
pipe.

In soils such as found in Ontario, it has
been found that ordinary cast iron pipe has
very little corrosion. The writer has re-
moved a section of old English cast iron
pipe laid in 1859 in Hamilton that showed
no corrosion whatever, after being in the
ground over 50 years, having even the
weight marks clearly legible. This old
English pipe was made much thinner than
called for in the present-day specifications,
and being on a rising main is still in service
under more severe conditions from pressure
than when laid. This centrifugal cast iron
pipe has a smooth exterior and internal sur-
face, and besides reducing hydraulic fric-
tional losses, takes a much better surface
coating.

It has been found that it machines

easily, and because" of the method of manu-
facture the wall thickness is practically ex-
actly uniform.

Because of its double strength the centrif-
ugal cast pipe can successfully be made con-
siderably thinner than the sand cast pipe,
and as a consequence a 12- foot pipe 6 inches
in diameter will weigh only 240 pounds,
compared with 430 pounds for a sand cast
pipe of the same diameter, with the conse-
quent saving in freight rates on shipments
of the same quantity of pipe.

This light weight of the centrifugal cast
iron pipe facilitates its laying, as a greater
number can be calked on the ground and
lowered into the trench. Besides, this latest
development in the manufacture of iron
pipe brings it into competition with steel
pipe under conditions that had practically
limited the field to steel pipe, and indicates
an advance on previous methods.

Designing Roads from a Traffic Census or from Common Sense

Highway traffic is, of course, the first fac-
tor to be seriously considered in connection
with pavement economics. Traffic is the
thing which makes highway surfacings
worth while, and the thing which wears them
out. Its amount and its characteristics are
important and should always be taken into
account.

In a paper entitled "Relative Service
Value of Pavement Types," A. R. Hirst,
State Highway Engineer of Wisconsin, has
ofifered some ideas to the Association of
State Highway Officials which are worth
serious consideration by all designing and
constructing engineers :

"A preliminary traffic census is absolutely
valueless in helping to determine the type
of surfacing to be used. An inspection of
the location of a road on the map, a knowl-
edge of its relation to other roads and to
the general highway system, and to busi-
ness centers, together with a consideration
of the business tributary to it and probably
to be tributary to it, will tell a highway
engineer who knows his business whether
the construction in question should be first,
second or third class. The traffic on a road
last year or last month has absolutely no
value in this connection, because when a
highway becomes part of a superior high-
way system, or when one highway is paved

with a surface superior to that on the ad-
jacent and competing highways, traffic is
so concentrated on that highway that what
has been is no indication of what will be.

"Any assumption of what traffic will be
is merely an assumption, and the presence
on a certain past day of one hundred auto-
mobiles, ten trucks, eight farmers or their
wives in single buggies, and three babies
in their perambulators has really no bear-
ing on the future situation.

"Traffic counts have value only as serv-
ing to give accurate information as to the
constantly occurring changes in traffic con-
ditions, and in determining the relative cost
of services per unit given by various pave-
ments. The unit cost per ton of carrying
traffic is the important consideration, and,
unfortunately, we have little or no informa-
tion on this point.

"The fact that this type of pavement was
maintained for so much per annum and that
type for so much per annum, means little
unless we know the amount and weight of
the traffic served and that it was served ade-
quately. Even then the information would
not be conclusive, because the pavement
which gave this unit cost under the pre-
vailing soil and climatic conditions might
give an entirely dififerent unit cost under
different soil and climatic conditions.

159

The Effect of Different Waters on Mains

With Interesting Results of Tests Before and After Cleaning

By J. E. Gibson

Engineer and Manager, Water Department, Charleston, S. C.

IN 1879, the City Council of Charleston
granted to Jesse W. Starr, Jr., of Cam-
den, N. J., a franchise for a public
water-supply. This franchise provided for
a supply of water to be obtained from ar-
tesian wells, and the laying of some twelve
miles of cast iron pipe. These mains were
located on the principal streets and the
water-fronts of the Cooper and Ashley
Rivers. They were for the most part 6-
inch cast iron mains, but the mains on
Broad, Meeting, King and Wentworth
Streets were 8-, 10- and 12-inch diameter
respectively, as they were feeder mains from
the plant on George Street.

Water was first turned into the mains in
1880 and came from the artesian wells lo-
cated at Wentworth and Meeting Streets
and the Citadel Square. The artesian water
was very soft, containing only 30 or 40
parts per million of hardness, but the total
solids ran from 1,800 to 2,000 parts. It
was highly prized for drinking and bathing
purposes, but could not be used for cooking
or manufacturing purposes on account of
its high soda content. All starchy foods
were turned a brownish green, and when the
water was used in boilers a vfolent foaming
ensued. This water had a temperature of
90 degrees F., and rapidly incrusted the pipe
wherever the protective coating was defec-
tive.

From time to time additional artesian
wells were put down. The normal yield
from these wells was approximately 1,000,-
000 gallons per day, which was later in-
creased by the use of the Pohle air lift to
2,000,000 gallons per day. The growth of
the city was such that this supply soon be-
came inadequate and it was not possible to
furnish a full normal pressure throughout
the twenty-four hours of the day.

In 1902 new capital was sought and a new
franchise was granted for a water-supply to
be obtained from a surface stream. The
new water company took over the plant of
the old water company and developed a
supply of water from Goose Creek, the new

pumping station being located about twelve
miles north of the city limits.

Goose Creek is a tidal estuary of the
Cooper River, having a total drainage area
of 60 square miles at its junction with the
Cooper River. The stream is very tortuous
and is bordered alternately by wide, tree-
less marshes covered with a dense growth
of salt-growing vegetation. At the site
selected for the pumping station an earthen
dam was thrown across the creek, and the
tide-water was prevented from flowing up-
stream. The water above the dam was al-
lowed to freshen because of rainfall and in-
flow, and this now forms the supply of
water for the city of Charleston. The total
drainage area above the dam is 42^/2 square
miles, and the storage reservoir covers an
area of 3J/2 square miles. The amount of
water stored at the flow line elevation of
the dam' (10^ feet above low tide) is
2,780,000,000 gallons, and the average depth
of the water is approximately 6 feet.

The drainage area is low-lying and gener-
ally covered with pine, cypress and kindred
trees, and, in common with coastal waters
from Maine to Texas, is highly colored with
the vegetable organic matter of the
swamps. The alkalinity usually runs from
10 to 15 p. p. m., and the color anywhere
from 100 to 250, depending upon conditions
of rainfall, vegetation, etc.

The water is filtered through gravity me-
chanical filters, the coagulant used being
sulphate of alumina. To satisfactorily re-
move the color from water it has been
found necessary to bring the water to prac-
tically a neutral or acid condition, and that
is done in the treatment of the Goose Creek
supply. The color is removed from a nor-
mal of, say, 180 to about 25 p. p. m., and in
so doing the alkalinity is reduced from an
average of 12 to about 2 p. p. m., below
which point it is not deemed advisable to
go. After filtration there is sufficient lime,
in the form of lime water, added to the
filtrate to restore the alkalinity to about 18
p. p. m., and to reduce the carbon dioxide

i6o

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

content of the filtered water to form 2 to 3
p. p. m. The total solids, after treatment,
average about 70 to 100.

This water was first introduced into the
city mains in the fall of 1903, and, because
sufficient time had not elapsed for the dilu-
tion of the salt in the flooded marshes, or
for the reduction of color due to the heavy
vegetable stain, it was not anywhere near
the present quality.

It will be noted, therefore, that artesian
water was supplied from 1880 to the winter
of 1903, and since that date Goose Creek
water has been supplied through the mains.
No change has been made in the piping
system during all these years except to take
care of the natural growth of the city.

On October i, 1917, the city by purchase
took over the plant of the private company,
since which time it has been operated as a
municipal corporation. The increasing
values of real estate and storage ware-
houses along the river fronts demanded in-
creased fire protection, and in the fall of
1918 the Commissioners of Public Works,
who operated the plant for the city, author-
ized the department to lay reinforcing mains
along the river fronts in the congested dis-
tricts.

Cleaning the Mains

At the same time it was deemed advisable
to clean the existing mains, and a contract
was made with the National Water Main
Cleaning Company for the use of one of
its cleaning machines. In all, some six
miles of mains were cleaned, the work ex-
tending over a period of about six months.
The writer believes the method of cleaning
water-mains is pretty generally understood,
yet a short description may not be amiss.

The stretch of main to be cleaned was
first opened up at two points, usually from
400 to 600 feet apart. A small carrier, made
up of three cup leathers (similar to those
used in a hand bilge pump) fastened to-
gether by flexible connections, were at-
tached to a small cable (J^-inch in diam-
eter) and introduced in the main at one of
the openings. The ends of the mains were
plugged by means of wooden plugs, with a
2-inch pipe connecting the two plugs, the
small cable passing through a small hole in
the side of the plug. Water was then ad-
mitted through the plugs and the connecting
2-inch pipe to the rear of the cup leather
carrier, which was forced through the main,

pulling the cable with it. As soon as the
cable appeared at the second opening, the
pressure was shut off, the carrier removed
and the small cable made fast to the large
cable (about ^-inch diameter), which was
then pulled backward through the main to
the first opening or point of introduction of
the carrier. The wooden plugs were re-
moved and the large cable made fast to the
cleaning machine proper, which was then
placed in the main and the opening closed
up with a piece of cast iron pipe and sleeve
joints.

The cleaning machine proper consisted
of a number of blades, similar to an ordi-
nary boiler flue scraper, the blades being
set in three or four groups and spaced
around the circle so that the entire cir-
cumference of the pipe was covered. The
blades of the cleaning machine were made
of tempered steel and set out slightly larger
in diameter than the diameter of the pipe.
Sometimes the leading or forward blades
on the machine are made saw-tooth; the
rear blades are always perfectly plain. On
all of the work done at Charleston plain
blades were used, as we wanted to pre-
serve the coating of the pipe if possible!.
We found, however, that practically all
of the coating had been destroyed, prob-
ably by time. As soon as the opening in
the main was closed, scraping was beg^n
by attaching the opposite end of the cable
to a heavy winch which could be turned
by two men each, on opposite cranks. At
the same time, water was turned into the
main from the rear of the cleaner so that
all material scraped from the sides of the
main was washed forward and out of the
main at the opening. Usually it required
about eight hours to cut in and clean 600
feet of main. This time does not include
the time of digging the openings in the
streets, but it does include the time of
cutting the main and replacing the sections
cut out.

Carrying Capacity of Mains

It was not possible, on account of other
work being carried on at the same time,
to test all the mains for carrying capacity
before and after cleaning, but one com-
plete test was made on what was con-
sidered a typical case. The main tested
was located on Legare Street between Lam-
boll and Tradd Streets, a total distance of
755/^ feet. This main was laid in 1880

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

j6i

and had never been
cleaned.

There were three hy-
drants located on this
main, two 755/^ feet
apart, and the third 300
feet further. The third
hydrant was connected by
means of pipe to a 2-inch
Trident Crest meter, the
first and second hydrants
were connected by means
of a ^-inch galvanized
pipe and U-tube filled with
mercury, and all other
valves and supplies were
cut ofif, except the one at
the Tradd Street end. It
will be seen, therefore,
that by opening the third
hydrant a flow was cre-
ated in the length of pipe
and the friction loss be-
tween the first and second
hydrants could be noted
from the U-tube, and the
quantity of water passing
through the main would
be measured by the 2-inch
Trident meter. There
were three sets of tests made: (i) before
cleaning; (2) immediately after cleaning;
and (3) fourteen months after cleaning.
On account of the third hydrant's having a
loose seat on the stem, it was not possible
to make the first series of tests to cover the
low rate of flow, as this loose seat acted as
a ram, causing water-hammer in the main.

The values of coefficient "C" in Chezy's
Formula, V = C y/ RS, was determined,
and these values are given in the accom-
panying diagram. It will be noted that each
test consisted of two series, that is, in-
creasing and decreasing velocities. The
result of each test as plotted represents
ten individual observations, and the curves
shown have been drawn by inspection.
The rates of discharge are given in cubic
feet per minute and in gallons per twenty-
four hours. On the right hand of the
graph, the results are shown in per cent on
the assumed value of C of 100 for new
cast-iron pipe. This is not absolutely cor-
rect, as authorities vary, giving the value
of C as low as 95 for low velocities and no
for high velocities, but nevertheless the

RESULTS OF TESTS OF MAIN BEFORE AND AFTER CLEANING

figures are comparable. It will be seen
that for the 40-year pipe the value of C
had fallen to 34, and immediately after
cleaning, this coefficient was increased to
about 90, and that within a period of four-
teen months it had again deteriorated until
the value was about 61.

This was rather disappointing to the
writer, although he had been somewhat
prepared from a previous experience on
the 24-inch supply main leading to the
city. These former tests indicated that it
is reasonable to expect a main that has
been once cleaned to deteriorate more rap-
idly than new main, because in scraping the
tubercles from the mains the protective
coating is more or less destroyed, and there
is left a rough and pitted surface which
oflfers a maximum condition for rust and
corrosion. This may be further aggra-
vated should the water contain vegetable
or other acids, which would set up differ-
ences of polarity between the adjacent parts
of the pipe.

Goose Creek water is maintained at about
18 parts of alkalinity, which is certainly

1 62

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

positively alkaline, but there is a possibility
that all waters (particularly along the
coastal plain) contain acids that attack
metals. We learn by experience, and it
has been found that if the Goose Creek
water is maintained at an alkalinity of
from 12 to 15 p. p. m., little trouble is ex-
perienced due to red water or corrosion in
the hot water pipes of house boilers, but
below this point considerable trouble is ex-
perienced.

It has been noted by the writer that the
amount of the corrosion or tubercles does
not so much reduce the carrying capacity
cf the main as the nature of the internal
surface of the pipe.

In 1915, II miles of the 24-inch cast-iron
main delivering water into the city were
cleaned, and within a period of three
months after cleaning, the friction loss had
substantially increased to that before clean-
ing, and it was again determined to clean
this main. The actual cleaning, however,
did not take place until about twelve months
after the first cleaning.

Results of First and Second Cleanings

Before the first cleaning, judging from
pieces of pipe that were removed to insert
the cleaning machine, it was found that
the internal surface of the main was cov-
ered with large tubercles, projecting as
much as J/2 to ^ of an inch, and having
a diameter of 13^ inches or more. They
were fairly close together, and the entire
surface showed a tuberculated condition.

At the second cleaning of the ma'n. some
of the pipe formerly cleaned was removed,

and it was found that the inner surface was
covered with innumerable tubercles, having
a diameter of about 34-ii^ch and projecting
about 54-irich. They were much more nu-
merous than in the first cleaning and looked
as if someone had taken a pepper-shaker
and peppered the entire surface of the
main. The friction loss before the second
cleaning was about the same as that with
the larger tubercles. The protective coat-
ing had been more or less destroyed by the
first cleaning, and the condition of the
water pumped through the main undoubt-
edly promoted the growth of the tubercles.
After the first cleaning and for a period of
sixty days the water pumped through the
main had an alkalinity of less than 5 p. p.
m., using the erythrosine method.

It is known that this method for deter-
mining alkalinity is not delicate to within
3 or 4 p. p. m., and, undoubtedly, at times
the water was acid and had a high carbonic
acid content all of the time.

After the second cleaning the water was
carried exceptionally high in alkalinity,
with the hope that a deposit of calcium sul-
phate might be obtained on the main. This
does not seem to have taken place, although
the carrying capacity of the main had not
deteriorated nearly so rapidly as after the
first cleaning.

Since the above main was cleaned, an
additional main has been laid for some
30,000 feet, duplicating the 24-inch main,
and it is hoped that in the near future, fric-
tion losses can be obtained for the 30,000
feet of old 24-inch main, using the new
parallel main as a piezometric pipe.

On the Calendar of Conventions

February 14-20. — New York City.

National Civic Federation. _ Annual meeting.
Secretary, D. L. Cease, 1 Madison Avenue, New
York, N. Y.

I'ebruary 17-19. — Port Huron, Mich.

Michigan Commercial Secretaries' Association.
Semi-annual meeting. Secretarjf, C. W. Otto,
Board of Commerce, Pontiac, Mich.

February 24-25. — Eulensburg, Wash.

Washington Association of Commercial Organi-
sation Secretaries. Semi-annual meeting. Secre-
tary, A. F. Marsh, Chehalis, Wash.

February 25-26. — Harrisburg, Pa.

_ Pennsylvania Commercial Secretaries' Associa-
tion. Semi-annual convention. Secretary, E. J.
Fellow, Chamber of Commerce, Lebanon, Pa.

February 26-March 3. — Atlantic City, N. J.

National Education Association — Department of
Superintendence. Annual meeting. Secretary,
Miss Charl O. Williams, Superintendent of
Schools, Memphis, Tenn.
February 26-March 3. — .Atlantic City, N. J.

National Community Center Association.. An-
nual meeting. Secretary, Eugene C. Gibney, 70
Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y.
March 9-11. — Regina, Sask.

Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipali-
ties. Annual convention. Annual convention.
Secretary, E. G. Hingley, Farmers' Building, Re-
gina, Sask.
.April 27-29. — Atlantic City, N. J.

Chamber of Commerce of the United States of
America. Annual meeting. Secretary, Elliot H.
Goodwin, Riggs Building, Washington, D. C.

163

An All-Season Playground

Asphalt Paved Tennis Courts Used for Skating Rinks in Winter in Gary, Ind.

IN order that a tennis court or playground
may be termed an all-year investment,
some provision must be made to use the
area for vi^inter sports.

A close study of the situation when the
courts in Gary were built led the officials to
decide to lay a smooth sheet asphalt wearing
surface which would give an excellent ten-
nis court in warm weather and which could
withstand the damaging effects of a surface
of ice for skating purposes in winter. The
playing surface was laid as follows : First
the plot was excavated so as to allow for the
laying of the base and the sheet asphalt
wearing surface. Then a curb of concrete 6
inches wide and 16 inches deep was laid
around the entire lot. Drains were con-
structed and pipes placed at the back of the
court to hold the wire for the back-stops,
and then tennis-net supports were set.
After this, a layer of stone ranging in size
from I to 23^ inches was spread over the
entire surface, in such quantities as to pro-
vide a depth of 5 inches after it had been
rolled and consolidated. Texaco asphalt
paving cement was then spread over the

broken stone by means of hand-pouring
pots, using about ij^ gallons per square
yard. This was covered lightly with clean
stone chips free from dust, and then the
entire area was compacted with a 5-ton
roller. Just enough stone chips were then
applied so that upon rolling they were forced
into the surface voids of the asphalt-coated
stone, leaving no excess of asphalt on the
surface. The next step was to lay a binder
course i inch in depth, and then a i-inch
sheet asphalt wearing surface, laid in the
usual manner.

These courts were constructed during the
summer of 1919 and used as a skating rink
last winter. The curb was allowed to ex-
tend about 3 inches above the asphaltic sur-
face, and during the winter the drainage in-
lets were plugged and the courts were
flooded with water. Upon freezing, they
furnished an excellent skating rink. The
contractors for this work were the Mu-
nicipal Contracting & Supply Company,
Gary, Ind. The accompanying illustration
shows the court in summer being used as
a playground.

> if«t ■

ilk?" . 1

"^wi

'n ' ■

it rwM

....^if;...^

Photographs courtesy The Texas Company

IN WINTER THIS SHEET ASPHALT TENNIS COURT IS FLOODED TO MAKE AN IDEAL

SKATING RINK

164

The Maintenance of Brick Pavements

By Oscar F. Weissgerber

City Engineer, Appleton, Wis.

IN many cities there are brick pavements
in which the brick have worn down orl
the edges and become like small cobble-
stones, causing a great deal of noise, and
inconvenience to business places and to the
public at large. The annoyance is especially
great when solid-tired vehicles, such as
drays or other horse-drawn wagons clatter
over the streets. Cities that have had this
experience will be interested in a piece of
work recently completed in Appleton, Wis.
The work was done on College Avenue
and on one block of Washington Street,
where brick pavements were laid in 1908.
The pavement on College Avenue was a
Purington brick, the best in the market in
those days, and, in fact, a good brick to-day.
On Washington Street the brick used was
softer and inferior to the Purington. There
were places where the joints were worn
down between the bricks from y^ to 1%
inches from the original surface, thus pre-
senting a very rough, corrugated surface.
On both streets an asphalt filler was used
that had been recommended on account of
not being noisy. For awhile that was the
case, but as the asphalt wore down, being
gouged out by horseshoes, etc., it left the
edges of the brick unprotected, with the re-
sult as stated above.

Numerous suggestions were made about
turning the brick over, but the expense in-
volved was considerable. There were 29,054
square yards, and the lowest estimate, of $1
per yard for turning and cleaning, did not
include the cost of new brick to replace any
that might be broken. Information was
asked for from several cities, but none of
them had any data as to expense for similar
work. In August, 1919, the writer tried an
experiment with about 200 square yards of
the roughest piece of pavement, where the
travel was the heaviest, with such good re-
sults that the Mayor and Council authorized
the expense of the whole work. This has
now been completed, and the benefit derived
is more than was expected.

Before the improvement, the pavement,
besides being noisy, was unsanitary. Al-
though we flushed our streets twice a week,
and oftener if necessary, between periods of

flushing the refuse would get in the crevices
and dry, and finally blow around. To-day
the street is smooth, is much more easily
kept clean, and the cost of cleaning has
been materially reduced.

Method of Surfacing Worn Pavement

The pavement was thoroughly flushed and
cleaned with the ordinary street flushers.
After flushing, a crew of men went over the
surface with brooms and small hooks to get
all the dirt between the joints that the flush-
ers would not take out. A horse-drawn
street broom was used to remove the heavy
material accumulated by the flushers in the
gutters, where it was picked up and hauled
away.

After the pavement was thoroughly dry,
another crew of men spread a coating of
Tarvia "A" on the surface of the brick,
leaving it about ^-inch thick. This ma-
terial was heated in a kettle holding about
four barrels, but there were never more than
three in it at one time, on account of danger
of overheating and fire.

The binder was heated to the point where
it would run freely from the faucet, or to
a temperature of about 225 degrees F., and
then carried in buckets to men who used
ordinary floor squeegees with a rubber edge,
similar to those used in drying floors after
scrubbing. The material was spread evenly,
and then a coating of pea or roofing gravel
was spread to a depth of about 3/2 -inch.

After the gravel was applied, a lo-ton
roller was run over the surface. The roller
forced the gravel into the binder in the
joints between the brick, and the gravel that
lay on the surface of the brick was gener-
ally crushed into several smaller pieces.
After rolling was completed, the street was
immediately opened for traffic.

This work should be done on a warm
day, not on a hot one, as the brick get hot
in the sun, and the material has a tendency
to run to the gutter if too warm. It should
be covered immediately to prevent its do-
ing so.

The best results were obtained with pea
gravel, although some limestone screenings
were used and also coarse Janesville sand.

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

165

APPLYING BITUMINOUS SURFACING TO OLD BRICK PAVEMENT
Photograph shows heating, pouring and squeegeeing of binder in August, 1920

Unless the screenings are hard and tough,
they should not be considered. The entire
yardage was completed in ten days, which
included the cleaning, applying binder
rolling, etc. The entire cost of the work
was as follows:

267 bbls. Tarvia "A" @ $8.313 $2,219.57

Freight : • • 119-72

Labor and teaming, including unloading

and distributing material 1,454.01

Supplies, tools, etc 67.23

Gravel, screenings and sand 740 .24

$4,600-. 77

With 29,054 square yards covered at this
amount, the unit cost per square yard
amounts to 15.8 cents. Comparing this with
the turning of the brick as mentioned in the
first part of this article, it will readily be
seen that the saving is considerable.

For estimates for similar work for any
city that contemplates using this method,
the following may be taken as an average :

1 barrel Tarvia, average of 50 gallons covered 108.8

square yards, about J^ -gallon to the yard
302 cubic yards of sand, gravel and screenings used,

or one cubic yard covered 96.5 square yards
Labor was paid from 41 to 45 cents per hour
Foreman at $5.00 per day and teams at 90 cents psr

hour
Engineer and roller $5.00 per day
Pea gravel cost $2.60 per ton, f.o.b. Appleton

Supplies consisted of gasoline for roller, wood for tar
kettle, and scrapers and brooms for workmen

The pavements treated, in the writer's
estimation, will wear for several years with
the single coat, although it is recommended
that another coat be put on next season.

In all cases where similar work of this
kind is contemplated, the writer would rec-
ommend the double mat coat treatment —
that is, a second coat of Tarvia "A" and
gravel — applied in about 30 days after the
first treatment is applied, or just as soon
as the first coat has thoroughly ironed out.

The second coat would not be nearly as
expensive as the first, as the cleaning of
the crevices in the pavement would be
eliminated. Neither would as much binder
be used, and with these additional coats a
mat would be obtained the care of which
would be only in proportion to the amount
of travel.

The City Council has decided to treat an-
other street where conditions are similar
and where a recent count of traffic showed
400 vehicles in i^ hours. This street is
one of the entrances to the city and carries
all the heavy dairying and trucking to
neighboring cities.

i66

Versatility Characterizes Municipal Motcj^r

Trucks

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Fehruary, 1921 THE AMERICAN CITY

167

A GMO CHEMICAL AND SERVICE TRUCK IN USE BY THE CITY OF PUTNAM, CONN.

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i68

Snow Removal in American Cities

Clear Streets in Winter Essential to Municipal and Business Transportation .

THE importance of keeping at least the
main municipal arteries of travel free
from snow is growing rapidly, as a
result of the increasing use. of the motor
vehicle for municipal and business pur-
poses. The solution of the snow removal
problem in cities is therefore of prime im-
portance. In order to make available to
municipal officials complete and up-to-date
information on snow removal methods in
American cities, the kind of apparatus now
used, and the suggestions and opinions of
experts and others who have studied the
subject, the New York State Bureau of
Municipal Information has sought reports
from American cities, a summary of which
The American City takes pleasure in
printing below.

Methods of Attack

There are three distinct methods of at-
tacking the snow problem:

1. Clearing streets for traffic

2. Snow removal

3. Snow fighting

Until recent years, the custom in all cities
was to wait until the storm ceased before
beginning snow removal. Several cities
now recognize the efficacy of beginning
work while the snow is falling. These cities
have a snow alarm which sounds when-
ever indications point to a heavy fall of
snow, or when a certain amount has fallen.
Efficient snow-fighting methods involve
three things:

1. Preparedness

2. Organization

3. Equipment

The consensus of opinion is that, wher-
ever possible, effective machinery should be
used, thereby reducing dependence on labor
to a minimum. It is pointed out, however,
that care should be exercised in investments
for equipment : machinery used exclusively
for snow fighting is idle so much of the
time that every effort should be made to
use whatever available city apparatus can
be temporarily converted into use for snow
fighting. In the spring, summer and fall,
this apparatus should be available for other
municipal services.

How Some American Cities Remove
Snow

Albany, N. Y. — On wide streets, motor trucks are
used, with hand loading, while on narrow streets
hand-loaded teams are used. On wide streets having
large sewers with good flow of water, horse-drawn
snow scrapers carry the snow to sewer manholes.
Horse-drawn road graders are used to open streets
in outlying sections. The operation is as efficient as
could be expected without special snow-removal equip-
ment.

Amsterdam, N. Y. — On streets with trolley tracks
snow removal is accomplished by the traction company
and city forces cooperating. On residential streets, a
heavy snow-plow drawn by horses is used, and six
miles of streets are opened wide enough for one-way
traffic.

Binghamton, N. F.— Hand shoveling to dump-
wagons and trucks with hoists, and disposal of snow
through manholes in floors of bridges over the Che-
nango River, are used in this city. Snow is first re-
moved from the zones established on the principal
business streets for passengers getting on and off
street cars, and then the work is extended throughout
the city. Snow-plows are used on streets where there
are no trolley tracks and where there is a considerable
amount of traffic.

Buffalo, N. Y. — Plows attached to tractors perform
satisfactorily, and ordinary plows are used to furrow
the snow toward the gutters. In the business sec-
tions the furrows are picked up by snow removers of
a capacity of approximately 2J/^ cubic yards. The cost
of removing this snow was 7 cents per cubic yard in
1919-20. The snow was dumped into manholes over
two large 8-foot sewers. Snow-fences were used on
the outskirts, and a tractor plow to move the snow
into the gutters on residential streets. Exceedingly
high drifts up to 15 feet could not be handled by any
machinery available and had to be attacked by hand
labor.

Corning, N. Y. — Snow was removed last winter at a
cost of 31 cents per cubic yard by team-drawn scrap-
ers, loaded into sleighs and carted to the river bank,
where it was deposited. It is planned to use a motor
truck with snow blade scraper in front and a dump
rigging and dump trailer attached which will probably
cut the cost of snow removal in half.

Geneva, N. Y. — Snow is carted away in the business
sections and packed in the residential sections.

Jamestown, N. Y. — -Hand labor and horse-drawn
wagons were used last year to remove the snow, which
is dumped into the river. This proved a very slow
method. Outside men owning horses are employed
and paid according to the length of the route covered
and the difficulties encountered. Tor cleaning side-
walks the city is divided into 32 routes. When it
snows during the late afternoon or night, the police
department calls the snow-plow men on the phone,
usually about 3 A. M., and between the hours of
6 A. M. and 6 P. M. the calls are made by the Super-
intendent of Streets. There are 100 miles of streets,
so that the men cover abo'ut 200 miles. They are
usually through by the time pedestrians appear, be-
tween" 6 and 6:30 A. M. The system works well and
obviates the necessity of wading through drifts, as the
early workers and school children would have to if the
sidewalks were cleared by individual property owners.
New York City. — The organization for snow work
in New York City is divided into three classes: (1)
snow fighting, to be composed of the department force
and equipment augmented by hired laborers; (2) the
contractors' forces for the removal of snow after the
storm ceases; (3) street railway forces, which are un-
der the direction of the street railway companies, con-
signed to the streets which they are obliged to clear
of snow under the terms of their contract with the
city and their respective franchises. In the plan of co-
operation between the Street Cleaning, Fire and Police
Departments, two policemen and two firemen who are
licensed chauffeurs are assigned to operate Caterpillar
tractors. The general plan of operating the tractors
together with the 5-ton auto trucks of the Department
is as follows:

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

169

As soon as a snowfall starts and it is believed there
will be a continued storm, orders are issued to have
the tractors and trucks begin work. The plows are at-
t.iched to the trucks at various angles, and the police,
hre and street cleaning operators who are assigned to
tliis work are called to report immediately for duty
and to proceed at once to the points they are to plow.
'Ihe plows in teams of two clean a width of 20 feet of
roadway for a distance of 3 lineal miles in one hour,
and continue working over such a route after the
snow has ceased falling. The average rate of snow-
fall is }4-inch per hour, and the motor-driven plows,
operating at a speed of 3 miles an hour, can cover the
entire area every two hours, constantly plowing one
inch of snow on each trip up and down the assigned
area.

With 150 tractors and 250 5-ton trucks operating,
all of which have snow-plows attached, starting at 200
different points and covering 3 lineal miles, cleaning
20 feet of roadway, the Department plows at the
cessation of each snowfall 600 miles of roadway in the
imiiortant sections of the city; 70 per cent of this is
in the borough of Manhattan, so that there is no such
interruption of traffic as practically paralyzed the
trucking business last year and caused the loss of
millions of dollars.

This work is alternated with the use of hired motor
trucks to which Department snow-plows are attached.
About 100 of these are engaged in work in the same
manner as the Department trucks and tractors, cover-
ing an additional 150 miles of roadway. This total
force operates within one hour after the call has been
issued by the Commissioner, so that if the storm is in
progress one hour and it is decided to call out the
forces, all of the equipment is in motion within two
hours after the storm starts; in other words, the full
force of motor trucks and tractors is operating -when
the snow reaches the depth of on€ inch.

The first point in the work of snow removal is to
keep the traffic moving. This is accomplished by
throwing the snow from the center to the sides of the
roadway. The second point is to have the snow re-
moved as quickly as possible after it is thrown to the
sides. For this purpose 100 2-ton Department trucks
and the Department force of carts, 500 in number, are
utilized on the first day of each storm, to haul the
snow to the most convenient disposal points, such as
sewers and water-front dumps. During the progress
of the storm the laborers are assigned to work at the
same time as the call is issued for the plow to start
out, and they pile the snow just as soon as it is
thrown to the side of the road by the plows. This ob-
viates delays while waiting for the contractor's forces
to begin work, which is usually the following day.

After they stop plowing, the plows attached to the
tractors are used to remove snow from the roadways to
the sewer manholes, which means that 150 tractors
are busy pushing snow on all streets where sewers are
available, and in this way great quantities of snow
are removed quickly.

Emergency men have been registered in order to
have an available snow-fighting force of laborers ready
to report at the 103 section stations throughout the
three boroughs, at which places they are equipped with
picks, shovels and pan scrapers, and under the direc-
tion of squad leaders they are assigned to certain
routes for sewering or piling the snow, depending upon
the type of sewer adjacent to the various points at
which they are assigned to work. The rates of pay
to attract a sufficient number of laborers for snow
work are determined from time to time upon a survey
of labor conditions.

Schenectady, N Y. — Ten-ton Holt Caterpillar trac-
tors were secured from the Government warehouse in
.Schenectady in 1919-20 and were used to push a 13-
foot and a 16-foot triangular snow-plow, opening up
the important arteries of traffic quite rapidly and
effectively.

Sherrilt, N. Y. — The roads were opened up for auto-
mobiles with a 16-foot snow-plow drawn by six horses.
A heavier snow-plow mounted on a tractor will be
used this winter.

Cambridge, Mass. — Horse-drawn levelers are used
to break down drift piles on the side streets after the
householders have had sufficient time to clear the side-
walks. Following this, gutter plows are used to open
up the gutters to prevent flooding during a thaw.

Chicago, III. — The equipment consists of 35 snow-
plows which can be attached to 5-ton trucks. These
plows are used to open up the business streets to
traffic. Men and trucks are hired to pile and cart all
the snow to the dumps. A permanent special snow
organization is Tsfntained, consisting of a specially

trained group of street bureau employes assigned to a
snow squad.

Cincinnati, Ohio — Regular organized snow gangs
are maintained, to report at specified places under the
leadership of their district foremen. Work is started
at the center of the city and branched out from there,
gathering the snow and dumping it in special sewers
wherein are installed flush valves to run the snow
through the sewer. These flush valves are maintained
orily in the center of the city. In the suburban dis-
tricts the main transfer points are cleared, so as to
inconvenience street car traffic as little as possible.
Tractor plows and motor trucks are used to facilitate
^■°';''- : I" *i

Dayton, Ohio — Baker auto snow-plows attached to
5j4-ton trucks are used, and snow is hauled away by
teams and trucks.

Indianapolis, Ind. — Snow is removed by the efficient
service of the street railway company, and no fall has
yet been heavy enough to prevent the company from
clearing its tracks. The city removes all snow from
the streets, including that which the street car com-
pany throws from its tracks. No special equipment
is used; the old hand shovel is supplemented at times
by home-made plows drawn by horses.

Milwaukee, IVis. — When snow accumulates up to 2
inches, pan-scraping is resorted to, and the snow is
removed by teams and trucks to the regular dumps.

Newark, N. /.—After 3 inches of snow has fallen,
motor flushers with snow-plow attachments are sent
out to push the snow to the gutters, and in the morn-
ing it is removed with motor trucks and teams and
dumped into sewers if the flow is sufficient to carry
it; if not, it is dumped into the Passaic River.

Philadelphia, Pa. — The Bureau of Highways and
Street Cleaning has successfully maintained a snow
alarm for the last three years. At any hour of the
night as soon as the snow starts to fall, the Electrical
Bureau notifies the Chief of the Bureau and the engi-
neers in charge by telephone in their respective homes.
Each engineer living in the central part of the city is
in constant communication with the Weather Bureau
and- the Chief of the Bureau of Highways, and as
soon as the indications point to a continuance of the
storm, the snow-fighting equipment is called out. Up-
wards of 1,000 telephone messages are sent to various
parts of the city in calling out squad leaders, inspec-
tors, snow-plows, drivers, team laborers, and officers
in various police districts, who aid in getting out the
men. In about one hour after the order is given, the
horse-drawn plows and motor-driven plows attack the
snow in the central business section of the city. These
plows are supplemented by laborers with teams, who
keep constantly at work day and night, dumping the
snow into the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers.

Every man in the snow removal organization has a
particular function assigned to him. Each dump in-
spector knows his post, and knows just what to do
when he gets there. The driver of every snow-plow
and every team knows at what point he is to start to
load and at what sewer manhole or wharf he is to
dump his load. Thus confusion is eliminated. Fight-
ing the snow at night during some of the storms iri
the last three years has not been an easy task. In the
central section of the city snow is removed from all
thoroughfares. This work is performed under special
contracts and supplemented by the regular street
cleaning force, and is under the supervision of a
special snow removal organization made up of men
assigned to this work from the regular engineering
stafl^. Certain main thoroughfares and all the street
crossings throughout the entire city are also cleaned
by the regular street cleaning forces, and a large
municipal force is assigned to the seven highway dis-
trict engineers, who supervise this work. A large
force is always employed opening up the country
roads, where the drifts often completely block traffic.
All told, the force employed on snow removal con-
sists of about 4,000 men, 1,200 trams, and 38 horse-
drawn and 20 motor plows.

To ensure the efficient operation of snow removal
work, the following instructions and forms have been
provided:

(a) A set of detailed instructions which definitely

indicate to the persons supervising the work,
the nature of the work to be done and the
methods to be used in its performance

(b) A map indicating the highways included in each

of the nineteen central snow removal districts
and the nature and exact location of the snow
dumps

170

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 2

call address, telephone number, and the as-
signment of each person detailed to snow re-
moval supervision

(d) Tickets of distinctive colors for loading and

dumping respectively

(e) Ticket issue records

(f) Current status of work records

(g) Squad leaders' daily reports

(h) Squad leaders' daily report summary

The central business section is divided into 19 dis-
tricts, each district being under the supervision of a
squad leader to whom is assigned a number of in-
spectors, some of whom supervise the removal of
snow, while others see that it is properly disposed of
at the dumping places. The inspectors supervising the
snow removal see that the snow is properly plowed into
windrows adjacent to the curb and then piled up and
hauled to the dump. They are also required to meas-
ure and calculate the cubic capacity of all hauling

vehicles and see that they are properly loaded, after
which they give the driver a loading ticket, to be ex-
changed at the dvmip for another ticket, which is re-
tained by the driver and upon which payment is made.

The inspectors at the dumping places are required
to see that the snow is properly dumped and that no
improper material likely to obstruct the sewer is
mixed with the snow. In sewers where there is not
a sufficient flow of water, a water jet has been pro-
vided, which serves to increase the flow of the sewer,
and tills is regulated by the inspector.

Worcester, Mass. — A four-horse scraper is used to
throw the snow back from the street railway tracks to
the curb, thus forming a windrow, which permits the
teams with carts to stand for loading between the car
track and the windrow, without danger. Snow is
loaded into sleds and drawn to the main sewer and
dumped through manholes. The snow melts after go-
ing a short distance and goes through the regular
filtering beds on the outskirts of the city.

Highway Research Work Assured

The Engineering Foundation, the Chair-
man of which is Charles F. Rand, 71 Broad-
way, New York City, past President of the
American Institute of Mining and Metal-
kirgical Engineers, has already raised a
fund of $500,000 to be applied to highway
research. The Foundation is seeking to in-
crease this fund to $5,000,000, the income
of which will readily carry out the work.

Functioning through the Engineering Di-
vision of the National Research Council,
it is planned to cooperate all the agencies
in highway research and, aided by the Fed-
eral Government, to employ highly trained
research men who will gather scientifically
the great mass of fundamental facts under-
lying the economic construction of modern
types of highways. These data will be dis-
tributed among road builders in every state.

Many national bodjes are actually coop-
erating with the Engineering Foundation
and the Engineering Division of the Na-
tional Research Council. Among them are
the American Association of State Highway
Ofiicials, American Society of Testing Ma-
terials, Society of Automotive Engineers,
Bureau of Public Roads, National Automo-
bile Chamber of Commerce, American So-
ciety of Civil Engineers, American Institute
of Consulting Engineers, American Society
of Mechanical Engineers, Association of
State Geologists, Western Society of En-
gineers, American Concrete Institute and
American Automobile Association. Also
the Engineering Departments of Columbia,
Harvard and Yale, and the Universities of
Maryland and Illinois, and Iowa State Col-
lege.

The National Health Council

The need of coordination of the work of
national voluntary health organizations has
been appreciated for many years. Action
to organize these activities resulted in a
conference held in Washington on Decem-
ber 10, 1920, at which meeting a National
Health Council was created. The member-
ship includes the American Public Health
Association, American Red Cross, Ameri-
can Social Hygiene Association, Council of
State and Provincial Health Authorities,
Council on Health and Public Instruction
of the American Medical Association, Na-
tional Child Health Council, National Com-
mittee for Mental Hygiene, National Or-
ganization for Public Health Nursing, Na-

tional Tuberculosis Association.

It has been decided that the legitimate
field in which the Council might function
should include (i) a special information
bureau, (2) a legislative bureau. (3) the
coordination of health activities, (4) peri-
odic joint conferences, (5) a statistical bu-
reau, (6) the development of educational
health material. It is anticipated that the
financial resources of the Red Cross and
other participants will be sufficient to enable
the Council to establish an office and staff
and to undertake first those activities
promising the greatest benefit to member
organizations and through them to the
country at large.

171

Water-Supplies and the Typhoid Rate

The Massachusetts Method and a Warning in Reply

By H. W. Clark

Chief Chemist, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

DURING the last 35 years the typhoid
fever death rate of Massachusetts
has decreased from 45 per 100,000
inhabitants to less than 3 per 100,000 in-
habitants, or, to be exact, 2.6. During the
same period — namely, 35 years — public
water-supplies in the state have increased
in number from no to 213, and the per-
centage of population using these supplies
from about 78 to 96. Furthermore, during
this period many poor supplies have been
abandoned, better supplies, including the
Boston Metropolitan system, have been in-
troduced, and more systematic and thor-
ough guardianship of watersheds has been
exercised. Undoubtedly the largest factor
in the tremendous decrease in the typhoid
death rate of the state has been the intro-
duction of public water-supplies and the
doing away with the use of contaminated
well waters.

With the introduction of public water-
supplies, sewerage systems have been in-
stalled in all the cities and large towns,
and with these two modern conveniences,
privy vaults and other like contrivances
have vanished and the bathtub has brought
about greater personal cleanliness. The
old methods of caring for the sewage of a
family not only continually polluted the
domestic well waters in use, but caused the
breeding of innumerable flies, which spread
disease by contaminating milk and other
food. In Massachusetts the discharge of
the sewage of a municipality into a river
used afterwards as a water-supply occurs
in only one instance, namely, that of the
Merrimac and its tributaries above Law-
rence. Furthermore, greater watchfulness
of state and municipalities over milk sup-
plies and food in general has also been
scientifically developed during the same
period, each new reform in sanitation re-
acting favorably upon the others and
greatly influencing the health and well-
being of every community.

Typhoid fever epidemics due to the use
of fjolluted water, contaminated milk and
other causes have diminished rapidly, un-

til to-day practically all typhoid occurring
in the state is due solely to typhoid car-
riers. All health authorities agree, how-
ever, that a pure water-supply is the chief
factor in controlling typhoid and that a
polluted water-supply furnishes the great-
est danger of a serious and widespread
epidemic.

Filtration and Chlorination

During the last 25 or 30 years two im-
portant methods of purifying water have
been quite fully developed, namely, munici-
pal filtration and the use of chloride of
lime or liquid chlorine. The writer firmly
believes in the value of filtration and urges
filter installation strongly wherever a
water-supply needs such purification. The
value of hypochlorite or liquid chlorine has
also been too well established to need much
discussion here. As efficient as chlorine
treatment is, the writer feels that it is not
in the same class as a purification measure
with adequate filtration, and should be con-
sidered solely as an adjunct.*

Throughout large sections of the coun-
try, especially where polluted river waters
have to be used as municipal water-sup-
plies, filters or chlorine treatment, or both,
are absolutely necessary ; and that filtra-
tion is an efficient method of eliminating
water-borne typhoid, an enormous amount
of reliable data collected during the past
25 years has absolutely proved. To be suc-
cessful, filters must be of suitable con-
struction, adapted to the water which they
are filtering, and operated under good
supervision; in other words, they must be
designed by experts and operated under
expert supervision.

At the present time it is understood that
approximately 22,000,000 people in the
country are using filtered water and that
liquid chlorine or hypochlorite installa-
tions have been made in upward of 2,500
cities and towns. Massachusetts, how-
ever, has very few filters in operation and

* See Colonel George A. Johnson's discussion fol-
lowing this article.

THE AMERICAN CITY

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February. 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

173

few chlorine plants, yet it has the lowest
typhoid fever death rate of any state in the
country. Of the 3,700,000 people, more
or less, within its borders using or having
access to public water-supplies, about 400,-
000, or not over 11 per cent, use filtered
water. Lawrence, Lowel,!, Newburyport
and Springfield are the only cities and
Brookline the only large town filtering
their supplies. Of course, there are other
filters, as at Middleboro, Reading, Cohas-
set, Norwood, etc., but the actual popula-
tion of the state supplied in this way is
comparatively small Moreover, of the
four large municipalities mentioned as
filtering their supplies, only one — Law-
rence — does so on account of bacterial
pollution; Springfield filters to improve its
water physically, and Lowell and Brook-
line to remove manganese and iron, as do
a number of the smaller towns in the state.
Only seven municipalities in the state have
chlorine plants in operation all or part of
the time, and one of these is Lawrence,
which first filters its supply.

The policy of Massachusetts for the last
35 years has been to obtain for every city
and town a water-supply that is safe and
can be used for all domestic purposes with-
out any purification treatment other than
storage. The state has been almost phe-
nomenally successful in accomplishing
this. From the great metropolitan supply
furnishing water to Boston and 20 sur-
rounding cities and towns, down to the
smallest supply, they are all practically
safe at the present time, if we can judge
from our typhoid fever, death rate for the
last few years. . -.^ . k

Nearly 100 cities and towns in the state
have ground-water supplies, and the re-
mainder use surface water. The ground
waters are taken largely from driven wells
25 to 59 feet deep, although many large
curb wells are in use. These ground
waters are. generally speaking, colorless,
although there are a number of exceptions
to this: they are usually soft, contain little
organic matter, and many are equal to or
better than the most famous or best-ex-
ploited New England spring waters sold
at high prices throughout the country.
They are all generally low in bacteria, and
many of them often sterile when exam-
ined. Such waters are, of course, abso-
lutely safe without filtration or chlorine
treatment, and their introduction and use

in so many cities and towns has un-
doubtedly' had a great influence in lower-
ing and eliminating typhoid in the state.
They may perhaps be considered slowly
filtered rain water. This water takes up
in some instances slight amounts of or-
ganic matter when entering the soil, but
this organic matter is eliminated or at
least oxidized by the exceptionally slow
filtration of the water on its way to the
wells.

Now in regard to surface supplies the
following can be said. Massachusetts is a
thickly populated state containing 3,851,-
000 people, or 419 per square mile, and the
population is increasing rapidly. This
population is largely concentrated, how-
ever, in the eastern or metropolitan sec-
tion of the state and along certain river
valleys where water-power has been de-
veloped and railroad facilities are excel-
lent. Large areas of the state contain no
more inhabitants per square mile than one
hundred years ago. These areas are fre-
quently hilly and the rainfall high; their
brooks, rivers and lakes contain an abun-
dant supply of good water. These waters
before use are practically all purified by
storage, and such slight pollution as may
from time to time occur on their water-
sheds has so far been almost invariably
cared for by storage. They are low in
bacteria when entering the supply systems,
and the last water-borne typhoid epidemic
in Massachusetts, due to a public water-
supply, occurred so long ago that I doubt
the possibility of its being easily recalled.

The following table gives the typhoid
fever death rate of a large group of Massa-
chusetts cities and towns aggregating
400,000 population using ground water-
supplies, and a group of cities and towns
totaling 1,500,000 people using surface
water. Included in the surface-water
group are Boston and a number of other
cities and towns using the metropolitan
water. These figures are for the ten years
1910 to 1919 inclusive.

Examination of the table makes clear
that the two groups of municipalities have
about an equal number of deaths yearly
from typhoid fever per 100,000 people.
There is no question that the ground
water-supplies included in this table are
absolutely safe. Bacterially they average
better than the best filter effluents, and it
goes without saying that if they are safe

THE AMERICAN CITY

Siandardizedand
&ngineered for
Fire Service onCy

Fire Apparatus

LEADS ALL OTHERS IN EFFICIENCY AND POWER

Built in ail sizes and capacities

WHAT WE PROPOSE — WE DO
WHAT WE PROMISE — WE FULFILL

STRENGTH and STRUCTURE
SERVICE and SATISFACTION

If contemplating purchase of Fire Apparatus
GET IN TOUCH with the STUTZ

STDTZ FIRE MeiNE CO.

INDIANAPOLIS /^k. INDIANA

FIRE ENGINE CO.

When writinc to Advertisers please mention The Auekican City.

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

175

TYPHOID FEVER RATE PER 100,000
Municii>alities with— 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915

Surface water-supplies 12.9 8.9 8.0 9.1 8.6 6.fr

Ground water-supplies 12.

6.6

8.1

4.5

8.1

8.9

1916

1917

1918

1919

3.5

3.6

3.2

2.6

6.7

2.8

2.4

3.0

the towns receiving surface water-supplies
and showing typhoid death rates as low are
receiving equally good and safe water.
That is the story of Massachusetts to-day

tn <00

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NIAGARA FALLS

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in regard to safety of water-supplies with-
out filtration and without chlorine treat-
ment, except in the few instances I have

mentioned. ;

ALBANY

KiXO

B1N6HAMT0N

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—

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• S

DIAGRAMS SHOWING THE BEDUCTION IN TYPHOID BATES IN CITIES OP NfiW YOIEUC STATE
^^^, AFTER THE INSTALLATION OP FILTERS AND STERILIZATION

A Discussion of Mr. Clark^s Paper "l^

By Colonel George A. Johnson

Is it practical, is it possible, to maintain
a surface water-supply in a state of
natural purity ? There is no debate, it is
not. All surface water-supplies, including
those of Massachusetts, are open to dan-
gerous pollution at all times. Where
there are growing communities there will
always be dangerous wastes produced by
such growths. No man or group of men
can be depended upon to so care for those
wastes that they will not in part some-
where, sometime, pass into the waterways
which drain such polluted areas. And al-
ways there is the potential danger that the
water-supplies derived from such water-
sheds will sometime, somehow, become in-

cidentally or accidentally polluted with'
disease germs.

The writer does not feel that Massa-
chusetts is doing all that sound sanitary
logic dictates. She has an enviable record
respecting water-borne diseases, brought
about largely through the efforts of the
State Board of Health in setting up lines
of primary prevention, but she ignores
such sure secondary and tertiary lines of
defense as filtration and sterilization where
such expedients are not positively de-
manded by the known gross pollution of
the raw water-supply. Every state, every
city, must avail itself of all modern safe-
guards in order to insure for all time an

THE AMERICAN CITY

7i.

,fi

ow sare is sate enou

WHEN it comes home to you — to
your school — your child and fire
— How Safe is Safe Enough?

As safe as possible !

Any other answer h ridiculous —
sometimes it is criminal!

"As Safe as Possible" means a Grinnell
Automatic Sprinkler System in the
school where your child goes. Any-
thing else — any substitute — may later
be regretted over the biers of little
children.

With a Grinnell Automatic Sprinkler
System any school can be made safe for
children.

This system is the highest type of fire-

fighting device ever devised. It is auto-
matic! Theheatofthefire works it. It
is always on guard. Always ready. No
human aid is required. When the Fire
Starts the Water Starts!

Laws require such protection for fac-
tory workers. Are school children less
worthy of your protection? You can't
say "No" and be an American father
or mother.

Read "Fire Tragedies and Their Remedy"

Send us a postal card for "Fire Tragedies and Their
Remedy." Every mother and father needs it to convince
school authorities that as safe as possible is what the pub-
lic proposes to have for its children. Write us now, be-
fore you put aside this magazine. Address Grinnell
Company, Inc., 283 West Exchange St., Providence, R.I.

Complete Engineering and Construction Service on Automatic Sprinklers.
Industrial Piping, Heating and Power Eqiiipments. Fittings, Pipe, Valves.

GRINNELL AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER SYSTEM- Wften the fire starts, the water starts.

n When writing to Advertisers please mention Thb Amkucam Citt.

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

177

adequate protection against the ravages
of water-borne epidemics.

All surface waters untreated before pub-
lic consumption are potentially dangerous.
All the efforts and good intentions in the
world cannot eliminate the possibility that
sometime a typhoid carrier, perhaps among
the watershed patrol, or a chance traveler
over the watershed, or a leaky or over-
flowing cesspool or other point of deposi-
tion of the excrement of the inhabitants,
or an isolated farmhouse in which there is
typhoid fever in incipient, active or chronic
form, may contribute poison to a public
water later used for human consumption,
and cause typhoid fever in the consumer.
It is a matter which is uncontrollable ex-
cept through the exercise of diligence and
uniformity of application in setting up
such secondary and tertiary lines of de-
fence as filtration and sterilization of all
surface waters. Failure .to recognize the
soundness of this logic, which is founded oil
indisputable proof and past experience, may
result in a repetition in Massachusetts of the
typhoid history of Plymouth and New

Haven, where the water-supplies taken
from watersheds but sparsely populated be-
came suddenly and "accidentally" contami-
nated from one case of typhoid, and epi-
demics promptly followed. ^

The writer must be understood as in no
wise attempting to belittle the truly remark-,
able health record of Massachusetts. It is;
an accomplished fact and susceptible of no
criticism other than this: in public health
matters one must not stand still or, in other
words, stand on a good record of the past.
The potentialities of the present and the
future must be jealously regarded lest the
public health suffer.

Where the public health is at stake, rea-
sonable money expenditures are, or should
be, no object, and the evidence is conclusive
that any amount of money spent for pure
water, if it prevents typhoid fever, is money
well spent. The balance is always on the
right side of the ledger. Parsimoniousness
in such matters or adherence to what the
writer considers a "part-way" policy, can-
not be justified on any ground other than a
mistaken idea of economy.

Are You Organized for Emergency

Relief?

Should there be a fire of great magnitude,
an explosion, a serious subway accident or
any similar disaster in New York City at
any time, several thousand trained volun-
teers are ready to report for duty on a
moment's notice. Organized into an emer-
gency unit by the New York County Chap-
ter of the Red Cross, these trained nurses,
ambulance drivers, canteen workers and
first aid workers are equipped and ready
to handle 10,000 casualties a day.

Large supplies of surgical dressings, gar-
ments of all sorts, operating equipment,
litters and cots lie in the Red Cross ware-
house, in readiness for immediate trans-
portation. Day and night the garage, hous-
ing nineteen Red Cross ambulances, is open,
and a garage force of seven men keeps the
cars in constant repair for use in transport-
ing possible disaster victims to the hos-
pitals. There are four drivers on regular

duty and an unlimited number of women of
war-time motor corps experience who are
ready to be called on in case of emergency.

The stock of canned meat, condensed milk
and coffee stored in the canteen is sufficient
to supply a small city. The canteen corps
has equipment for making 600 gallons of
coffee in 40 minutes and can serve 700 per-
sons in 5 minutes.

The disaster relief unit has already been
called on for service many times — the most
notable being the Wall Street explosion.
A Red Cross truck, loaded with first aid
supplies, arrived on the scene twenty-five
minutes after the disaster occurred.

This is what New York City has done.
Every city, town and village in the coun-
try, through its local Red Cross chapter or
other organization, should in some similar
manner be prepared to give immediate relief
to sufferers in case of emergency.

mimimi

Water Works Companies

have learned from experience that dependable
service connections pay the best dividends —
because their first cost is practically their last
cost.

Mueller

Service Boxes (E-763), Tapping Machines (B),
Corporation Cocks (E-101), and Goose Necks (E-
501 ), render the maximum service for the minimum
upkeep — as do all MUELLER Plumbing Fixtures.
Write for descriptive catalog and prices. Mail
orders given immediate attention.

H. MUELLER MFG. CO., DECATUR, ILL.

PHONE BELL 153

Water, Plumbing and Gas Brass Goods and Tools
New York Cily San Francisco

145 W. 30th St. 635 Mission St.

Phone Watkins 5397 Phone Sutter 3577

Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

MUELLER METALS CO., PT. HURON, MICH.

Makers of "Red Tip" Brass Rod, Breiss and Copper Tubing;
Forgings and Castings in Brass, Bronze and Aluminum; Die
Castings in White Metal and Aluminum; also Screw Ma-
chined Products.

Illlllllllll

lllllllllllllllll

Wlien writing to Adrcrtiaen please mention Tmb Ambkicait Citt.

179

Drainage to Combat Malaria Fever

By George Parker

Sanitary Engineer, International Healtli Board

AT the present time sanitary engineers
representing national, state and local
health organizations are busy com-
bating malaria. It is essentially an engi-
neer's problem through the necessity of
destroying the breeding areas of the
Anopheles mosquito.

What causes malaria fever? An organ-
ism or germ that is introduced into the
blood through the bite of the female
Anopheles mosquito, which obtains the germ
by sucking the blood of a person sick with
the disease. It follows that even if we have
these mosquitoes, and there is no person in
the neighborhood ill with malaria, the
mosquitoes cannot obtain the infection to
spread the disease ; or, even if infected per-
sons are present, if there are none of this
species of mosquito to transmit the disease,
malaria will soon die out. But we have
both — the infected people and the mosquito,
and the latter is ever busy transplanting the
germ of infection.

Mosquitoes breed only in water, the slow-
moving stream with irregular banks,
swamps, ponds with grass-grown edges,
etc., forming the selected areas for the
Anopheles or malaria-carrying mosquito to
breed in. Through the elimination of these
places the mosquito is destroyed, and con-
sequently the transmission of malaria ceases.
This is only one of the methods employed
in controlling the propagation of this kind
of mosquito, but it unquestionably ranks
first in importance, and is most satisfac-
torily and economically handled by the
engineer.

Besides freeing a community of malaria
fever, the removal of the water from
swampy sections uncovers tracts of land
for cultivation or other use, which would
otherwise have remained a menace to the
community.

As swamps form on the lowlands, it is
very often found that extensive and ex-
tremely accurate drainage systems must be
constructed to relieve them, for they must
be drained absolutely dry to gain the de-
sired result, and such systems must be so
constructed as to function properly in years
to follow.

The Use of Fish In Combating Mosquito
Breeding

In a report by G. W. Park, Inspector,
Bureau of Sanitary Engineering, Texas
State Board of Health, he states that the
Bureau has found the fish "Gambusia Af-
finis" a wonderful help in abating mosquito
breeding, thus aiding in anti-malarial work.
This fish is the minnow commonly known
by fishermen as the "pot belly." The spe-
cies has no general outstanding external
markings. It possesses the combined fea-
tures of the several top-minnows and thus
is hard to distinguish without becoming
thoroughly familiar with live specimens.

The average length of the female is about
2 inches, and that of the male is about i^
inches. It feeds at the surface and sub-
sists principally on insect larvae. It is very
vigorous and hardy and does well when sub-
jected to different changes in natural condi-
tions. They are very prolific, easily propa-
gated and reach areas not inhabited by any
other species. They have an exceptional
devouring capacity, and their general habits
lead them to live in the identical areas
where the mosquitoes breed.

The Gambrusia Affinis as a control meas-
ure may be applied to such areas as stock
ponds, watering-troughs, surface reservoirs
and the like where oiling and draining is
impracticable. To obtain the best results,
the water area to be treated should primar-
ily be conditioned favorably for natural
propagation of the fish. These conditions
include :

1. Clean edges and surface free from debris

and floating vegetation

2. Sufficient clear, shallow edges to provide

protection against game fish when
present

3. Sufficient vegetation on bottom of area,

to reduce artificial feeding to a mini-
mum

4. General attention and occasional feeding

when needed

5. Exclusion of unnecessary disturbances,

especially in small areas

In introducing the work in a community
or municipality, a hatchery may be desig-
nated and established. This should be en-
couraged for educational and demonstra-
tion purposes. Great care should be exer-

THE AMERICAN CITY

The

Recognized
Textbook on
Playground
Planning —

This 128-Page Medart Catalog is recog-
nized everywhere as a text-book on Play-
ground Planning and Installations. It
shows in detail just what apparatus is best
suited for boys, for girls and for smaller
children. It shows ideal playground lay-
outs, where cost is secondary to service
and it shows, too, what combinations are
most desirable for smaller communities or
centers where only a limited appropriation
is available.

And, of course, it points out convincmgly
just why you should always specify
Medart Playground Equipment.

Add this elaborate book to your library —
it is an actual help to anyone interested in
Playgrounds and Playground Planning.
Sent promptly on request.

FRED MEDART MFG. CO.

Potomac & De Kalb, St. Louis, Mo.
New York San Francisco

52 Vanderbilt Ave. Rialto Bldg.

When writing to Advertisers please mention The Akkkicaw City.

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

181

FBODUCING AND REDUCINa TH£
MAIiABIAL MOSQTTITO

Upper left — Concrete spillway acting
as dam. Back water at upper end of
lake forms swampy areas producing
anopheles. Lower left — Swampy con-
dition mentioned above, which was re-
lieved by diverting a small stream to
pass through the area and gradually
filling in by silt carried down stream
during rains. This area could not be
drained without lowering the concrete
spillway, hence the method described
was used. Bight — Drainage system being constructed through area that for years remained water-
soaked and a breeding-place for anopheles

cised in collecting and distributing the fish.
The required number to stock an area de-
pends entirely on size, condition and time.
Several thousand impregnated females are
considered sufficient for an average pond
of about 10,000 square feet surface area,
stocked in the early spring. Typical food
consists of bread crumbs, minced liver or
fish, and yolks of boiled eggs.

At the present time the Bureau of Sani-
tary Engineering of the Texas State Board
of Health is making a test of the length of

time this fish can live without food and its
adaptability to stale, stagnant water. On
September i, 1920, six of the fish were
placed in an aquarium. Since that time
they have not been fed nor has the water
been changed. One died when they were
first placed in the aquarium, and the other
five have continued to live and are hardy.
This is considered a very good demonstra-
tion of the fact that they will survive even
under most trying conditions and will hence
aid mosquito extermination.

Banner for Best Milk in New Jersey

The Montclnir Herald, Montclair, N. J.,
reports that as a feature of the State Farmer
Week exhibit at the Second Regiment Ar-
mory, Trenton, N. J., the city of Montclair
won the right to fly the State Championship
Banner for the best milk served to con-
sumers in its community in the state-wide
dairy market competition. This competi-
tion has greatly interested health officials.

civic societies and consumers associations,
and many cities have awaited with inter-
est the result of the scores. Montclair's
score in the raw milk class was 93.3, said
to be the highest ever obtained by a New
Jersey community. Newark scored 78.4
and Atlantic City, 77.7, both of which are
considered as high records.

THE AMERICAN CITY

A Tarvia Pavement —

ten years old and still new —

TTHE Tarvia road above is Water
■■■ Street, Torrington, Connecti-
cut.

This street was constructed with
"Tarvia-X" as a binder in 1909,
and for three years thereafter re-
quired no maintenance whatever.
Since then it has been kept in tip-
top shape by an occasional inex-
pensive treatment of "Tarvia-B."
It is an excellent example of the
durability of a properly main-
tained Tarvia pavement.

Torrington is a busy manufac-
turing town where there is plenty
of heavy traffic, and its satisfactory
experience with Tarvia may be
taken as typical. Whenever Tar-
via is given a fair trial it invariably

makes good. And the fact that
towns which once begin to use it
continue using it in increasing
quantities year after year, is the
finest kind of endorsement it could
have.

There is a grade of Tarvia and a
method of application suitable for
new construction, for resurfacing,
for general road maintenance, for
dust-prevention and for patching.

Tarvia gives a road a tough,
resilient surface that is dustless and
mudless and resists the severe wear-
and-tear of modern motor traffic.

Illustrated booklet telling about the
various Tarvia treatments free on
request. Address nearest office.

Pfesert/es Roads-Prevents Dust

Meet us in Chicago at
the American Road
Builders Association
Convention during
the week of Feb-
ruary 7th.

Detroit

Salt L<k« Cut SoItU Pn>ri» Allutu

JotutMVWB LebwioB YounvrtoWB Tole<lo

__...„_ Eli-U* Bu(«k> Bohjnxm Onulw

THE BAmerr COMPA^flr. Umiud: Moot,.) T«ft».io

St. Loaia C1«r<Uit<l CiKlnnati PI(l>klitl>

^•IMlit D>llu Nukvilto Smcine

r.uliM B*(it«r WathingtoA

Columbua Ridimond Latrob* Bctjildicm
JackaosvilU Hottatoa Ocavcf
».MikM.B. Hidi(a>.N.S.

* Company Kj^ST'

When writing to Advertisers please mention Tbx Aukkican City.

i83

Validity of Garbage Ordinances

Right of City to Control of Garbage Is Paramount to Property Right of

Owner Thereto

By A. L. H. Street

THE right of the housewife to convert
the remnants of Sunday's pot roast
into hash remains inviolate under the
decision of the Michigan Supreme Court in
the case of Pantlind vs. City of Grand
Rapids, 177 Northwestern Reporter, 302.
But the same decision shows that the muni-
cipality has something to say as to what be-
comes of the remnants of the hash. In
short, no constitutional right exists in the
possessor of garbage to feed it to the family
porker being fattened in the private pig-
gery at the rear of the home, nor to market
it at personal profit to some one who may
desire it as provender for his swine, as
against the right of the municipality to pro-
mote the public health by taking unto itself
the matter of disposing of refuse. The
same reasoning is applied to hotels, restau-
rants and other wholesale producers of
garbage.

A similar conclusion is reached by the
Utah Supreme Court, and both that tribunal
and the Michigan Court refer to a decision
of the United States Supreme Court as sup-
porting their conclusions.

In the Michigan case, plaintiff sued to
enjoin the defendant from enforcing a gar-
bage disposal ordinance to his prejudice in
being prevented from using the garbage
produced at his hotels in feeding swine and
poultry at his farm several miles distant.
The Trial Court ordered an injunction, but
the Supreme Court reversed the decision.

The ordinance authorizes the local Board
of Health to contract with some suitable
person or persons to provide proper tanks
for the reception of garbage, to collect the
garbage and dispose of it, under regulations
adopted by the Board. Transportation of
garbage, dead animals and other unsanitary
matter through the streets, excepting by
licensed persons, is forbidden.

Other caterers were permitted to join in
the suit as plaintiffs, and the evidence
showed that cleanliness characterized the
keeping and handling of their garbage. In
part, the Supreme Court says:

"As to the right of plaintiffs to those whole-
some substances, leavings of the kitchen or
table, which are fit for food, we quote from the
[case of] city of Grand Rapids v. De Vries,
supra :

" '* * * It may be said that the ordinance does
not attempt to regfulate in any manner whatever the
disposition of wholesome substances by the house-
holder. It is aimed only at refuse; that is, discarded,
worthless matter — matter unfit for food. The house-
holder has perfect liberty, under the ordinance, to
consume, or to sell or give away, all the leavings of
his table or kitchen that are fit for food.'

'"The above language plainly implies that the
city in the exercise of its poHce power had the
right to treat as a nuisance all such refuse as is
unfit for human food. . . . Wholesome
substance may be distinguished from garbage
upon the facts of a given case ; but, generally
speaking, they may include broken bread,
meat trimmings, vegetable parts, specked

apples, and the like, if fit for food

But when such matter is mingled with garbage
it becomes subject to public control. . . .

"It is urged that a person who has produced
garbage upon his premises has a right to dis-
pose of it and to convey it through the streets,
because it is property of value and that as to
him the ordinance is wanting in due process
of law required by the Constitution. Upon
this point several dead-animal cases, so-called,
are cited, but these are not controlling. It is
not competent to declare a dead animal to be
a nuisance immediately after death. . . .
Dead animals are not nuisances in themselves,
and the city in its ordinances must pay a
proper regard for the rights of the owner on
such property."

The Court then proceeds to quote the fol-
lowing language used by the United States
Supreme Court in the case of Gardner vs.
Michigan, 199 U. S. 331, 26 Sup. Ct. 108:

''Touching the suggestion that garbage and
refuse are valuable for the manufacture of
merchantable grease and other products, it is
sufficient ... to remark that it was a con-
trolling obligation of the city, which it would
not properly ignore, to protect the health of
its people in all lawful ways having relation
to that object: and if, in its judgment, fairly
and reasonably exercised, the presence of
garbage and refuse in the city, on the premises
of householders and otherwise, would endanger
the public health by causing the spread of dis-
ease, then it could rightfully require such
garbage and refuse to be removed and dis-
posed of, even if it contained some elements of
value. In such circumstances, the property
rights of individuals in the noxious materials

THE AMERICAN CITY

IVIope Po^ivep —
IVIope IVf lies

The smallest particle of water in gasoline will give
you carburetor and engine trouble. Motorists should
require the extraction of all water before gasoline is
discharged into the automobile reservoir.

When gasoline is drawn from a storage tank by
any process, a like volume of air is forced into the
tank by atmospheric pressure. Its moisture content is
condensed, forms water and mixes with the gasoline.

The Bowser Patented Centrifugal Water Separa-
tor is located on the discharge pipe of the pump.
Water, being heavier than gasoline, is separated by
the whirling motion of the separator and the water is
trapped in the separator.

After passing through a wire cloth strainer the
gasoline, pure and full of power, is discharged, without
exposure to the air, directly into the car.

Bowser Piston Type Measuring Pumps for geisoline
will assure you better carburetlon, more power,
more miles per gallon.

S. F. B9WSER & COMPANY, Inc.

FORT WAYNE, IND., U. S. A.

S. F. BOWSER CO., Ltd.
Toronto

S. F. BOWSER & CO.
of Texas, Dallas

Wh^n wrrifinD" tn AHvprtift^^ro nip

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

185

described iji the ordinance must be subordi-
nated to the general good."

In the Utah case — Salt Lake City vs.
Bernhagen, 189 Pacific Reporter, 583 — the
Supreme Court of that state reaches similar
conclusions under a similar ordinance,
against a contention made on the part of
defendant that "the enforcement of the or-
dinance by the municipality is not destroy-
ing property in the interest of health, but
the effect is to take property of value from
one and give it to another; that if the gar-
bage, refuse, etc., is dangerous to health,

and therefore a nuisance in the hands of
the owner, it will continue to be deleterious
to health and therefore a nuisance when de-
livered to and taken into the custody of the
municipality or its exclusive contractor;
that the city can only justify depriving the
defendant of property, or the property of
his employer, after showing its deleterious
nature, and by showing further that it is
taken with the intent and purpose of de-
stroying it, or in some way removing the
part found injurious to public health."

Community Leaders Will Study European

Cities

Tour for Business and Professional Men and Women

AN unusual tour of Europe for the
purpose of observing business, social
and economic conditions is planned
for business men, chamber of commerce
executives, municipal officials, and other
civic leaders during the summer of 1921.
Although the usual objects of interest to
tourists will not be neglected, the purpose of
the trip will be to put representative Ameri-
cans in close touch with the active current
life of England and the Continent. The
executive head of the party is Dr. John
Nolen, city planner, whose work is famil-
iar to all readers of The American City.
It is hoped that in each city visited there
will be an opportunity to meet the leading
local exponents of civic, economic and in-
dustrial affairs.

In Great Britain, London, Birmingham,
Liverpool and Edinburgh, will be visited
with es{>ecial emphasis on the manner in
which England is meeting the housing prob-
lem, and an opportunity to see such garden
cities as Letchworth, and Lord Leverhulme's
interesting model community at Port Sun-
light. Belgium will be visited next.

This will be the first group of representa-
tive business and professional men to make
such a tour of the Central European States
since the war. Germany once had a great deal
to teach us in the matter of civic and social
administration. Her people are eager to
resume business relations with us. There
will be ample opportunity to see how the
German people are meeting their after-
the-war problems in Berlin. Dresden, Mu-
nich, and the iron-coal region about Dus-

seldorf and Essen. Fourth of July will be >''i
fittingly observed with the Army of Occu- ^^^
pation at Coblenz on the Rhine.

Two days will be passed in Vienna, the
most hopeless capital in Europe; and two
in Prague, the capital of Czecho- Slovakia,
the new state that is making such rapid
strides in the reconstruction of its civic and
industrial life. Then to Milan, where cen-
ters the interesting industrial experiment in
the control of factories by the workers.
This situation will be interpreted on the
ground by a competent Italian authority,
after which the party will turn north to
Berne, Lucerne, and Geneva, the meeting-
place of the League of Nations.

The end of July will bring the party
to Metz and "American France" — St. Mi-
hiel. Verdun, the great cemetery at Ro-
magne, the Argonne, Rheims and Chateau
Thierry. The greatest battlefields in his-
tory will be visited before time has ob-
literated the marks of the conflict; an-
other summer, and the "devastated areas"
will be superficially restored to their nor-
mal life. The tour will come to its con-
clusion with four days in Paris.

Although the itinerary has been ar-
ranged with a view to meeting the interests
of men, women will be welcomed and their
interests provided for, as it is recognized
.that women are taking a constantly increas-
ingly active part in American civic life.

Full information may be obtained from
A. E. Bailey, of the Intercollegiate Tours,
65 Franklin Street, Boston, Mass.

THE AMERICAN CITY

NEWPORT

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Whether used In the city street, the country road
or state highway, Newport culverts give dollar
for dollar service. In all the years we have been
making these durable culverts, we have yet to re-
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of letters complimenting us on the merits and the
lasting qualities we have put into our products

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i87

BONDING

Municipal Finance

ACCOUNTING

TAXATION

Proper Publicity for Municipal Bond

Offerings

By Sanders Shanks, Jr.

Editor of The Daily Bond Buyer of New York

IN the course of a normal year, the states,
counties, cities, villages and taxing dis-
tricts of the United States sell about
five thousand issues of bonds aggregating
from four hundred to seven hundred mil-
lions of dollars. These issues range in size
and importance from the one-thousand-
dollar paving loan of a small Ohio village to
the fifty-million-dollar corporate stock issue
floated by the city of New York for the
building of new subways. From Canada
to Mexico and from Maine to California,
every state is represented in this long list
of borrowing for the building of roads and
bridges, schools, court houses, jails, water-
works plants, fire department buildings,
electric light and power plants, public mar-
ket places, sewer systems, parks, etc.

State and municipal bonds, considered
from an investment standpoint, constitute
one of the highest-grade American secur-
ities, second only to United States Govern-
ment bonds. Carefully guarded by consti-
tutional and statutory provisions, these
securities enjoy the confidence of the most
conservative investors in the country. It is
a well-recognized fact that there is always
a demand for municipal bonds, regardless of
factors which oftentimes make it difficult
for other classes of borrowers to obtain ac-
commodations.

Public Sale Method of Bond Selling

When a city issues bonds it must consider
among other things the problem of dispos-
ing of those bonds. The law governing the
creation of municipal indebtedness usually
requires that bonds be sold at public sale.
In some cases municipal officials are per-
mitted to choose their own method of nego-
tiating the sale of the bonds, but as a rule

the law requires that sealed bids be invited
and the bonds be awarded to the highest
bidder. This is simply an application to the
sale of bonds of the same rule that is al-
most universally followed by state and local
governments in purchasing supplies of all
kinds. "Public letting" or "Public bidding"
is recognized as the only guarantee of com-
petition and the only competent safeguard
to protect the public treasury against over-
charging or other forms of graft in the
dealings of the municipalities with con-
tractors, merchants, etc.

The private sale of bonds (and a public
sale ineffectively advertised is virtually a
private sale), except in very unusual and in-
frequent instances, was long ago con-
demned by most states as unsafe and costly
to the borrowing municipality, and is dis-
couraged by the largest atid most repre-
sentative bond dealers. This method offers
to the unscrupulous buyer of bonds an op-
portunity to purchase bonds considerably
cheaper than they could be bought at a pub-
lic sale where the element of competition is
present. It is not an exaggeration to state
that thousands of municipal bond issues
have been purchased in this manner at
prices representing far less than their true
market value, because of the absence of
competitive bidding and the ignorance of
officials with respect to bond values.

The problem which the city official
charged with the duty of marketing a bond
would do well to consider is that of attract-
ing to his bond offering sufficient attention
among bond buyers to assure a number of
bids submitted in actual competition. It
would, of course, be a difficult task for a
small town or city to reach the thousands of
wealthy investors, saving banks, trustees,

THE AMERICAN CITY

DOW Calcium Chloride Flake

Preserves Gravel and Macadam Roads

What wears out macadam or gravel
roads?

Small loose particles are blown away
as dust — they are pulled away by the
vacuum created by rapidly moving
wheels.

Dow Calcium Chloride Flake binds
the small particles together so that
each is held by its neighbor in a vise
like grip. The Calcium Chloride
takes sufficient moisture from the air
to retard the dusting away.

Dow Calcium Chloride Flake pro-
vides the binding properties lacking
in dry gravel, aids packing, retains
moisture, provides adhesion of one
particle to the other. It makes a
dense, hard, long wearing surface.

If you would make a reputation for
low cost road maintenance and longer
lasting roads, let us discuss with you
by letter at once, the value of Dow
Calcium Chloride Flake for your par-
ticular road problems, whether on
trunk roads or in parks, cemeteries
and private estates where dust pre-
vention is a problem.

The Dow Chemical Company

Midland, Mich.

TRADE

U. S. A.

When writing to Adrertiaera pleue mention Tki Amkhicam Citt.

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

189

insurance companies, fraternal orders, sink-
ing funds, and other buyers which consti-
tute the broad market always existing for
municipal bonds. But this is not necessary,
even were it advisable or even practicable.

The Municipal Bond Dealer

Scattered throughout the country, but
with their offices in twenty or thirty of the
principal cities, there are a few hundred in-
vestment banking firms or companies which
make a business of buying municipal bonds
and reselling them to investors. Sometimes
these dealers operate in a restricted terri-
tory, specializing in bonds originating in a
single state, while others, maintaining of-
fices in a dozen cities, deal in bonds issued
throughout the country. They purchase the
bulk of all state and municipal bonds sold,
and, because of their ability to resell them
in the market where they will bring the
h'ghest price, they are in a position to make
the municipality the best bid.

But these dealers cannot bid for the
bonds of a city unless they are advised that
the city has bonds to sell. And they can-
not read the local newspapers printed in
every little community in the United States
In order to find out when and where bonds
are to be sold. And so. the problem of the
borrowing city resolves itself into the simple
matter of getting in touch with a compara-
tively small number of well-known and eas-
ily found specialists, who will bid in com-
petition for its bonds and take them at a
price representing the real value of the
securities in a market as broad as any mar-
ket in the world.

These specialists in municipal bonds may
be reached through the medium of financial
newspapers, especially those publications
which make a specialty of publishing bond
news and official advertisements of mu-
n'cipal bond offerings. Because of the
peculiar nature of this business, the mu-
nicipal bond dealer must rely upon such
publications to collect news of bond offer-
ings for him, and so he becomes a regular
and careful reader of the best of such News-
papers. ^C V

Experts Agree on Public Sale and Bond
Dealer Advertising

In a booklet distributed a few yearsago
among municipal officials by a prominent
Baltimore banking house, T. Stockton
Matthews, a municipal bond dealer of wide

reputation, says:

"It pays to advertise in selling bonds as well
as other commodities. While there are some
exceptions when a private sale of securities
will net the best price, yet, as a general rule,
those issues which are intelligently and sys-
tematically advertised for sale will be most
profitably and creditably placed. The best,
and in fact the only suitable, medium for such
advertising is the standard financial journals
and magazines which have among their sub-
scribers practically all of the active and re-
liable dealers in municipal bonds in this coun-
try. The advertisements which are inserted
in these columns are carefully and closely
scanned."

Few States Recognize Importance of Proper
Bond Advertising

Strange as it may seem, but few states re-
quire by law that notices of bond sales be
published in financial papers. The general
rule is that a city publish its bond offering
notices in the same local newspapers in
which legal notices of interest only to local
people are inserted. This sort of publicity
is, of course, largely ineffective in reaching
bond buyers located outside of the commu-
nity reached by these local newspapers.

The municipal bond lawyer, through
whose hands hundreds of issues of bonds
pass, has come to be regarded as an expert
on the procedure and practice incident to
the issuance and orig'nal sale of municipal
bonds. He is in an excellent position to
note the results of the many different meth-
ods employed by municipalities in various
sect'ons of the country in the negotiation
of bond issues, and is consulted more and
more each year by mun'cipalities for advice
with respect to the proper way to go about
the marketing of securities. The recom-
mendations of several of the most promi-
nent of these bond lawyers has a proper
place in this discussion. L. L. Delafield,
Jr., of the firm of Hawkins, Delafield and
Longfellow, of New York, says :

"Advertising in a local newspaper of a
small municipality is of very little use in ob-
taining bidders for bonds. It may be justified
to require such advertising in order to give the
citizens of the municipality knowledge of the
fact that its officers propose to hold a sale, so
that t!ie citizens may attend to see that all
goes well, but bids are not obtained in this w^v.

"In Order to obtain bids for municipal bonds,
there is no better method than to publish the
notice of sale in one of the financial papers that
snecializes in this clnss of advertising. I have
known of individual cases where the delay in-
cident to a public sale in a falling market has
cost the municipality money, but in the long

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Our municipal department handles state, coimty and mimicipal bonds representing over thirty
states in the union. Our experience and facilities are at the disposal of any mimicipality.

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Friedman "Snow-Loader" Revolutionizes

Snow Fi^htin^

This machine will positively handle your snow removal at a saving of 90 per cent over any other
method now in use. The Friedman "Snow-Loader" has been used in New York City with unbounded
success and satisfaction, loading trucks of 8 cubic yards capacity, at an average speed of 60 seconds.
If diese statements interest you, it will pay you to write for further information concerning the most effi-
cient snow-fighting machine yet developed.

NATIONAL SNOW REMOVING CORPORATION

67 East 93rd St., New York City

When writing to Advertisers please mention The Amekican City.

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

191

run I am satisfied that the best policy requires
a public sale. The financial papers are searched
daily by all the bankers and investors who are
interested in purchasing at the sales held by
municipalities. Competition is keen, and a sale
after advertisement in such a paper, in the vast
majority of cases, will bring the best price
obtainable."

We may also quote the firm of Caldwell
& Raymond, of New York, as follows:

"There can be no question that better results
will be obtained from advertising original of-
ferings of municipal bonds in financial pub-
lications than from advertising them in news-
papers of general circulation, whether the lat-
ter have only a local circulation or a general
one. Practically all such original offerings are
sold to dealers, bids, if any, received from pri-
vate investors being in most cases out of line
with market conditions."

Another municipal bond attorney of note,
Robert R. Reed, has advocated, as attorney
for The Investment Bankers Association of
America, the public sale of municipal bonds.
Mr. Reed says that a mandatory public sale
provision for municipal bond sales "seems
to be gaining in favor and is generally de-
sirable from the municipality's standpoint.
We practically always advise a public sale
when our opinion is desired by the munici-
pality."

A convincing argument in favor of ad-
vertising original municipal bond ofiferings
in financial publications is made by Chester
B. Masslich, of New York, a bond lawyer
who has been associated with the municipal
bond business for a great many years. Mr.
Masslich says:

"Excellent reasons are responsible for the
fact that the ultimate investor is rarely a bidder
at original sales of municipal bonds, but prefers
to buy them from an investment house which
has first placed its own money in the bonds and

investigated their worth. It is therefore to the
investment houses that municipalities must
look. A journal devoted to current municipal
bond news naturally goes into the executive
oflRces of all these investment houses, and every
advertisement in its columns becomes immedi-
ately known to these houses."

New Jersey's Public Sale Law

In recent years the New Jersey Legisla-
ture has made an intensive study of the
whole subject of 'municipal finance, which
has resulted in the passage of the "Pierson
Bond Law." (Chapter 252, P. L. 1916, as
amended.) Under this modern statute, New
Jersey municipalities are financing them-
selves in the most modern, businesslike and
economical manner, and the Pierson Law is
recognized as a model by other states which
are endeavoring to modernize their bond
laws.

Arthur N. Pierson, author of the law re-
ferred to and a keen student of public
finance, states in a letter to the writer :

"I am convinced that all bond sales should
be advertised as widely as possible ; especially
in such financial papers as reach the bond
dealer and investor. Through such mediums
alone can we hope to get true competitive bids
on our offerings."

The viewpoint of the experienced city
treasurer should be of interest in this dis-
cussion. Here is the way City Treasurer
R. N. Young, of Salt Lake City, sizes up the
proposition:

"It is an old saying that if you want to get
money you go where money is, and I cannot
conceive any corporation or municipality under-
taking to dispose of securities without availing
themselves of the services of a medium of ad-
vertising that reaches the class of people and
interests they must reach if they are to dispose
of their offerings."

Encouraging Market for Municipal Bonds

The opening month of the year has seen
the successful floating of several important
municipal bond issues. Detroit offered two
lots, one of $35,000,000, and the other of
$10,126,000. This was closely followed by
the sale of $11,455,000 4 per cent bonds by
the city of Chicago, at a slightly lower fig-
ure than that obtained by Detroit.

During the same week Cleveland disposed
of $5,000,000 School District 6's, and Akron

of $2,000,000. Other interesting issues of
the month included $4,225,000 by Rochester,
N. Y., and $5,000,000 by Philadelphia.

H^he ease with which these issues have
been disposed of has been distinctly en-
couraging, and while it is not anticipated
that there will be any rapid movement in
prices, the market is regarded as stong
enough to absorb any offerings likely to be
made in the near future.

THE AMERICAN CITY

'EASY ON A TRACK
THE CLETRAC WAY

SPECIFICATIONS

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Length: 96 inches
IVidth: 50 inches
Height: 51 inches
Untight: 3410 pounds
Turning Circle: 12 feet
traction Surface: About

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Center to Center of Tracltj:

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Belt Pulley: Dia. 8 in., face

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THE tank-type Cletrac is being used in many-
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Cletrac's broad sharp-cleated tracks take it easily
over ice and snow on hard or dirt roads.

This tractor has the certain traction and abundant
power needed to keep it working steadily right through
the worst storms of winter.

Ask your local Cletrac dealer for a demonstration
and write us for further facts about Cletrac in munici-
pal work.

The Cleveland Tractor Co.

"Largest Producers of Tank-Type Tractors in the World"
19205 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, Ohio

When writing to Advertisers please nention Tbx Amexican Citt.

193

News and Ideas for Commercial
and Civic Organizations

Golf Club Financed by Marion
Chamber

Marion, Ohio. — The financing of a
country club house and a nine-hole golf
course is a recent accomplishment with
wh'ch the Marion Chamber of Commerce is
much pleased. The need of these recrea-
tional facilities had been discussed by the
organization for years, and committees had
been appointed to establish them but were
always later disbanded because of their
inability to get results. The difficulty
appeared to be that a division of opinion
existed as to the proper location of the
course.

Another attempt to launch the project was
made a year ago, when it occurred to one
of the Chamber's officers to attempt to pre-
vail upon the chairman of the Civic Com-
mittee to spend several days at one of the
southern winter resorts and become an en-
thusiastic golfer. The young man did so,
and that act "turned the trick." Upon his
return he called a meeting of his committee,
at which it was deeded to gather all the
young men of the community together at
an early date and secure their cooperation
in launching the project.

Country Canvassed for Site

Before these young men were called to-
gether, however, and in order that the dis-
appointing experiences of former meetings
held for the purpose might be avoided, a
canvass was made of all the surrounding
territory by three or four experienced
golfers in search of a suitable site. One
containing 120 acres was found to be avail-
able and an option was taken on it, one of
the young men giving his personal check to
secure it. Two or three other men were
then authorized to prepare an organization
program and have it ready for the proposed
meeting. The program was adopted, with
a very few minor changes, at the first
meeting of these young men. One commit-
tee was promptly appointed to purchase the

real estate, and another committee to set in
motion an intensive drive for members.

A holding company and an operating
company were then formed. The Marion
Country Club Holding Company was capi-
talized at $50,000, and holds title to the
real estate, which it leases to the operating
company, the Marion Country Club Com-
pany. The stock has a par value of $100,
bears 6 per cent interest and is non-taxable.
The sale of stock was made possible by the
large subscriptions which were taken by
several of the prospective members of the
club, some of whom took as much as $3,000
worth. The stock was offered at 6 per cent
in order to make it an attractive investment.

Securing the Money

It was necessary later to increase the
capitalization to $75,000, because $50,000
proved to be insufficient to establish a first-
class country club. The sum of $33,000
was paid for the site ; it was estimated that
it would cost at least $30,000 to erect and
equip the club house, and the building of
the first nine holes of an i8-hole golf course
would cost $15,000. Even with the capitali-
zation at $75,000, this left a deficit of $3,000,
and so, in order not to entirely deplete its
resources, the holding company gave a
mortgage on the real estate for $10,000,
hold'ng in reserve a sum of money to take
care of incidental expenses. The operat'ng
company will take over the Country Club
when it is ready, and will pay therefor a
rental equal to 6 per cent of the money in-
vested by the holding company in the prop-
erty, plus taxes and insurance. The hold-
ing company and the operating company
are almost entirely distinct from each other
in the matter of their personnel.

Golf playing will begin early in the
spring, with nine holes prepared under the
supervision of a well-known golf architect.
In addition to the yearly dues of $75, each
member of the Country Club will be required
to own at least one share of stock in the

THE AMERICAN CITY

Standard Municipal Equipment

The Mack truck has become
practically standard for the
heavier classes of municipal
trucking.

.For the reason that Mack
construction is more than
adequate in every detail for
requirements which overtax
those trucks whose safety
factors are low.
A large number of recent
installations have been for
street flushing and
sprinkling. The Mack
combination flusher and ^4g>-

sprinkler embodies several
fundamental advantages.
Chief among them are single
engine system; plenty of pow-
er for truck and pump — low
operating and maintenance
costs — one man operation.

Our engineering department
will be glad to consider spe-
cific problems of municipal
equipment and make unbiased
recommendations covering
them. An inquiry does
not incur the slightest
^%v obligation.

INTERNATIONAL MOTOR COMPANY

New York

Capacities 1J4 to IVi tons

Tractors to 15 tons

PERFORMAfiCE COUNTS"

80 When writing to Advertisera please mention Tbb Ah xkicah Crt.

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

195

operating company. Non-members may also
purchase stock in the operating company if
they wish. The dues were placed at this
high figure to enable the operating company
to pay the interest on its stock, as well as
to provide a fund with which to maintain
the golf course.

The membership has been restricted to
300. Members resigning from the Country
Club are required to surrender their stock
to incoming members who may be accepted
in their places. The stock certificates con-
tain a clause binding members for the pay-
ment of the unpaid house bills or dues.

The purpose of restricting the member-
ship to 300 was to make sure that the play-
ing members would always be able to use
the course, because an i8-hole golf course
will accommodate only a certain number.
That number really provides quite a nar-
row margin, but since this golf course is
the only one in the city, it was necessary to
allow a slightly larger number of players
access to it. The Chamber of Commerce
feels that a country club of this character
is an undoubted asset to a city because of
the opportunity it afifords the younger men
of the community to get together for whole-
some social afifairs and participate in health-
ful recreation, which should make them
lose interest in the less wholesome attrac-
tions of the larger cities.

HARRY F. PALMER,
Executive Secretary, Marion Chamber of Commerce.

Chicago Safety Council Teaching
Accident Prevention

Chicago, III. — The Chicago Safety Coun-
cil, recently incorporated under the laws of
Illinois, is now a department of the Chi-
cago Association of Commerce, cooperating
closely with the National Safety Council.

The Safety Council has undertaken the
task of educating the people of this com-
munity in safety principles and practices in
order to bring about a substantial reduction
in the number of accidents of both a public
and an industrial character. The Safety
Council is a non-profit, non-commercial and
non-political organization. The sole pur-
pose of its existence is to make Chicago a
safer city. It will conduct its activities by
means of various committees, and function
through the schools, homes, churches and
industries with the object of developing an
interest in safety on the part of every one.

Conservation of land, timber, minerals,
water-power, etc., has been taught and prac-
ticed in this country for a great many years.
Conservation of men, of infinitely greater
importance, is a relatively new science. This
is accomplished by activities designed to
educate people in accident prevention, or, as
it is commonly called, safety.

Most Accidents Preventable

Experience has taught that at least three-
fourths of all accidents are due to causes
under control by the victims or by those
associated directly or indirectly with the
accident; and that about one-fourth of the
accidents are chargeable to the failure of
materials, lack of proper mechanical guards,
etc. This emphasizes the fact that about
75 per cent of all accidents are preventable
by education, and it is to this phase of acci-
dent prevention that the Chicago Safety
Council is devot"ng its energy.

How necessary it is that every one be-
come interested in this matter is demon-
strated by the fact that last year nearly
2,000 people were accidentally killedi in
Chicago and Cook County ; and that in the
first ten months of 1920, 440 people met
death in this territory by automobile acci-
dents alone. The Safety Council is en-
deavoring to make people appreciate that,
after all, human life is the most precious
asset of individuals and, at the same time,
the greatest asset of the nation; that it is
better to be careful than to be crippled;
that the exercise of caution is a duty which
every individual owes to himself, his fam-
ily, his employer and his country.

Accident prevention is now generally re-
cognized as one of the larger economic
problems of the t-mes. It is estimated that
last year an average of 222 persons per day
were killed in accidents of all sorts in the
United States ; and that during the nineteen
months this country was engaged in the
world war, more Americans were killed
here at home than on the battlefields of
Europe. The National Safety Council esti-
mates that some one is killed somewhere in
this country in an automobile accident every
thirty-five minutes !

These statistics should convince the most
skeptical of the magnitude of the problem
in both its human'tarian and its economic
aspects. Chicago proposes, through the Chi-
cago Safety Council, to effect a marked im-
provement in its accident record, thereby

THE AMERICAN CITY

Road -Building by Tractor
Quicker and Cheaper

N breaking new roads, in grading, scarifying, plowing, excavat-
ing, leveling, and in heavy hauling, the Best Tracklayer Sixty does
the work better and faster than horses and does it at less cost.

Its tremendous drawbar pull enables the Best to maintain an even
cut with the grader. The power is unfaltering. There are no animals
to favor on tough soil. No expert drivers needed to keep horses pull-
ing together. The Best furnishes compact, dependable, easily-
managed, flexible power, taking the place of 30 horses or mules
and operating at a much lower cost. Besides, the Best will do a great
deal of work which horses cannot perform.

Another advantage in favor of the Best Sixty for road work is its
ability to negotiate ground too soft for animals and too rough for
trucks. The long, wide tracks distribute the weight over so great
an area that the ground pressure per square inch is. less than that
of the average-sized man. The tracks also bridge ruts and holes
and gaps, enabling the Best to work efficiently under very unfavor-
able ground conditions.

There are many mechanical features of the Best that are respon-
sible for Best performance. This tractor is the result of a develop-
ment covering many years of tractor-building experience. Design,
choice of materials, engine, workmanship — all have been time-tested
and proven in actual practice. For years the Best has been con-
spicuously successful on the big heavy-duty work of the West.

Our catalog fully explains these mechanical features and their
time-tested advantages. Write for it. Also ask for the name of our
nearest dealer.

C. L. Best Tractor Co.

San Leandro

California

Wh»>n writing to Advertisers nieaae tnentinn Th« Ausbican City.

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

197

making the city a safer and at the same
time a better city in which to live.

HARRY J. BELL,
Secretary, The Chicago Safety Council, Chicago

Association of Commerce.

Chamber Aids Firemen and
Policemen

Sioux City, lowA.^The December issue
of The American City carried a story
about the manner in which the Sioux City
Chamber of Commerce secured higher pay
for the employes of the local traction com-
pany. The story that follows relates to a
similar activity, that of securing an increase
in the wages of the city's policemen and
firemen, who were leaving their positions
for positions elsewhere offering higher re-
muneration. The increase in the cost of
living found the men unable to finance
their affairs on the inadequate wage they
were receiving, and an appeal to the city
for more pay revealed the fact that no
funds would be available for such a pur-
pose until in April, 1921, when additional
revenue would be coming into the city treas-
ury. The matter could not be postponed,
however. The city's safety was at stake and
immediate action was imperative if efficient
police and fire departments were to be
maintained.

The critical situation which had arisen
was brought to the attention of the Cham-
ber of Commerce, which immediately ap-
pointed a committee to make a thorough in-
vestigation of all the conditions and report
to the Board of Directors with recommen-
dations. This committee appeared before
the City Council and satisfied itself that the
city's finances would not permit the grant-
ing of higher salaries to the men in ques-
tion before the date mentioned. The com-
mittee next investigated the living condi-
tions of the men themselves and found them
to be seriously in need of more money than
they were receiving.

Having satisfied themselves that the
policemen and firemen were entitled to bet-
ter wages than the city could provide, the
members of the committee suggested to the
Board of Directors of the Chamber that
there be raised among the business men a
fund from which the salaries the men were
at that time receiving could be augmented
until the city could take care of the matter.
The suggestion was adopted, and soon
thereafter pledges aggregating $40,000 were

secured from the local business establish-
ments, which willingly pledged themselves
to pay into the fund, known as the Fire-
men's and Policemen's Service Fund, a cer-
tain sum monthly until April of 1921. Thus
each man was provided with an additional
$25 a month, which they receive simul-
taneously with their regular pay from the
city. This made the men much more con-
tented, and the city is consequently safer.
The work of the Chamber of Commerce
in this instance has brought about a much
closer relationship between the city's guar-
dians and the business men. The fund is
being administered jointly by the Chamber
of Commerce and the city's Commissioner
of Public Safety.

WILLIAM HOLDEN,
General Secretary, Sioux City Chamber of Com-

Findlay*s Fire Prevention
Campaign

FiNDLAY, Ohio. — The complete reorgan-
ization of the Fire Department and the in-
stallation of motorized fire-fighting equip-
ment is assured the city of Findlay as a re-
sult of the activities of the local Chamber
of Commerce. The committee which has
been working on the problem found that
the department was years behind the times
in its internal organization and that the Fire
Chief lacked the requisite authority to en-
able him to improve the conditions.

The first step in the campaign waged by
the Chamber of Commerce in its effort to
get the City Council to purchase up-to-date
apparatus and reorganize the department
was to arouse the interest of the public in
the subject. This was done during Fire Pre-
vention Week, conducted by the Chamber
of Commerce during the week of October
18, 1920. During this period the interest
of the public schools was especially enlisted.
Home inspection blanks were distributed
among the pupils in an effort to eliminate
the fire hazards; 1,500 of these were filled
out by the children, who were also asked to
write essays on fire prevention.

Both the Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs co-
operated actively to make Fire Prevention
Week a success. A forceful speaker was
brought from New York to address an open
forum meeting held by the Chamber of
Commerce for the purpose of discussing the
subject of fire prevention. The- services of
fifty state inspectors of fire hazards were

THE AMERICAN CITY

The City Beautiful

is only possible by proper care of shade, ornamental trees and shrub-
bery.

Power spraying will do more towards beautiful parks and streets
than other methods.

~ Spray with the Bean

Power Sprayers and re-
duce the cost of main-
tenance.

Then use the same spray-
er for whitewashing or
coldwater painting your
public buildings.
Write today for our latest
catalog.

Bean Spray Pump Co.

26 Hosmer St.,
San Jose, Calif. Lansing, lyiich.

ffSEsmm

The NATION'S Road Maker

Power is the problem of the road builder.
From the clearing of the right of way to the
completed road every operation depends upon
the power equipment.

Road officials and contractors everywhere use
"Caterpillar" Tractors because the "Cater-
pillar" has proved dependable, thru years of
service, for the whole range of power needs in
modern road making and maintenance.
Flexible roller frame construction (exclusive
Holt feature), three speeds, positive traction,
convenience of operation, accessibility of all
parts — these and many other features com-
bine to make the "Caterpillar" the most
practical power for the road maker.

Booklet, "The Nation's Road Maker"
on request.

The HOLT Manufacturing Co.,

Inc.

PEORIA, ILLINOIS

Spokane, Wash. New York Office, 50

Church St. Factories at Stockton, Cal.,

and Peoria, 111.

Doing the Work of 32 Mules for
Sumpter County, Ga.

Sumpter County, Georgia, operates three "Caterpillar" Tractors.

"We are keeping a cost account and our savings ate based on
this record. In grading, the daily saving with two 'Caterpil-
lars' is $91.02 over our former cost with mules. In maintenance
we drag 30 miles per day at a saving of $1.32 per mile over former
costs."

omisfm

There U bat one V/U^^jr'^'*3l!C ~ ^^^ ^ ^"'^'^^ '^

iiiiiMiiiniiiniTiiMiTiiTiiimiiiiiiir ] [iiiiniiiiri

February, 192 i

THE AMERICAN CiTY

199

also secured, and approximately 300 special
inspections were made by them.

All these activities revealed conditions
which convinced the members of the City
Council of the necessity for making the im-
provements in the Fire Department urged
by the Chamber of Commerce. An ordi-
nance giving the Fire Department extensive
powers was subsequently presented to the
Council and favorably acted upon by it ; and
the Council has assured the Chamber that
it will support the detailed recommendations
for improvement that are finally made. Two
experts were appointed to make an inten-
sive study of the department, and after they
have completed their work it is expected
that a top-notch fire chief will be brought
to Findlay to organize and train the local
force.

J. B. ABELL,
Managing Secretary, Finllay Chamber of Com-
merce.

Farmers Shown Advantages of
Motor Trucks

Portsmouth, Ohio. — The fine spirit of
cooperation which characterizes all the
activities of the Portsmouth Chamber of
Commerce was again exemplified in the
"motor truck on the farm" tour which was
conducted recently by that organization.
Practically all the truck dealers in Ports-
mouth participated in this tour, and the only
two who did not remained out because of
their inability to procure trucks in time.

A "motorcade" (you cannot say "caval-
cade" when speaking of automobiles !), con-
sisting of a Buick coupelet, a Chevrolet
suburban car, a Chevrolet 2-ton truck, a
Nash I -ton truck, a Nash 2-ton truck, a
White 2-ton truck, a Stewart 2-ton truck, a
GMC i-ton truck, a CMC 2-ton truck, and
an Overland service wagon, left the Ports-
mouth Chamber of Commerce on a Tuesday
morning and were on the road until Satur-
day noon of that week. They covered five
counties and a distance of over 400 miles.
Two weeks before the tour took place an ad-
vance agent distributed large posters over
the territory to be covered, and announced
the time when the cars would arrive at each
country town. Another man was designated
to reach the town one hour before the
arrival of the automobiles and perfect the
arrangements for the exhibit.

An Alamo lighting system was set up on
one of the GMC trucks, and at night the
entire line of cars was illuminated bv wire

stretched over the trucks. Music was pro-
vided by the use of a piano mounted on one
of the trucks, and by a cornetist, a saxo-
phone player and a trap drummer who ac-^.,
companied the party.

At each stop in the village short talks were
given on "Motor Trucks on the Farm," after
which the cars proceeded to a farmer's field
which had previously been selected for the
exhibit, where a demonstration was given on
hauling manure spreaders, hauling in hay,
pulling hay-cutters and pulling wheat
binders. Cards giving the names of all the
trucks in the exhibit were distributed at
each town, with the request that any one
interested in any particular type check that
make on the card and send it, with his name
and address, to the Portsmouth Chamber of
Commerce, which would send full informa-
tion about the car from the dealers.

The tour was in no sense a sales effort,
but was intended to bring to the farmers'
attention by actual demonstration the ad-
vantages to be gained from the use of such
labor-saving equipment. No literature was
distributed and no effort was made to sell
cars, thereby placing all the dealers on an
equal footing.

The success of the tour was much greater
than the Chamber anticipated. In all the
small towns visited, large crowds of farmers
gathered to examine the trucks and to listen
to the talks. The music rendered by the
small orchestra which accompanied the
party was also appreciated, and in every
way the tour more than justified the time
and expense connected with it. Each auto-
mobile dealer contributed $50 towards the
general expense, and they all felt that the
tour was the best advertising in which they
had ever invested.

J. B. WILES,
Formerly Manager, Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber Helps to Finance Water
Conservation Project

San Jose, Calif. — Valuable assistance
has been rendered the ranchers and fruit-
growers of this section by the San Jose
Chamber of Commerce through its assist-
ance in financing a water survey preliminary
to establishing irrigation districts and reser-
voirs in the mountains near-by, where the
surplus water which accumulates during the
winter and spring months may be held for
use as needed.

The orchards in the Santa Clara vallev

THE AMERICAN CITY

PACKARD

Prompt Bus Service Pays Dividends

If passenger-carrying busses are to
be operated at a profit, they must
maintain schedules, regardless of
weather and road conditions.

Because Packard trucks have a
known reputation for dependability,
combined with low hauling and re-
pair costs, the New Jersey Auto Bus
Association, of Newark, N. J., pur-
chased a fleet of Packard trucks and
fitted them with specially designed
bodies, each of them capable of
carrying fifty passengers.

These busses, which develop fifty
horsepower and roll day in, day out.

at speeds up to 28 miles an hour,
serve the public with safety, dis-
patch and comfort, and without the
annoying waits and delays that in-
variably lead to lost patronage.

Because of this excellent service,
these busses, in turn, pay their
owners a maximum return on their
investment.

They perform as Packard trucks
habitually perform — crowding
more work into each day at a lower
cost — because they are correctly
designed, precisely built, and
scientifically specified to the job.

PACKARD MOTOR CAR COMPANY • DETROIT

Qsh the man ivho owns one

February, 1921 THE AMERICAN CITY

201

produce from $40,000,000 to $50,000,000
worth of cherries, apricots, prunes, peaches,
pears, plums, apples and other fruits every
year, and require an abundance of irriga-
tion, but with no irrigation districts or reser-
voirs in which to hold the winter waters,
the majority of this natural water-supply
runs down the streams in swift torrents and
empties into San Francisco Bay. The or-
chard acreage is increasing yearly, and it
was found that the thousands of irrigation
wells by which they are maintained were
steadily lowering the underground water-
level. The fruit-growers last spring there-
fore began to look around for ways and
means of establish-ng irrigation districts
and reservoirs in the surrounding mountains
in which the tremendous volume of water
that goes to waste during the winter and
spring months could be conserved.

It was necessary first of all to have a sur-
vey made of the district, and this, it was
estimated, would cost $20,000. The horti-
culturists appealed to the Chamber of Com-
merce for assistance in raising this sum.
The Chamber found that the County Board
of Supervisors was able to appropriate only
$5,000 toward such a fund. This amount
the Chamber agreed to augment by under-
taking to raise $7,500, if the fruit-growers
would produce a similar amount, thus com-
pleting the required total of $20,000.

Dues Credited to Funds

The Chamber launched a campaign for
new members, and announced that every dol-
lar received for new memberships during the
months of May, June and July would be
placed in the water survey fund. The cam-
paign committee secured the cooperation of
the Rotary Club, the 100 Per Cent Club, the
Lions Club, the Progressive Business Men's
Club, the Merchants' Association, and the
Santa Clara County Automobile Associa-
tion, among which competing teams were
organized. Manager Roscoe D. Wyatt, of
the Chamber, prepared the prospect list.

Reports were made at the luncheon meet-
ings held daily during the campaign, and
the Chamber of Commerce was soon able to
tell the fruit-growers that it had gone over
the top in raising its share, its campaign
producing more than $8,000. The fruit-
growers also exceeded their quota, and inci-
dentally added many of their number to the
Chamber's membership.

Since its reorganization a little over a
year ago by the American City Bureau, the
San Jose Chamber of Commerce has ac-
complished much that is worth while, but
this activity stands out perhaps more promi-
nently than any other because of the fin'^
spirit of cooperation which the campaign
engendered among the agricultural and hor-
ticultural interests throughout the entire
valley. The Chamber feels that the financial
assistance rendered, while great, is the least
substantial result of the undertaking, and
that the cordial and helpful relations that
were established constitute a more lasting
result, which cannot fail to be a valuable
factor in the progress of the community.

V. J. LaMOTTE,

President, San Jose Chamber of Commerce.

Civic Activities Portrayed in
Pageant

Pittsburgh, Pa. — A very interesting and
illuminating pageant was given in Pitts-
burgh on December 8 by the Civic Club of
Allegheny County as the crowning event of
twenty-five years of effort for civic better-
ment. In it were depicted the problems
with which the Club has been confronted
during that period and the progress that
has been made toward their solution.

The actual presentation of the pageant
was preceded by a short program of music
on the new organ in Carnegie Hall, and an
address by Herbert Adams Gibbons on "Op-
portunities and Responsibilities for Ameri-
canism."

In the opening scene of the pageant the
Spirit of the City was shown as a great,
powerful blacksmith, seated on a throne,
and sleeping, shackled by chains of gold
and custom. Below his throne sat his evil
counsellors, Worldly Power, Greed, Pride
and Complacency, impersonated by four
men; and below them, in the outer darkness,
groups of individuals representing the vic-
tims of those evils against which the Civic
Club has struggled. The time was that of
the inception of the Civic Club twenty-five
years ago. Civic Spirit, denoting service,
next appeared, and in a prologue related
her problems and purposes, and then the ac-
tion began.

The evil counsellors agreed upon the ap-
pointment of Worldly Power (Self) to rep-
resent them. While they were deliberating,
Civic Sp'rit descended to the group? below
and touched one after another of the vie-

THE AMERICAN CITY

nA&s,!TIIAI LER

The Largest Trailer Plant in the World

Highway Side-Dump Trailer, with
body, one of the fleet employed by the
Greater Winnipeg Water District, for
the haulage of sand, gravel, concrete,
and other materials in loose bulk.

Note Price Advantage of
Highway Trailers

Costs $200 to $600 Less Than Average Trailers

The exclusive advantages which distinguish
Highway Trailers are a much greater factor
in the wide preference they enjoy, in all sorts
of transportation, than even the big price
saving they effect.

The steel-body, side-dump trailer, shown in
the illustrations was specially designed for
road and street building, and the practical
elimination of slow, costly hand-shoveling in
loading and unloading.

The release of a lock automatically pitches the
load clear of the wheels in the desired direc-
tion One man easily returns the body to the
upright position.

There is also the steel-body, two-way, side-
dump trailer with drop-frame, similar in ap-
pearance, but lower, which operates in almost
precisely the same manner, and which is
chosen by many contractors and road engi-
neers because of the drop-frame feature.

Write for liieraiure and any special information required

Edgerton, Wis.

Note how completely the automatic dump empties the
carrier. Also observe that the load is pitched entirely
clear of the wheels.

The Highway Trailer Co.,

Whea writing to Adyertiseri please mention Thb Ahkricam City.

February, 1921 THE AMERICAN CITY

203

tims of the evils referred to — Joyless Child-
hood, the Unclean, the Plague-Stricken,
Youth in Idleness, the Disinherited, and the
Unprosperous, questioning each. Worldly
Power (impersonated by a man) reproved
her for her inquiries. She tried to awaken
the Spirit of the City (the Smith). He did
not hear her. And so, having found plenty
of work to do, she called to her aid the four
branches of the Club's activity — Govern-
ment, Social Science, Education, and Art,
which were impersonated by four women.
With the help of these she started out upon
her mission of reform.

The Club's activities during the twenty-
five years' period were next portrayed. For
the Unclean a pure water-supply was ob-
tained and public baths opened. For Child-
hood, playgrounds, the Juvenile Court, the
open air schools, the child labor law, etc.,
were attained. For Youth, the recreation
program and new educational opportunities
in the night schools were made available.
For the Plague-Stricken, the tuberculosis
campaign, the Municipal Hospital, various
forms of health legislation, the tenement
law, and the new sanitary code, were
achieved. Then followed legal aid and
Associated Charities, city planning and the
organization of citizenship and American-
ization campaigns. As these movements
proceeded, the chains gradually fell from
the Smith and he awoke.

A grand festival then took place in cele-
bration of the anniversary of the Civic
Spirit's organized effort. It was a festival
of rejoicing, to which all who had partici-
pated in the work, and all good citizens as
well, were invited. During this festival the
long silent Smith spoke at last. He rejoiced
with the rest, but he solemnly warned the
Civic Spirit and her ministers not to pause
midway in their task, but to proceed with
their never-ceasing struggle for the better
day, the city of the future that is to be.

Thomas Wood Stevens, Director of Dra-
matic Art of the Carnegie Institute of Tech-
nology, was the author of the pageant and
rehearsed its production. The cast was
made up of "Tech" dramatic and music
students, the Guild Players, public school
children, foreign-born citizens of twelve
nationalities, and 25 young society girls who
represented candle spirits, one for each year
of the Civic Club's existence,

(MISS) H. M. DERMITT.
Secretary, Civic Club of Allegheny County.

BUY NOW BUY NOW

All Strikes End
Sooner or Later

The reason we were able to finance the
War so well is that business was good —
people bought and sold. The only way we
can PAY for the war is by buying and
selling — trading.

If you are on a buying strike — "forget it."

If you won't buy the things the other fellow
makes or handles HE can't buy the things
YOU make or handle. That is reasonable, is
it not? Those who are insistently determined
to put off the buying of the things they need
are not doing humanity a service, they are
helping to clog the wheels of commerce and
industry which will cause dire results.

Your livelihood and prosperity are bound
up in the livelihood and prosperity of other
men — you can't deny that point. There is
nothing fundamentally wrong with this coun-
try — there are bountiful crops, ample money,
capable heads and hands. Business is a gigan-
tic organization kept alive and active by trade
coursing through its veins. When trade stops
circulating — business dies. No man's trade
can flourish in splendid isolation. You can't
sell the articles you make or handle to the
man "out of a job" or the industry whose
wheels are stopped.

True thrift is always wise, but if the public
refuses to buy the things they need NOW
they are stopping up the channels that feed
and clothe us ALL.

Go out and buy to-day the things you need,
for the prices ARE down. They went up a
step at a time and they can't come down the
bannister. If you wait for the "bottom to
drop out" neither you nor the other fellow
may be able to buy then.

THINK and BUY the THINGS
you NEED now

Winston'Salem Chamber of Commerce

This is One of a Series of Adver-
tisements Being Published in the
Daily Newspapers of Winston-
Salem by the Chamber of Com-
merce in an Effort to Do Its Share
to Stimulate Buying and Stabilize
Business.

THE AMERICAN CITY

HEATING and MIXING PLANT

for laying and repairing bituminous macadam
and asphalt pavements Solves the need of mu=
nicipalities, counties, state highway departments
and paving and road building contractors for a
sturdily built, easily portable ^=yard plant w^hich
combines all the necessary requirements either
for laying new pavements or keeping streets and
roads in repair. The mixing is so thorough that
every batch is a perfect batch. The weight of the
machine is approximately 1 5,000 pounds and it may
be readily drawn by tractor, road roller or horses.

MUNICIPALITIES

already owning stationary asphalt plants will find
the **Simplex" single unit plant a tremendous
money saver for all work not requiring the full
capacity of the large plant and utilizing the old
asphalt which can be successfully worked into
pavements by the use of the "Simplex'* machine.
Cities and Villages as yet unsupplied with a
paving plant will find in the **Simplex" a means of
reducing their paving and maintenance expense
to the minimum consistent with good work.

For full particulars apply to

F. H. Conklin and W. Q. Harrington, Inc.

Room 1762, 50 Church St., New York City

When writing to Advertisers please mention Ths Ahexican Qtt.

205

The City's Legal Rights and Duties

Information for City Attorneys and Other Municipal Officers, Summarizing
Imi>ortant Court Decisions and Legislation

Conducted by A. L. H. Street, Attorney at Law

Gas Tank Ordinance Void Which
Makes Issuance of Permit an Arbi-
trary Power
City of New Orleans Ordinance No. 2126,
amended by Ordinance 5453, requiring a
permit for the operation of a portable gas
tank on a city street, without prescribing
any terms or conditions on compliance with
which a permit shall be granted, or without
which it shall be withheld, purports to con-
fer arbitrary power to grant permission to
conduct a legitimate business to one person
and withhold it from another in a like
situation, and is therefore void. (Louisiana
Supreme Court, City of New Orleans vs.
Palmisano, 83 Southern Reporter, 789.)

Vested Right of PoUceman to Pension
and Place Under San Francisco
Charter

Under the San Francisco charter a police
officer placed on the retired list and regu-
larly granted a pension on proof of dis-
abilities has a vested right to retain his
place on the retired list and to have his
pension continued until his disabilities
cease. (California District Court of Ap-
peal, Sheehan vs. Board of Police Commis-
sioners, 190 Pacific Reporter, 51.)

Railroad Company's Right of Way
Cannot Ordinarily Be Assessed
for Local Improvements

A railway company's land is not subject
to street improvement where such land is a
part of its right of way used exclusively in
operating its train service and there is no
showing it would ever be used for any
other purpose.

In reaching this conclusion in the case of
Johnston City vs. Chicago & Eastern Illinois
Railroad Company, 124 Northeastern Re-
porter, 568, the Illinois Supreme Court said :

''There are unusual conditions under which
a railroad rierht of wav can be said to be bene-

lidal by a local improvement, but as a general
rule it cannot be. The limit of an assessment
tor benefits resulting from paving a street is
the enhanced value of the property, and where
its use is restricted to the running of trains
there can be no assessment unless the value is
increased for that use. Where the property is
restricted by statute or grant to a particular
use, and cannot be legally applied to any other
use, and is at the time of the improvement de-
\oted to such particular use, the true measure
of the benefit which the improvement will con-
fer is the increased value for the restricted
use, in the absence of proof reasonably tending
to show that the property in question, having
regard to present conditions and the existing
Iiusiness and wants of the public, is about to
he devoted to other uses.

■'In this state, however, it is a settled rule
that the property of a railroad corporation,
even though used for railroad purposes, if
benefited, may be assessed for a local improve-
ment. But an increase in freight traffic and
the general business of appellant cannot be
considered in assessing benefits to its right of
way."

Owner of Land Benefited by Improve-
ment Not Personally Liable for
Assessment

Under a statute providing for payment
for a local improvement by special assess-
ment against benefited property, the land
alone is liable; if that is insufficient to pay
the assessment, resort cannot be had against
the owner personally for payment of the
balance. (North Carolina Supreme Court,
Town of Morgantown vs. Avery, 103 At-
lantic Reporter, 138.)

Charter Provision Impliedly Repealed
by General Statute
Provision in a municipal charter requir-
ing a two-thirds vote of electors before a
bonding limit can be raised is impliedly re-
pealed by a general statute subsequently
enacted authorizing cities to raise such limit
by a three-fifths vote. (Michigan Supreme
Court, City Commission of Jackson vs. Ved-
der, 176 Northwestern Reporter, t;s7-)

THE AMERICAN CITY

TIFFIN TRUCKS AND FLUSHERS

Service for Road and Street Maintenance

The road contractor must con-
sider the splendid record of Tiffin
Dump Trucks and Dump Wagons.

The city engineer must take
note of the excellent perform-

ance of Tiffin Street Flushers
throughout the country.

Tiffin vehicles have proven a
leading position in both these
fields.

The TIFFIN WAGON CO.. Tiffin, Ohio

L i t er a ture
about Tiffin
Street Flush-
ers andTrucks
sent anywhere
on request.

TiffinFlushers
do more and
better work
at less cost ,-
due to high
grade con-
struction and
two-motor-
system design.

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

207

Liability of City on Local Improve-
ment Bonds Considered a Debt in
Ascertaining Constitutional Debt
Limit
Under the provisions of the Kentucky
constitution limiting the debt limit of cities,
contracts for local improvements to be paid
for wholly by special assessments against
benefited property are not to be regarded as
creating municipal indebtedness. But if the
city becomes a guarantor of the payment of
principal and interest on local improvement
bonds, and not merely a collector of the
special assessments for the benefit of the
holders of the bonds, then the debt evidenced
by the bonds is to be counted in ascertaining
M^hether the constitutional debt limit is be-
ing exceeded. (Kentucky Court of Appeals,
Castle vs. City of Louisa, 219 Southw^estern
Reporter, 439.)

Municipality Not Liable for Flooding
from Sewer Where Owner Could
Have Prevented Damage — Court
May Require Sewer to Be Prop-
erly Constructed
Applying the general rule that one may
not recover damages for an injury caused
by the negligence of another when such in-
jury readily could have been avoided by the
use of ordinary care on the part of the in-
jured person, the New York Supreme Court
holds in the case of William P. Greiner
Building Corporation vs. Town of Cheek-
towaga, 181 New York Supplement, 759,
that a municipality is not liable for damage
resulting from backing up of a sewer and
flooding of cellars where the damage easily
could have been prevented by the property
owners or occupants by using caps on
drains on their premises, although the town
may have been negligent in respect to main-
tenance of the sewer in its particular con-
dition.

The Court also holds that a municipality
is not liable for mere errors of judgment in
making such public improvements as streets,
sewers, etc., but that this rule could not
operate to relieve defendant town from lia-
bility for negligence in permitting surface
waters to enter and overtax a sewer which
was adequate only for the purpose of caring
for house drainage. It was further decided
that where a town constructed a house drain-
age sewer so that at flood times surface
waters entered it, overtaxed it, and flooded
cellars of property drained, the owner of

such property is entitled to mandatory in-
junction requiring the town to cover or
reconstruct manholes sufl5ciently to exclude
surface waters, although owner is not en-
titled to damages on account of his own
failure to cap drains in cellars and thus
prevent flooding.

Ordinance Requiring Consent of Ad-
joining Landowner Before Issu-
ance of Permit to Erect Public
Garage, Held Invalid

An ordinance of the city of Wilmington,
Del., declaring that no permit shall be
granted by the building inspector for the
erection of a public garage in the residen-
tial portion of the city within 40 feet of
adjoining land without the consent of the
owners of such land, is invalid.

In reaching the above-stated conclusion,
the Chancellor of the Court of Chancery of
Delaware recently said in the case of Myers
vs. Fortunato, 188 Atlantic Reporter, 678:

"It seems to me clear that private persons
to whom as owners of land is given the
power to control the use by the owners of
adjoining land of their property are pre-
sumably governed by self-interest, and are
more apt than an official to be arbitrary
and unjust when their own interests are
affected. Obviously, then, decisions which
uphold the validity of an ordinance giving
to a single official arbitrary power to make
effective an ordinance do not apply to legis-
lation which gives such power to private
persons when control is thereby given them
over the use of land or other private per-
sons."

Construction of Missouri Constitution
as to One Person's Holding More
Than One Office

The clause of the Missouri constitution
providing that in cities or counties with
more than 200,000 inhabitants no person at
the same time shall be state officer and of-
ficer of any county, city, or other municipal-
ity, and that no person shall fill two offices
either in same or different municipalities,
applies as a whole only in counties and
cities having more than 200,000 inhabitants ;
so that the marshal of a city of the fourth
class could also and at the same time hold
the oflSce of constable of the township in t:
which the city was situated. (Missouri S'
Supreme Court, Nickelson vs. City of'
Hardin, S2i Southwestern Reporter, 358.)

THE AMERICAN CITY

MANUFACTURERS

Asphalt Heaters
Asphalt Tampers
Asphalt Smoothers
Fire Wagons
Gravel Diiers
Mastic Heaters
Patrol Heaters
Pouring Pots
Road Repair Outfits
Tool Heaters
Tar Kettles

also

Tanks and special
plate steel work to
order.

liCOK!

Do You Need a Tar Heater?
For What Kind of Service ?

What Kettle Capacity?

Order Now— Avoid Delays

You Can't Go Wron^ on
LITTLEFORD

Tar and Asphalt Heaters

What did winter do to your streets and roads? Now
is the time to prepare for spring operations and for the
early repair of the damage by freezing.

You may need additional heaters. Study your re-
quirements and place your orders as early as possible
so as to insure prompt delivery.

We will be pleased to send you complete information
on request. Write now — a post card will do.

500 E. PEARL ST.
CINCINNATI, OHIO

When writing to Advertisers please mention The American City.

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

209

Ordinance for Licensing Lodging-
Houses Held Valid

An ordinance forbidding the operation of
lodging-houses wherein sleeping quarters
for three or more persons are provided with-
out payment of a license tax or securing a
permit, is not invalid as being unreasonable
and discriminatory. (Missouri Supreme
Court, City of St. Louis vs. Murta, 22
Southwestej-n Reporter, 430.)

Wooden Building Erected Within Fire
Limits in Violation of Ordinance
,May Be Ordered Demolished

Where a wooden building was erected
within the fire limits of a city, in violation
of an existing ordinance, it could be ordered
demolished by the municipal authorities on
refusal of the owner to raze it, although
the ordinance under which the building is
so condemned was adopted after the struc-
ture was erected, holds the California Dis-
trict Court of Appeal in the San Francisco
case of Maguire vs. Reardon, 183 Pacific
Reporter, 303.

It is further decided that the fact that
the Board of Public Works of the city may
have issued a permit for construction of
the building could not preclude the city
from enforcing condemnation of the build-
ing. And it is held that even if the ordi-
nance providing for demolit'on of buildings
maintained in violation of the fire ordinance
should be unconstitutional, a court would
not lend its equity power to perpetuate the
nu'sance constituted by erecting a frame
building within the fire limits in violation
of the fire ordinance, by enjoining enforce-
ment of the invalid ordinance.

Right of City to Prescribe Patented
Material Under Competitive Bid-
ding Contract
"While there is some conflict of authority
upon the question of the right of the officers
of a municipality to prescribe a patented
material for street paving under a statute
or charter requiring competitive bidding,
the great we-ght of the more recent author-
ities is in favor of such right, where the
owner of the patent does not himself bid
for the contract, but makes an offer to fur-
nish the patented material or mixture for a
stipulated price, on equal terms to all bid-
ders." (Tennessee Supreme Court, Burns
vs. City of Nashville, 221 Southwestern Re-
porter, 828.)

Charter Provision Empowering City to
Regulate Use of Streets and Public
Grounds is Authority for Ordi-
nance Requiring Permit for Pa-
rade

Municipal authorities who are active
toward the adoption of measures intended
to prevent seditious and disloyal meetings
and demonstrations in public will be inter-
ested in the decision of the Appellate Divi-
sion of the New York Supreme Court in
the case of City of Buffalo vs. Till, 182
New York Supplement, 418.

Defendant appealed from a judgment fin-
ing him $50 for violation of an ordinance of
plaintiff city containing the following pro-
vision:

"No person shall participate in any parade,
gathering, assemblage or demonstration upon
a.iy street, square, park or other place within
the city to which the public are invited or have
access, which parade, gathering, assemblage or
demonstration has not been authorized by a
written permit from the mayor."

Grounds upon which defendant unsuc-
cessfully sought to secure a reversal of his
conviction included a contention that the
Buffalo charter did not authorize the adop-
tion of such an ordinance. But the Court
found that such authority amply existed in
clauses of the charter empowering the city
to enact ordinances "to define and prevent
disorderly conduct ; to prevent all disorderly
assemblages;" "to regulate the use of
streets, alleys, wharves and public grounds,
and to declare in what manner and for
what purpose they shall not be used ;" "and
such other and further ordinances not in-
consistent with the laws of the state, as
shall be deemed expedient for the good gov-
ernment of the city, the protection of its
property, the preservation of peace and good
order, etc."

Either Consumer or Village May
Maintain Action to Enforce Gas
Franchise Rates

Provision in the franchise of a gas com-
pany that it should not charge consumers
in a village more than $1.40 per 1,000 cubic
feet, constituted a contract for the benefit
of consumers, on which either the village
or any consumer m'ght maintain action for
enforcement. (New York Supreme Court,
Village of Freeport vs. Nassau & Suffolk
Lighting Company, 181 New York Supple-
ment, 830.)

THE AMERICAN CITY

Write today
for Catalog*

Austin Rollers
Tandem and Three- Wheeled

Austin- Western Road Machinery has won for itself an enviable reputation not
only in this country but in practically every country of the world where
roads are built.

Austin Roller performance has had a tremendous influence in moulding this
universal conviction of 100% worth. Consequently it is in the interests of
every road contractor to become thoroughly acquainted with this group of
Road Equipment.

Austin Rollers are built in Tandem motor types in four sizes and Three-Wheeled
types — steam and motor — ^in five sizes. They have been specially designed "to
meet modern road making conditions and will prove a positive asset to the
road contractor who owns one.

THE AUSTIN-WESTERN ROAD MACHINERY COMPANY

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Richmond
Columbua
Philadelphia
San Francisco

Los Angeles
Portland
Louisvilla
New York

Albany
Boston
Pittsburgh
Memphis

Nashville
Atlanta
St. Paul
New Orleans

Jackson
Dallas

Oklahoma City
Salt Lake City

>LMACO«> ALLIED MACHINERY COMPANY OF AMERICA <alm*coa>

CAftLUIAkMACOA NCwVOAH

When writing to Advertisers please mention The Amekican City.

211

Municipal and Civic Publications

THE ROMANCE OF OUR TREES.

Ernest H. Wilson, Assistant Director, Arnold Ar-
boretum, Harvard University. Doubleday, Page &
Company, New York. 1920. XVI + 278 pp.
Illustrated.
A most readable and instructive volume for all who
would know more of the history of the trees of our
country. The opening chapters tell of the intimate
association of trees and mankind from the earliest
times. The book is written in non-technical language
and in a manner which is readily understood by the
uninitiated. The remarkable geographical distribution
of trees influenced by the geological eras, notably the
glacial epoch, wherein species known on one continent
appear in local areas on another, is outlined. The re-
lationships of the trunks of trees and their autumn
splendors are described in interesting detail.

The stories of trees which have meant much in his-
tory and which are well known to the average reader
are told in detail, particularly those of the ginkgo, the
cedar of Lebanon, the common yew, the horse-chestnut,
the magnolia, and the European beech. Following these
are discussions of our nut trees, which have been urged
so generally as sources of revenue to governmental
units when used as shade trees along our streets. Our
common fruit trees, as well as the Lombardy poplar
and the willow of Babylon, are accorded chapters of
their own. The closing chapters contrast the tall and
stately trees and those which grow only as pigmies.

RECREATION.

Three pamphlets, reprinted from "The Playground":
"Recreation as a Function of the Church," "Folk
Dancing as Social Recreation for Adults," by Eliza-
beth Burchenal; "What We Did on a Summer Play-
ground in Chicago," by Genevieve Turner Holman.
The third contains suggestions for activities on any
small children's playground. Published by the Play-
ground and Recreation Association of America, 1 Madi-
son Avenue, New York City. (Apply to publishers.)

ACCIDENT PREVENTION.

"A Course of Study in Safety Education." By
Harriet E. Beard, Supervising Instructor of Safety
Education, Detroit Teachers' College. 1920. 31 pp.
An article by the author in the department of "Forward
Steps," in this issue of The A.merican City describes
this course and its application in the Detroit Public
Schools. (Apply to author.)

MILK SUPPLY.

"Pasteurization of Milk." Report of the Committee
on Milk Supply of the Sanitary Engineering Section
of the American Public Health Association. 32 pp.
1920. The report contains up-to-date information on
the effect of pasteurization on the composition of milk,
the process of milk pasteurization, the analytical con-
trol of pasteurization plants and state and municipal
supervision of the pasteurization of milk. (Apply to
A. W. Hedrich, Secretary of the Association, 169 Massa-
chusetts Ave., Boston, Mass.)

DOMESTIC SANITARY ENOINEERINO AND
PLUMBING.

F. W. Raynes, Longmans, Green & Company, New
York. 1920. XIII 4- 476 pp. Tables, diagrams
and illustrations.
An interesting book from the English technical press
covering the subject as stated in the title and devoting
little space to the municipal side of sanitary engineer-
ing. It covers the subjects of roof work, pipe fixing
and pipe bending, pipe joints, solder, fluxes and lead
burning, sanitary fittings and accessories, soil and waste
pipes, drainage of houses and other buildings, disposal
and treatment of sewage from mansions and houses in
country districts, water-supply, appliances for raising
water, hydrostatics and hydraulics, domestic hot-water
supply, and low-pressure hot-water heating systems,
and includes an appendix containing handy tables.
Specific instances of house problems are worked out in
the text.

INSTRUCTION IN AMERICANIZATION.

"Training Teachers for Americanization." A course
of study for normal schools and teachers' institutes, by
John J. Mahoney, State Supervisor of Americanization
for Massachusetts, with a chapter on Industrial Classes,
by Frances K. Wetmore, of the Public Schools of
Chicago, and on Home and Neighborhood Classes, by
Helen Winkler and El.«a Alsberg, of the Council of
Jewish Women. Published as Bulletin. 1920, No. 12,
by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Educa-
tion. 62 pp. (Apply to the Bureau of Education,
Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C.)

THE PROBLEM OF AMERICANIZATION.

Peter Roberts, Ph.D. The Macmillan Compai-y,

New York. 1920. vii + 246 pp.
The author of this book has been director of the
Americanization activity of the Y. M. C. A., and for
fifteen years has been in intimate contact wtih immi-
grants in every state in the Union. The purpose of the
book is to aid men and women giving all or part time
to Americanization work ; it submits a definite program
and plan of operation, and outlines methods by which
men and women may be trained for this work.

OLD VILLAGE LIFE.

Or "Glimpses of Village Life Through All Ages."
By P. H. Ditchfield, F. R. Hist. S. E. P. Dutton &
Company, New York. 1920. xii. + 253 pp. Illus-
trated.
This volume traces the development of village life

in England from prehistoric times down to the present.

There is a wealth of quaint antiquarian information and

numerous interesting illustrations.

FLYING GXHDE AND LOG BOOK.

Bruce Eltynge, Hon. Lt., Royal Air Force-Pilot,
Capt. Aerial Police Reserve, N. Y. C, Member
Aero Club of America. Foreword by H. M.
Hickam, Maj. Air Service. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.. New York. 1921. 150 pp.
A useiful hand-book for the amateur or commercial
flyer. It gives practical general suggestions, sugges-
tions for laying out landing fields, lists of landing
fields in the United States, with details of routes for
cross-country flying, and several pages of hints on
"trouble shooting" for aeroplane engines. A number
of pages have been prepared to be used as a "log" of
flights.

FIELD WORK AND SOCIAL RESEARCH.

F. Stuart Chapin, Ph.D., Professor of Economics
and Sociology, Smith College. The Century Com-
pany, New York. 1920. xi -f 224 pp. Charts
and diagrams.
This book gathers together the well-tested methods
and techniques of social investigation and presents them
in an accurate and practical form. The material is so
arranged that the reader can readily find the detail of
technique in which he is especially interested. Actual
field work investigations of many different kinds are
described in detail, and the theoretic principles under-
lying procedure are so stated that the practice may be
examined in the light of well-established methods.

NEW YORK CITY.

"The Metropolis," Alexander Otis, Editor. Pub-
lished by the Metropolis Publishing Company, Inc.,
318-326 West 39th Street, New York. Vol. I., No. 1.
January 1, 1921. Published semi-monthly. A magazine
devoted to the interests of the city of New York.

CITY PROBLEMS.

"City Problems": the Proceedings of the Eleventh
Annual Meeting of the Conference of Mayors and other
City Officials of New York State. 146 pp. 1920. (Apply
to William P. Capes, Secretary of the Conference,
Albany, N. Y.)

LABOR.

"American Minimum Wage Laws at Work," by
Dorothy W. Douglass. 41 pp 1920. A detailed de-
scription of the operation of minimum wage laws in
the various states. (Apply to The National Con-
sumers' League, 44 East 23rd Street, New York, N. Y.)

THE AMERICAN CITY

IROQUOIS

PORTABLE ASPHALT
MIXING PLANTS

You can^t fool the man who runs one

HE knows that his Iroquois mixing plant is made of tested material of
the highest grade and that the chances for breakdown are reduced
to a minimum. That's why most of our orders come from previous pur-
chasers or on their recommendation.

These mixing plants, like other Iroquois equipment, are the product
of 40 years' experience in asphalt street and road building, and 25 years'
experience in the designing of equipment for that purpose.

Iroquois mixing plants turn out more work at less operating cost.
They furnish 800 and 1250 square yards of 2" street asphalt topping a
day.

Iroquois Portable Asphalt Mixing Plants are made in two types,
with and without the power unit on the same frame as the mixer. The
especial advantages of each type are described in our Bulletin No. 2A.
Write for it at once.

The Barber Asphalt Paving Company

Iroquois Sales Department
PHILADELPHIA

When writing to Advertisera please mention Tbb Amxrican City.

February, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

213

CITY PLANNING.

"Municipal Accomplishment in City Planning and
Published City Plan Reports in the United States."
Edited by Theodora Kimball, Librarian, School of
Landscape Architecture, Harvard University, from in-
formation assembled largely by the Detroit City Plan
Commission. Published under the auspices of the Na-

tional Conference on City Planning. 79 pp. 1920.
This bulletin was prepared from questionnaires sent to
about one hundred cities where planning work in the
last twenty years has been represented in published
reports. It shows in a striking fashion the character
and intensity of municipal activity in city planning at
the present time. (Apply to the National Conference
on City Planning, 60 State St., Boston, Mass.)

The publications listed above are for sale by their publishers. Those listed below are under-
stood to be free upon application.

MILE SUPPLY.

"Standard Methods for the Bacteriological Exam-
ination of Milk." Third edition. 24 pp. 1921. Pub-
lished by the American Public Health Association.
(Apply to the American Public Health Association, 169
Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Mass.)
MALABIA.

"A Study of the Malarial Mosquitos of Southern
Hlinois. I. Operations of 1918 and 1919." By Stew-
art C. Chandler. Maps and illustrations. 1920.
Issued as Article XI. of Vol. XIII., by the Illinois
State Department of Registration and Education, Di-
vision of Natural History Survey, Urb?na, 111. (Apply
to Stephen A. Forbes. Chief.)
CORLFORT AND SHELTER STATIONS.

"Common Sense and a Public Need." An argument
for the installation of comfort stations in Newark,
N. J. By Arthur J. Smart. 8 pp. Illustrated. (Ap-
ply to author, 48 Hartford Street, Newark, N. J.)
REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN.

An illustrated booklet descriptive of Regina and its
vicinity. Issued with the compliments of the Mayor and
Aldermen of the City of Regina and of the Members of
the Board of Trade. (Apply to Board of Trade, Regina,
Saskatchewan.)
RECREATION.

Publications of the Playground and Recreation Asso-
ciation of America. A bibliography. 18 pp. (Apply
to the Playground and Recreation Association of
America. 1 Madison Avenue, New York City, N. T.)
HEALTH.

"The Economics of Health." by Ira S. Wile, M. D.
Reprinted from "American Medicine," New Series, Vol.
XV., Nos. 9. 10, 11, 1920. 23 pp. A detailed consid-
eration of the relation of income to health. (Apply to
Ira S. Wile. M. D., 264 West 73d St., New York City.)
LEGISLATION.

Revised draft of a proposed article of the new con-
stitution for Illinois, to be entitled "City of Chicago,"
to be submitted to the Constitutional Convention. Re-
port of the Special Council Committee on Constitutional
Proposals. 7 pp. 1920. (Apply to James T. Igoe,
City Clerk, Chicago. 111.)
RErOSE COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL.

"A Report and Survey with Recommendations Upon
the Municipal Refuse Collection and Disposal of the
City of Bridgeton, N. J.," by William F. Morse, Con-
sulting Sanitary Engineer. 15 pp. 1920. (Apply to
William F. Morse, Hippodrome Building, Cleveland,
Ohio.)
FORESTRY.

A State Forest Policy Adopted by the Oregon State
Board of Forestry, December 4, 1920. 27 pp. In-
cludes recommendations for federal policy, state policy,
and for federal and state cooperation. (Apply to F. A.
Elliott, State Forester, Salem, Oregon.)
CITY PLANNING.

The Decatur Plan, made for the City Plan Commis-
sion of Decatur, 111., by Myran Howard West, of the
American Park Builders, Chicago. Published by the
Decatur Association of Commerce. 171 pp. Illus-

trated. 1920. (Apply to W. F. Hardy, Chairman of

the Commission.)

PIPING. . ,, „

"The Case Against the Standard Soil Pipe. By

A. E. Hansen, Hydraulic and Sanitary Engineer. Pre-
pared for and at the request of the Committee on Re-
search of the American Society of Sanitary Engineering.
29 pp. 1921. The pamphlet is in the nature of a
symposium citing the opinions of competent authorities
against the standard soil pipe. (Apply to A. E. Smith.
Secretary, American Society of Sanitary Engineering,
State Department of Health, Columbus, Ohio.)

BUILDING.

The Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Meeting of the
Building Officials' Conference. 71 pp. 1920. Report
of the Conference, and detailed discussion of building
materials. (Apply to Sidney J. Williams, Secretary',
Madison, Wis.)

TUBERCULOSIS.

Framingham Monograph No. 8, General Series III.
Health Letters. Published by the Framingham Com-
munity Health and Tuberculosis Demonstration of the
national Tuberculosis Association. 84 pp. 1920.
(Apply to Donald B. Armstrong, M.D., Executive
Officer, Community Health Station, Framingham, Mass.)

HOUSING.

Seventh (and latest) Annual Report of the Home-
stead Commission of the Commonwealth of Massa-
chusetts. Published as Public Document No. 103.- 23
pp. 1920. Account of the activities of the Commis-
sion, whose work has now been taken over by the new
Department of Public Welfare. (Apply to Richard
K. Conant, Commissioner, Department of Public Wel-
fare, Room 37, State House, Boston, Mass.)
GRADE-CROSSING ELIMINATION.

"The Elimination of Grade Crossings," by Charles
H. Huff. A series of six articles reprinted from The St.
Louis Star. 30 pp. 1920. Mr. Huff was sent by the
Star to various large cities to study grade-crossing
elimination, with a view to informing the St. Louis
public, as that city was considering plans for getting
rid of its grade crossings.
TAXATION.

Annual Report of the [New York] State Tax Com-
mission for 1919. Published ly the State of New
York as Legislative Document No. 118. 514 pp. 1920.
Contains a detailed account of taxation in New York
State, with briefer statements of the tax systems pre-
Tailing in the other states. (Apply to Walter H.
Knapp, President, State Ta.x Commission, Albany,
N. Y.)
CIVIL SERVICE

"Report on a Proposed Classification of Titles and
Positions in the Civil Service of the City of Rochester.
N. Y." Published by the Rochester Bureau of
Municipal Research, Inc., December, 1920. 173 pp.
Contains a detailed report of survey of civil service
positions in the city, together with recommendations
for reclassification and standardization. (Apply to the
publishers.)

Municipal Reports

Boston, Mass. — Sixth annual Report of the City Plan-
ning Board for the year ending January 31, 1920.
(Apply to Elizabeth M. Herlihy, Secretary.)

Bradford, Pa. — First Annual Message to the Council,
by Spencer M. DeGolier, Mayor. 1920. (Apply to
Hon. Spencer M. DeGolier, Bradford. Pa.)

Chicago, IlL — Forty-Fourth Annual Report of the De-
partment of Public Works for the year ending December
31. 1919. (Apply to Charles R. Francis, Commissioner
of Public Works.)

Chicago, IlL — Report of the Chicago Zoological Gar-
dens Committee, Forest Preserve District of Cook

County. August 9, 1920. (Apply to Prank J. Wilson,
Chairman. 547 County Building, Chicago. -111.)

Hartford, Conn. — Thirteenth Annual Report of the
Department of Engineering to the Court of Common
Council. For the year ending March 31, 1920. (Apply
to Roscoe N. Clark, City Engineer.)

Jackson, Miss. — Quarterly Financial Statement, July
1, 1920, to September 30, 1920, and annual report of
the City Auditor for the fiscal year ending September
30. 1920. (Apply to A. W. Tobias. City Auditor.)

Scarsdale, N. Y. — Report of Special Water Com-
mittee. (Apply to Richard R. Hunter, Chairman.)

THE AMERICAN CITY

Water Supply and Water Power
Engineering

RELIABLE ESTIMATES OF COST

Recommendations as to the best
means of carrying out Public
Works to insure a maxi-
mum benefit from the
investment.

PREPARATION OF PLANS
SUPERVISION OF CONSTRUCTION

James P. Wells

HYDRAULIC ENGINEER

Main Office

249 Cutler Building. Rochester, N. Y.

NEW YORK CITY CHICAGO, ILL.

KNOXVILLE, TENN. TORONTO. ONT.

90 When writing to Advertiser! please mention Tbk Ambbicam City.

215

Methods, Materials and Appliances

News for Boards of Public Works, Engineers, Contractors, Purchasing Agents,

and Others Interested in the Economical Construction and EflBcient Operation

of Public Improvement Undertakings

A New Practical Road Planer

A new practical machine for highway main-
tenance has been invented by Richard A. Jones,
for many years Street Commissioner of Wal-
tham, Mass., as a result of his experience and
knowledge of the conditions and requirements
of modern road construction and maintenance.
The Kinney Manufacturing Company, 3529
Washington Street, Boston, Mass., has acquired
full rights for the manufacture and sale of
this equipment, which is to be known as the
Kinney Road JPlaner, Jones' Patent.

The road planer is especially designed for
use on bituminous roads and highways. It is
adapted for planing or leveling the waves or
ridgy elevations which frequently appear on
the road surface. The machine is a combina-
tion drag, planer and scarifier. It is constructed
entirely of metal and weighs about 3^ tons.
It may be drawn by a steam roller or tractor,
and the machine is mounted on steel runners.
The runners are equipped with removable cast
iron shoes, which are of ample length to cover
or cross the road waves without following the
contour of the surface. Upon the runners is
mounted an oscillating iron plate, holding the
planer knives and scarifying chisels or picks,
all adapted for adjustment by hand-operating
screws to meet the varying conditions of the
road surface, or according to the kind of bitu-

minous material of which the road is con-
structed. The entire equipment may be raised
or lowered at will or adjusted for planing as
required. For moving the machine to a dis-
tance or from one job to another, steel wheels
are provided, equipped with lifting screws, by
means of which the entire machine may be
raised and balanced upon the wheels for trans-
portation. When in actual service, the machine
is lowered and moved upon the runners. It
has a double equipment of picks or planer
knives, and may be drawn backwards or for-
wards without being turned upon the runners.
By the use of this machine the bunches or
ridgy elevations can be removed from the road
surface without destroying the general contour
of the road. The facilities for adjustment of
the scarifiers and planers in any desired angu-
larity or depth of cut enable the operator to
meet the different conditions arising from
changing temperatures or varying viscosities
of the material used in the construction of
the road. In operation the scarified ridges of
the road are smoothed and leveled by the
planer knives, and after proper sealing and
rolling of the leveled portions, the road may
be opened to traffic. If conditions require, the
entire surface may be treated with a new seal-
coat application of bituminous material, with
the necessary covering. While designed es-
pecially for use on bituminous surfaces, the

A NEW MACHINE THAT PLANES THE EGAD AS IT SCABIFIES

THE AMERICAN CITY

Concrete Garacr
Buflt ^Mith House

THERE are a number of reasons for making
a garage part of the dwelling: conven-
ience, saving in' construction, in lighting
and heating, etc.

We recently secured a number of interesting
photographs and sketches showing a variety of
ways in which a garage has been attached to
dwellings, new and old. These suggestions ap-
pear on one of our latest Service Sheets bear-
ing the above title.

In addition, we have other Service Sheets or
Special Bulletins giving practical hints on the
following concrete construction:

Workingmen's Homes Corn Crib
Walkways and Driveways Storage House

Concrete Roads

Smoke House

Bridges and Culverts

Hog House

Foundation and Hatch-

Poultry House

way

Dipping Vat •

Gutter and Curb

Tanks and Troughs

Storage Cellar

Piers for Small Boats

Small Warehouses

Garden Furniture

Spring House

Greenhouse t

Small Dam

Coal Pocket

Milk House

Posts and Walls

Ice House

Walls, Sills and Lintels

Manure Pit [ |

Garages and Runways

Septic Tank

Overcoating of Old Dwell-

Oil Storage Tank

ings

Tennis Court

Barn and Silo

Inclosure Walls

Cold-weather Concreting

Ask for the Sheet or Bulletin that interests you
most, also for a copy of the Alpha 96-page
Handbook on concrete construction if you
don't already own a copy. This Handbook is
not forwarded unless specifically asked for. All
sent free of cost or obligation if you live east of
the Mississippi. We are obliged to ask in-
quirers out of our sales territory to send fifty
cents to cover the printing and mailing expense.
Mention The American City.

ALPHA PORTLAND CEMENT CO.

Offices: EASTON, PA., CHICAGO, ILL.

Branch Offices:

New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Bellevue, Mich.

Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Savannah, Ironton, Ohio

When writing to Advertisers please mention The American City.

Feh.. 192 1

METHODS, MATERIALS AND APPLIANCES

217

planer may also be used to good advantage
on macadamized or dirt roads.

In the New Hampshire State Highway De-
partment, where this machine has been thor-
oughly tested under severe conditions, it has
been shown that by the use of one machine
during the past season a saving of many thou-
sands of dollars has been effected as compared
with the expenditures involved in the usual
method of reconstruction and renewal. One
of tliese machines will be on exhibition at the
Road Convention to be held in Chicago,
F"ebruary 9 to 12, 1921.

A New Development in
Snow Removal

A gang of Fifty or sixty men for removing
snow from the streets of Chicago was replaced
by four men and a new snow loader manufac-

trucks, the loader filled the trucks to over-
flowing very quickly. The machine is mounted
on crawlers to gain the best traction. It is
powered by a Buda 4-cylinder, truck-type gaso-
line engine. A 2-armed apron scoops up the
snow and turns it onto a wide cleated belt,
which carries it up to discharge into waiting
motor trucks. This apron plow is adjustable;
it is possible to scrape the surface clean or leave
enough space to pass over any obstruction.
Adjustment is made by the operator from his
platform on the loader. Skirt boards 12 inches
deep keep the largest lumps on the belt and give
it an effective carrying width of 36 inches. The
belt is positive drive, being fitted with roller
chain on each edge.

Chicago city officials put the loader to work
the day after Christmas to remove the snow on
Michigan Boulevard. A f ter working the down-

A NEW TYPE OF SNOW-HANDLING MACHINE USED THIS WINTER IN CHICAGO. ILL.

tured by Barber-Greene Company, Aurora, 111.,
in its initial test late in December, 1920. Be-
sides successfully replacing so many men, the
machine was able to load so quickly that a
great reduction was possible in the number of
trucks required. Four trucks only, each being
loaded in an average of five- minutes, were
needed where twelve were required before,
when most of their time was spent in waiting
during loading.

Xo change " had to be made in the usual
scheme followed in removing snow by hand.
Plows attached to trucks pushed the snow into
long windrows in the gutters. In place of
swarming gangs of men shoveling into high

town length of the Boulevard, the machine
worked across into the loop district. It ran
for 30 hours without a pause, being operated
by 3 shifts of 8 hours each. A minor repair
was made, and the machine continued. One of
the things that recommend it most highly to
the officials in charge was the fact that it would
work just as hard and tirelessly between mid-
night and morning as at any other time. This
is the time when men are least efficient, if they
will work at all.

This is one of the first machines of this type
to be put on the market, and it is covered fully
by patents. Mr. Barber developed the idea late
in the summer of 1920. It had its first tryouts

THE AMERICAN CITY

Better Homes — Better Cities

MORE homes and better homes mean
greater civic welfare and progress.
Well-built, permanent dwellings of fire-
resistive type, contrary to popular belief,
are decidedly economical.

While a Hollow Tile house may cost slight-
ly more to erect than frame, costs for de-
preciation, maintenance, and insurance
during the years that follow have proved
to be about 66% less.

, The large size units in Hollow Tile can be
laid very easily and rapidly, saving in labor
and material costs. The burned clay is
enduring; it does not decay;
and it successfully resists
fire. Depreciation and up-
keep charges are vastly
reduced".

MASlERpLE

THE TRADEMARK OF THE HOLLOW BUIL0IN3 TILE
ASSOCIATION AND YOUR GUARANTEE OF A PRODUCT
MADE IN ACCO-JMNCE WITH ASSOCIATION STANDARDS

The air cells, sealed up in the finished
Hollow Tile wall, provide exceptionally
effective insulation against damp-
ness, heat and cold. They establish
uniform conditions that protect health
and afford comfort, regardless of the
weather.

The value of these advantages of Hollow
Tile construction is undeniable, and the use
of this material should be encouraged in
every way.

City officials and others interested in
building regulation work can secure copies,
to use as guides, of a
"Standard Building Code"
drawn up in accordance
with best engineering prac-
tices. Address Dept. 242.

THE HOLLOW BUILDING TILE ASSOCIATION

REPRESENTING AMERICA'S LEADING MANUFACTURERS

CONWAY BUILDING, CHICAGO

^2 When writing to Advertisers please mention The Amekican City.

Feb. 1921

METHODS, MATERIALS AND APPLIANCES

219

in coal and ashes. Chicago expects to use the
machine for ash and gravel loading during the
summer.

Wallace and Tiernan Move

Owing to the steadily increasing growth and
rapidly enlarging scope of the business of Wal-
lace and Tiernan Company, Inc., formerly lo-
cated at 349 Broadway, New York City, this
company on January 15 moved to its new
plant, Newark, N. J., where under one roof
all the activities of its business will be con-
ducted, including engineering, design, manu-
facture, assembling, testing and shipping, and
all laboratory work, as well as the sales and
executive supervision.

Wallace and Tiernan are manufacturers of
chlorine control apparatus for the sterilization
of water, sewage, tannery and other trade
wastes, for the purification of swimming pools,
for making bleaching solutions from liquid
chlorine, largely used in bleaching paper and
in the textile industry, and have developed a
machine for deodorizing organic fumes in the
waste-stacks of refining plants.

A Portable Device for
Thawing Hydrants

After considerable study and experiment, the
Ross hydrant thawing device has been devel-
oped and is now placed on the market by the
American-LaFrance Fire Engine Company, of
Elmira, N. Y, This thawing device is simple
in construction, compact in design, and effective
in operation.

The machine was invented by Louis S. Ross,
Newton, Mass., who has long been an expert
on steam engineering. The thawing device
consists of a steam coil surrounded by a jacket
tank, which is filled with water for pumping
into the steam coil. By means of a hand-
operated pump, water can be forced from the
tank into the coils, and by regulating this feed
either "wet" or "superheated" steam can be
secured at the nozzle. Water is fed continu-
ously into the coil, being converted into steam
exactly as is the case when a drop of water
falls on a red-hot stove.

The heat is produced from a standard
Presto-lite style "B" tank carried with the out-
fit. Although it is impossible for this boiler
to explode in ordinary operation, a safety
valve is provided against any unforeseen con-
dition. The steam is led through 15 feet of
flexible metallic hose with a braided steel
jacket covered for over half its length with
asbestos, which in turn is protected by a con-
vas cover, and the whole wrapping bound with
^vire. The entire thawing device can be car-
ried easily by two men, for it weighs only 135
pounds completely charged ready for service.
It measures only 28 inches across the base, 12
inches wide, and 25 inches high.

The features of portability, the fact that the
boiler is not dependent upon an outside source
of heat, and the rapidity with which the de-
vice produces steam, make this thawing device
of general value and unusual practicability

A COMPACT,

PORTABLE HYDRANT-THAWING
MACHINE

wherever a hydrant thawing device can be
used, and of particular benefit to fire depart-
ments.

Engineering Firm Reorganizes

The business of Miller, Holbrook, Warren &
Co., Milliken Building, Decatur, 111., has been
purchased by the new firm of Holbrook, War-
ren & Andrews. Under the former name the
firm has built up a substantial professional busi-
ness in the structural and municipal field. The
three members of the firm have been active in
rnunicipal and governmental work for some
time. Frank D. Holbrook was engaged for a
period of about 15 years on Ohio River im-
provements for the United States Government.
Willis D. P. Warren has been engaged in
various classes of engineering work in Illinois
for 17 years and has put in the greater part of
his time on municipal projects. Captain Clar-
ence R. Andrew was formerly with the Govern-
ment on Ohio River improvements and served
in France in the Engineer Corps.

Novel Pumping Engine for
Fire Service

Practically all motor fire pumping apparatus
in service to-day uses the same engine to oper-
ate the pump and to drive the machine. The
city of Pueblo, Colo., has recently purchased
the motor pumper illustrated below, consisting
of a standard motor truck on which is mounted
a 75-horse-power, four-cylinder Duesenberg
motor driving a Lea-Courtenay centrifugal
pump. At a recent fire test, water was taken
under pressure of 20 pounds and for the first six
hours was delivered at 120 pounds pressure to
three standard 2H-inch lines, at approximately
750 gallons per minute. The machine as built
makes provision for four streams, or ap-

THE AMERICAN CITY

3<;:.>,>:^^

•^Xi--^\ -^.'mx

Equal to the Demands
of City Traffic

Few pavements can withstand the constant abrasion
of horses' feet and the damaging pounding of motor
truck tires and chains like Bitoslag does. It is a
pavement that

Wears Like Iron

and lasts many years. It is simple in construction and
is equally durable and effective on country highways
or city streets. Extremes of temperature have no
effect on Bitoslag roads. Let us know ycur needs and
we will be glad to consult with you at once to your
advantage.

Correspondence Invited

BITOSLAG PAVING G

gOWes-t Sirree-t - New York Ci^y

When writing to Advertisers please mention The American City.

Feb. 1921 METHODS, MATERIALS AND APPLIANCES

221

A KEW TYPE OF FIRE PUMPING UNIT WITH SEPABATE ENGINES FOE CHASSIS AND PUMP

proximately 1,000 gallons delivery per minute.
The pump, which is a 4-inch, single-stage cen-
trifugal, normally delivers 500 gallons per
minute, but readily handles 750 gallons per
minute at 100 pounds pressure. This unit was
run for 38 hours and 10 minutes, excepting two
periods of 40 minutes each caused by moving
the unit from one source of water to another,
and after this unusual test both the pump and
the motor were apparently in as good shape as
when first put into service. The Fire Chief
stated after the conflagration that Bessemer, a
suburb of Pueblo, was saved from destruction
by fire through the use of this single unit.

Goal Storage Systems

In the coal storage system involving the use
of a cable drag-scraper, manufactured by the
R. H. Beaumont Company, Philadelphia, Pa.,
the coal is received at the plant in railroad
cars and discharged into the hopper below the
tracks. A chain-and-bucket elevator picks up
the coal and delivers it down a chute to form
an initial pile 10 feet high adjacent to the rail-
road track. If the coal is for stoker use, then
a crusher is placed in the pit, where it can
also be used for crushing frozen slag coal
when reclaiming it in winter. A machinery

ftsAWMOfiT 1589
JSOMETBIC SKETCH OF CQAL-HANDUNG SCHEME

THE AMERICAN CITY

THE OTTERSOIV AUTO = EDUCTOR

CUBANS CATCH BASIINS

Saves Time — Money — L,abor

Mounted on any 5-TON Chassis of suitable standard make.

THE OTTERSON AUTO-EDUCTOR CO. SPRINGFIELD, OHIO

Eureka Snow Plow

Horte Drawn

Tractor Driven

Will mount curbs with ease and remove
24 inches of snow in one trip. The
wings are adjustable to any width and
either wing may be detached. One
user writes regarding use with tractors,
"The plow is so simple and the method
of attaching so easy that these facts
coupled with the reasonable price
should make a strong appeal to all
tractor owners interested in snow re-
moval."

THE W. M. TOY COMPANY

Sidney Ohio

No matter WHAT drinking
fountain you may put

INDOORS
^ This

The MURDOCK

PATENTED

^ANTI- FREEZING-^
BUBBLE-FONT

IS THE ONLY ONE THAT IS SAFE
TO INSTAL OUTDOORS BECAUSE

it is the only drinking fountain
made that was designed and is
built solely for outdoor use. It
does not have to be turned off
at the approach of cold weather.

THE ONLY FOUNTAIN MADE
THAT IS STRONG ENOUGH
TO WITHSTAND PUBLIC
ABUSE.

Write for fully illustrated literature to

The MURDOCK MFQ. & SUPPLY CO.

FIRE HYDRANTS
YARD HYDRANTS
HOSE BOXES

CINCINNATI, OHIO

Bnildert of Water Service devicea aince 1853

When writing to Advertisers please mention Th^ Ampbicaji Cxtt.

Feb. 1 92 1

METHODS, MATERIALS AND APPLIANCES

223

house contains the driving drums for the
cable extending over the storage yard and
having a scraper attached to it. The scraper
is dragged back and forth over the coal, and
is quickly detachable so that it can be turned
around to reclaim the coal. Around the yard
are steel posts. To store coal at any portion
of the storage yard the tail blocks, are changed
from one post to another.

When reclaiming, the coal is scraped back
to the reclaiming hopper and delivered to the
bucket elevator, which will discharge the coal
either to railroad cars or to conveyors supply-
ing the boiler house. In the first drag-scraper
installation, the machinery house and drums
were located above the railroad tracks, but on
all later systems the house and drums have
been located on the ground, to get longer rope
leads to the drum.

supervision of R. J. Sherrill, Commissioner of
Public Works, by Kelly & Wilson, contractors,
Asheville, N. C. The accompanying illustra-
tion gives an idea of the nature of the terrain
through which the line runs, and shows a gang
preparing to drop a length of pipe into the
ditch.

Eibell Leaves Mathieson

F. B. Eibell, formerly Advertising Manager
of the Mathieson Alkali Works, 25 West 43d
Street, New York City, has resigned to take
up the duties of Secretary and to become a
member of the Board of Directors of the Tech-
nical Advertising Service, Inc., 214 West 34th
Street, New York City.

Pitometer Company Moves

On February i, 1921, the Pitometer Com-

LATING CAST lEON WATER-MAIN THROUGH ROUGH COUNTRY FOR NEW WATER-SUPPLY

OF ASHEVILLE, N. C.

Over Nine Miles of C. I. Pipe
for One Job

In the construction of the new pipe line to
double the water-supply of Asheville, N. C,
51,300 feet, or 9.71 miles, of 16-inch cast iron
pipe were installed. The total length of pipe,
weighing 3,264 tons, was furnished by the U. S.
Cast Iron Pipe and Foundry Co., Burlington,
N. J.

The laying of the 16-inch pipe meant the sur-
mounting of a great many obstacles, in that the
pipe was necessarily hauled in wagons through
a very rough and mountainous territory to the
point nearest to the pipe line. From there the
lengths of pipe were "snaked" to the. trench
to play their part in furnishing the additional
3,500,000 gallons of water daily to Asheville.
The work has been done under the personal

pany moved its offices to the Hudson Terminal
Building, 50 Church Street, New York City,
where it will continue the practice of hydraulic
engineering and specializing in water waste
surveys for the conservation of municipal water
supplies. The district offices at Detroit and
Kansas City will remain as formerly.

Bianchard Retained by
Colorado Springs

Announcement has just been made that Pro-
fessor Arthur H. Bianchard, consulting high-
way and transport engineer, Ann Arbor, Mich.,
has been retained by the city of Colorado
Springs in connection with its $1,200,000 paving
program.. Professor Bianchard, has been ac-
tive in founding the Highway Engineering
Scholarships at the University of Michigan.

THE AMERICAN CITY

Winning the Battles of Peace

France hets almost won her great
fight against war* s destruction. Eighty
per cent of her wrecked and crippled
factories again hum with activity. All
of the 4,006 villages and towns in the
devastated regions have again re-
sumed municipal life; and of the
6,445 schools in this vast area, 5,345
have been rebuilt and opened. Farms,
factories and homes again cover most
of the scarred land.

In her reconstruction, Fremce has
shown the same unconquerable spirit
that stopped her invaders at the
Marne.

And here, at home, another great

peaceful victory is being won against
the greatest odds. This has been the
fight of the Bell telephone employees
to rebuild a national service.

Despite all of the difficulties of the
post-war period, the organized forces
of the Bell system have established
new^ records in maintenance and
construction.

Facing, after the armistice, a public
demand such as was never before
known; they have yet responded
to the nation's needs with hundreds
of new buildings, thousands of miles
of new wires and cables, and with the
installation in the last year, alone, of
over half a million new telephones.

American Telephone and Telegraph Company
And Associated Companies

One Policy One System Universal Service

And all directed toward Better Service

tn A<lw«rt:»i-

225

VOLUME XXIV

NUMBER 3

NEW YORK

MARCH,

1921

The Policing of American Cities

By Raymond B. Fosdick

THE constant recurrence of crimes in
all parts of the country, and more es-
pecially in the larger cities, has drawn
attention sharply to problems of municipal
policing. Whether or not there is a "crime
wave," the outstanding fact cannot be
avoided nor denied — life is cheap and prop-
erty insecure, and both are far less safe in
the United States than in other countries of
similar advancement. Comparative tables
of the prevalence of crime furnish ample
evidence, not so much of a crime wave which
might be expected eventually to abate, as of
a condition continuing year after year,
which up to the present shows few signs of
betterment.

It is logical to contrast the figures for
the United States with those of Great
Britain, both because of the availability of
statistics, and because there are ordinarily
no wide discrepancies between the figures
for England and those for the countries of
continental Europe. Consideration of four
major crimes — burglary, robbery, auto-
stealing, and homicide — furnish rather
startb'ng comparisons.

BURGLARY

(Cases including housebreaking by day or night, shop-
breaking, sacrilege, etc.)

1916 1917 1918

England and Wales 7,809 9,453 10,331

Scotland 3,977 5,073 ♦

London 1.581 2.164 2,777

Liverpool 1.135 1.361 1,136

New York City • 9,4.')0 7,412

Chicago 2,113 5,623 3.643

Detroit 2.736 3,080 2.047

Cleveland • 2,752 2,608

St. Louis 3,212 2,483 2,989

* Not available.

The story is repeated in the burglary in-
surance rates. Although it is impossible to
make exact comparisons, owing to differ-
ences of insurance methods and practices,
the general conclusion is warranted that
burglary rates in American municipalities
are from fifteen to twenty times higher than
in the principal cities of England.

Robbery, especially highway robbery, ap-
pears as an almost distinctively American
crime. For instance, in 1918 New York had
849 robberies, as against 63 in London and
100 for all England and Wales. In each of
the four years from 1915 to 1918 New York
City had from four to five times more rob-
beries than occurred in all England and
Wales in any of the five years preceding the
war.

Nor is this condition in the United States
peculiar to New York. Cities like St.
Louis and Detroit, in their statistics of rob-
bery and assault with intent to rob, fre-
quently show annual totals varying from
three to five times greater than the number
of such crimes reported for the whole of
Great Britain.

Thefts of automobiles make a still more
discreditable showing. In 191.9, 5,527 cars
were stolen in New York, while only 290
cases were reported in London. It is im-
possible to make accurate deductions from
these figures, as there are certainly more
motor cars in New York than in London.
But these figures confirm the others.

Statistics for homicide, including murder
and manslaughter, prove how much more
cheaply human life is held in this country.

226

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

1914 1915 1916 1917 1918

Eng-land and Wales... 220 226 196 180 154

Scotland 39 57 53 29 •

London 46 45 31 89 37

Liverpool 8 8 8 9 5

Glasgow 11 11 18 11 9

New York 244 234 186 236 221

Detroit * • 62 94 42

Chicago 216 198 255 253 222

Washington, D. C 26 25 24 24 27

* Not available.

Before the war the average number of
murders per year in Berlin was 25, and in
Vienna 19.

No further proof is needed to convince
even the most optimistic that American po-
lice systems are not successful in combating
crime ; and, further, that in comparison with
European systems they are less effective
than those of other countries. The natural
reaction in the mind of one reading these
discreditable figures is wholesale condemna-
tion of the police. But before indulging in
any such sweeping generalization, it is nec-
essary to consider several factors that
make the work of the American patrolman
and detective much more difficult than that
of his European counterpart.

Difficulties of American Police
Departments

One of these factors, the importance of
which is not easily measured, is the hetero-
geneity of the population. Not only is there
a large foreign element in most of our
cities, but there is the enormous negro
population in certain sections. The figures
indicate clearly that colored persons and
those of foreign origin are rather more
given to felony than the native white ele-
ment. For example, the figures for Chicago
in 1918 show that the native whites were
62.1 per cent of the population, and fur-
nished 55.1 per cent of the felony arrests.
The negroes, with 2 per cent of the popula-
tion, had 13.2 per cent of the arrests for
felony. Figures from other cities show simi-
lar conclusions; but they demonstrate that,
although the native white population 's
somewhat less given to crime than either the
foreign white or native negro element, the
difference is by no means so great as is
often assumed. There is in the disposition
of Americans a curious mixture of violence
and tenderness, which makes them quick to
commit crimes of violence, while, at the
same time, it causes the public to regard
the criminal with a certain tolerance, which
may run from an easy-going slackness about
following up a prosecution to maudlin sym-

pathy for a thoroughgoing scoundrel. This
latter trait accounts for the extraordinary
miscarriages of justice in the case of per-
sons undoubtedly guilty of grave offenses.

In addition to the heterogeneity of the
population, which undoubtedly increases the
difficulties of apprehending a criminal, it is
probable that the nomadic character of great
numbers of the inhabitants of this country
both increases the quantity of crime and
complicates the problem of its detection.
Our large floating population, drifting from
city to city, without strong attachment to
any spot, is free from many of the restraints
which affect citizens with fixed abodes; and
the fact that its members know themselves
to be "strangers" in a community gives
them a sense of security impossible for a
man with a large and varied circle of ac-
quaintances. This, of course, greatly adds
to the difficulties of the detective in his
search for clues. In older countries, where
the population is stabilized, the problem is
far simpler. Also, in many countries, es-
pecially those of continental Europe, every
citizen is required to possess certain identify-
ing papers, such as his birth certificate,
record of military service, etc., which con-
siderably facilitates the work of the police
in keeping track of suspicious characters.

While admitting that the problems which
confront American police systems are ex-
ceedingly difficult and complicated, it must
also be recognized that the systems them-
selves are far from perfect. The funda-
mental weaknesses are the want of con-
tinuity in police policy, and "politics."

Weaknesses of American Police Systems

From its beginnings the machinery of
police control has been subjected to a shift-
ing series of experiments, in a restless
search for ideal systems. With this idea,
cities have tried partisan boards, bi-partisan
boards and non-partisan boards; they have
lodged the appointment of their heads of
police in the hands of governors, legish-
tures, mayors, common councils, boards of
public safety, attorney generals, judges of
the circuit court, probate judges, state audi-
tors, state commissioners of public build'ngs,
and the people themselves ; they have labori-
ously written into their laws elaborately de-
vised checks and balances, covering every
possible contingency of administration, and
every item, of probable expense; Ihey have
borrowed the plans of other cities which

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

227

happened at the time to have honest police
executives, or have combined the plans of a
number of communities in fanciful arrange-
ments of their own, in which, likely as not,
an elaborately chosen board of commission-
ers with full responsibility and no powers
was superimposed on a chief of police with
wide powers and no responsibility.

In the 75 years in which New York City
may legitimately be said to have had a regu-
lar police force, nine fundamental changes,
involving distinct breaks with the past, have
occurred in the framework of her organiza-
tion. In 91 years, London has made but
one real change in the system of control,
and the control of the Paris poHce remams
practically unchanged since the days of
Napoleon. Obviously, any system, and es-
pecially a police system, derives a great part
of its virtue from continuity of policy over
considerable periods; frequent and kaleido-
scopic changes tend inevitably to disorgan-
ization and ineffectiveness.

Of the unfortunate influences of "politics"
on police organization, little need be said;
not because the effects are negligible, but
because they are too familiar in every city
to require elaboration. It may be deplor-
able, but it can scarcely be called strange,
that the chief or commissioner vi^ho realizes
that his tenure of office depends not upon
his professional ability but upon political
fortune, should spend a proportionate
amount of his time and energy "where it
will do the most good." This political con-
ception — that police positions are plums for
the local faithful — has also restricted cities
in their choice of officials. In America it
would be surprising for a municipality to
select its chief of police from another com-
munity, regardless of his qualifications. In
other countries quite a contrary theory ob-
tains. For example, the police commis-
sioner of London was chosen to that posi-
tion after twenty successful years in the
T-iverpool department; the police commis-
sioner of Rome previously headed the de-

partments of Ancona and Naples. The
relative merits of this system of selection by
demonstrated ability without regard to resi-
dence are in marked contrast to the gener-
ally accepted American ideas.

With such chaotic policies obtaining in
the choice of the higher officers it is evident
that the condition of the rank and file must
leave much to be desired. Grave abuses
have undoubtedly been corrected in many
cities by the adoption of civil service regu-
lations of appointment and promotion; but
the value of a written examination as a test
for promotion is pretty generally discred-
ited, and often enough the examination for
appointment is little more than a perfunc-
tory formality. Only too frequently the net
result of putting the force on a civil service
basis has been simply to make it nearly im-
possible for a conscientious chief or com-
missioner to get rid of an undesirable and
even rascally patrolman.

The prevalence of crime throughout the
country, both in the present and in the past,
has demonstrated the fact that our police
systems are ineffective, even though we
recognize the extraordinary diflliculties of
the problems of crime prevention they are
called upon to face. The American citizen
is paying heavily for political corruption,
the ineptitude of officials, the lack of con-
tinuity and plan in police policy. But the
recollection of conditions of the not long
distant past leaves little doubt that the turn
has come; bad as conditions are now, they
are vastly better than those accepted as com-
monplace and inevitable a generation ago
and even more recently. The awakening of
civic consciousness in all municipal affairs
has come rather slowly, but it has come. In
time the American public will have a clearer
comprehension of the exacting demands of
the police profession, and will insist on sys-
tems of police control which will satisfy
those demands.

Editorial Note. — This article is based upon the
author's book, "American Police Problems."

"When people begin to feel the ties which bind them together as citizens, and which
attach them to the place which they inhabit, when they understand that their prosperity, their
dignity, their happiness are bound up with the welfare of the city; when they learn to
cherish their home town, their love for which unites with and intensifies their love for the
nation, this expansion of civic consciousness is not the least of the benefactions gained from
the adoption of comprehensive programs for future civic development"

228

The Sanitary Survey a Check on
Community Health

By William L. Munson, M. D.

Sanitary Supervisor, New York State Department of Health

WHAT would you think of a business
house that never took an inventory
or that had no accurate idea
whether or not a profit was being made?
An answer to this question is not necessary,
because "such an animal does not exist."
Concerns doing a business that involves the
use of other people's money have to know —
their employers demand that they know.
Old methods in commerce, no matter how
good they may be, must give way for better
methods. Still, the same expert business
men will live their lives in a community and
never know whether that community is the
best place to bring up their children in, or
whether the water is fit to drink. Then
when an epidemic of typhoid or some other
preventable disease occurs, Mr. Good Busi-
ness Man will want to know why — and
heaven and earth will then be moved in
order to check it, when just a small part of
the expense and energy, if used before,
would have prevented the occurrence. Why,
then, you ask, do these things occur when
we know how to prevent them?

Community health is now almost reduced
to an exact science. The "art of medicine"
is rapidly disappearing and in its place is
coming exact and scientific medicine. To-
day you can buy your protection against
disease as you do your coal or your flour.
This is literally true with many diseases.
If you are afraid of diphtheria because it is
prevalent in your community, you can have
your blood tested and know whether you
will contract the disease if exposed. Then
if you are found to be susceptible, you can
be treated so that you will not have diph-
theria. Surely this is buying health.

The control of many other diseases be-
side diphtheria is well understood by doc-
tors. Why, then, with all this fund ot
knowledge at our disposal, are we constantly
seeing persons die of diseases that are so
easy of control? Simply that we keep the
fund of knowledge at our disposal and not
in use.

Many people will say, "We have a health
department and it is supposed to attend to

these things." Yes, you have a health de-
partment, and, in many cases, without ap-
propriations sufficiently large to run a good
one-horse peanut-stand. It seems to be very
slow work, but gradually people are coming
to understand that good health departments
and good health officers cost money, just as
good roads and good highway departments
do. If you want to know where you stand
in the protection from disease that your
city is giving its citizens, take an inventory
of your health department, making a sani-
tary survey of your city's activities along
this line. Put down in black and white on
one side of the ledger what you are doing,
and on the other side charge up the things
that should be done but are not.

The sanitary survey, when completed,
should cover all the activities in the city
for the promotion of good health. It should
also show where the deficiencies are and
what should be done to remedy the com-
plaint of shortcomings. Such a survey
should contain:

1. Introduction

(a) History of work to date

(b) Industries

(d) Assessed valuation

(e) Taxation for all purposes

(f) Comparison with taxation for health

2. Statistics

(a) Birth rate

(b) Death rate

(d) Longevity rate

(e) Morbidity rate

(f) Death rate from preventable dis-

eases

3. Record keeping

Covering register for tuberculosis, record
cards of communicable diseases, carl
index for nuisances, card indexes for
inspection of milk, meat, foods and
buildings, and files for reports, copies
of letters, etc., all of modern and ac-
cepted character

4. Financial statement

The budgets for two or three venrs
should be given for comparison, show-
ing where and how increase of work
has taken place ; also, statement of
salaries t)f those employed in the

fippltVi rlpnnrtmpnt sTiniiM hp tnaHp

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

229

5. Communicable diseases

A list of those re-
ported each year
for five years
should be given for
comparison pur-
poses. The meth-
ods of handling
these diseases
should be known,
whether contacts,
carriers and missed
cases are being in-
vestigated, and the
methods of disin-
fection used, also
whether epidemio-
logical studies
were being made

6. Laboratory work

Number and kinds of
exami nations
made, and whether
modern and up-to-
date, and if tests
for detection of
disease are being
carried out

7. Nursing service

(a) Number,
wnether suffi-
cient

(b) Kind and char-
acter of nursing
done

(d) Constru c t i v e
work

(e) Number of vis-
its made, total
work done, and
results of con-
structive work

8. Food inspection

Kinds of inspection made, whether spe-
cial investigators are used, etc.

9. Sanitation

(a) Water: methods of purification;

character and dependability of
water; bacteriological counts

(b) Milk: amount of diflferent grades;

number of inspections of dairies;
number and reports of bacterio-
logical counts on same

10. Clinics

(a) Child hygiene

(b) Pre-natal

(d) Mental hygiene

(e) Venereal disease

(f) Pre-school

11. Public health education

This phase of the work is of great im-
portance and should be stressed. The
amount of cooperation of local offi-
cials, local newspapers, and local
churches should be inquired into

12. Hospitals

Number, kinds, and whether isolation for
infectious diseases is provided

Chart of Appropriations

IN A C/TY OF 17,000

tiOTE LOW HEAL THAPPROPHIATm

INCREASED HEALTH APPROPBIATION WILL
HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

HELP PROPER

Recreation

Playgrounds, parks and gymnasiums

14. Industrial hygiene

(a) Occupational diseases

(b) General sanitation

15. School children

(a) Amount of defects

(b) Amount of correction

(d) Disease census

(e) Education and hygiene

16. Recommendations

Stating the things necessary in order to
furnish satisfactory results. These
are the items that should be known
and well investigated before recom-
mendations are made

A well-rounded health department laying
stress upon no particular thing but func-
tioning as a whole, is much to be desired
over the health department that may run
to one particular phase of public heatlh
work, forgetting all others.

When this mass of data is prepared it
should not be filed away but should be put

230

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

to work. Statistics are good for those who
use them ; they are good for nothing to those
who do not.

What should an analysis of the data in a
sanitary survey give in terms that are not
technical and can be understood by the tax-
payers ?

First, the cost of health protection to each
person in the city, not to be expressed in so
many mills per dollar of assessed valuation
but the amount in dollars and cents to each
thousand dollars of assessed valuation ; thus,
"the tax rate for health service is 89 cents
per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or, a tax-
payer having a home assessed $4,000 would
pay $3.56 per year to protect that home from
disease." This, it is apparent, can readily
be understood. Also, the cost per person
should be given.

Second, a proper survey will show "old
stock on hand." If antiquated methods are
used they will be unearthed and should be
discarded. Duplication of work, and un-
necessary work, will be shown.

Third, the offenses of omission are
brought to the surface in making such a
complete inventory, and these corrections
should be in the recommendations.

Fourth, graphic chart showing amounts
of different appropriations for various city
activities, communicable diseases, movement
of infant mortality, birth and death rate.

It is not advisable to clutter up an other-
wise good survey with material that requires
an expert to interpret it. Nothing, how-
ever, is as convincing to the lay mind as a
picture of the relative difference in appro-
priations for various activities.

The Reward of City Planning

By L. S. Cole

City planning may be divided into two
major phases, namely, city building or re-
building, and city extension. In this lat-
ter phase the realtor looms large, and on
him rests a large part of the responsibility
for the success or failure of the work. He
should give careful attention to the future
needs of the city in general and of the dis-
trict in particular, considering the welfare
of his city before his personal gain, mak-
ing himself a power for good in his com-
munity. In this way only will he merit
the distinction which the title of "realtor"
confers upon him.

Many cities are blessed by nature with
hills, valleys, streams, etc. These are things
of beauty as well as utility. How often we
find a city which considers them liabilities !
Here is a town bisected by a creek too small
for navigation. It is made into a dumping-
ground and general health menace, the cause

of endless litigation and expense, an eye-
sore, which if properly handled would prove
a source of pride and pleasure, a priceless
asset.

These are the things city planning aims
to correct through careful zoning of indus-
trial activity and control of building ex-
pansion, together with utilization of natu-
ral and created resources. Thus shall we
be able to attract and retain industry, foster
commercial activity, inculcate and build up
in increasing measure the spirit of com-
munity service, to our personal gain and
national prosperity. Increased benefits, re-
duced taxes, these shall be our reward; for,
after all, taxes are merely the selling price
of community service, and the burden or
privilege of paying taxes will be determined
entirely by the measure and quality of the
service rendered.

Acknowledgment: — From an address delivered be-
fore the Indiana Real Estate Association.

An Annual Transportation Prize to Be Awarded

The American Society of Civil Engineers
at its annual meeting in January accepted
the offer of the Engineering News-Record,
to establish an "Arthur M. Wellington
Prize" to be awarded annually for the best
paper presented before the society on any
phase of the science and art of transporta-
tion, whether by land, water or air. The

prize is a memorial in honor of the former
editor of the Engineering News and author
of the well-known book entitled "The Eco-
nomic Theory of Railway Location." A
fund of $2,000 has been provided, the annual
income from which will constitute the ma-
terial element of the prize, and should stimu-
late thought on this subject.

331

Linking New York and Ncav Jersey

The Isolation of these Two States from Each Other to be Overcome
by New Vehicle Tunnels

By Clifford M. Holland

Chief Engineer, New York and New Jersey Tunnel Commission

THE states of New York and New Jer-
sey, which are vitally interdependent,
have needed for many years a larger
and more reliable link in their transporta-
tion facilities than the present overburdened
ferry system. There is no room for the ex-
pansion of the existing ferry service, and
the transportation business of the water-
front has vastly outgrown its present facil-
ities. To overcome this lack of transporta-
tion the new interstate tunnel was proposed
and is now actually under construction.

Although the total cost of the undertaking
is estimated at $28,669,000, it has been
shown that with reasonable tolls the tunnel
will not only pay its maintenance but within

noxious exhaust gases from motor vehicles.
The ventilation problem has been one of the
most difficult of solution in connection with
the tunnel project.

The tunnel will run from Canal Street,
New York, a wide east-and-west thorough-
fare which is approximately at the center
of down-town traffic over the Hudson fer-
ries, to a point almost directly opposite on
the New Jersey shore, thus giving a tunnel
of minimum length. The New Jersey ter-
minus is near the center of traffic and af-
fords direct communication with Jersey City
Heights and points beyond, and the water-
front and railroad yards are easily access-
ible.

PROFILE AND PLAN OF THE NEW TOBK-NEW JERSEY TUNNEL, WORK ON WHICH IS

ALREADY UNDER WAY

12 years will pay its entire cost of construc-
tion, and by the end of 20 years there will be
a surplus of more than $66,000,000 to be
divided between the states of New York
and New Jersey.

The essential features of the proposition
are the construction of twin tubes of cast
iron, 29 feet in external diameter, larger
than any existing American sub-aqueous
tunnel of the shield-driven type. The mean
length of the cast iron ring section will be
6,600 feet, and the distance between grade
points of the tunnel — which includes the
open-cut approaches — is 9,300 feet. There
are to be two ventilating shafts on each

In determining the traffic capacity of the
tunnel, the chief considerations were: (i)
volume and character of the vehicular traf-
fic which will seek the tunnel; (2) capacity
of one, two and three lines of traffic in each
direction; (3) economical size of tunnel in
relation to amount of traffic; (4) limitation
of traffic by street congestion in vicinity of
tunnel entrances and exits. A careful study
of the average daily traffic based on 24-
hour counts made at the ferries was 12.2
times the maximum hourly traffic. A study
of conditions showed that a two-line tun-
nel — that Is, four traffic streams — will have
sufficient capacity to accommodate all traf-
fic n-f mnfnr oo utaII qc VinrcA-Hraiim vAViir1*»«

232

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

up to the year 1935, and if horses were
eliminated during rush hours its capacity
would not be reached until 1937.

To determine the proper dimensions of the
tunnel, measurements were taken of vehicles
crossing the Hudson River on the ferries
between New York and New Jersey, and it
was found that their height varied from 6
feet 6 inches for passenger cars to a maxi-
mum of 13 feet for large loaded trucks, but
that the number exceeding 12 feet in height
was not over i per cent. It was also found
that the width of motor vehicles varied from
6 feet for passenger cars and light trucks to
a maximum of 10 feet 6 inches for army
transport trucks. In the case of three-horse
teams, the outside dimension of three horses
abreast was found to be 9 feet, but the num-
ber of vehicles exceeding 8 feet in width
is only 3j4 per cent.

Motor truck manufacturers suggested 12
feet 2 inches as the greatest distance be-
tween the road and the top of the truck
body, and 8 feet as the greatest width of
the body. To provide for all contingencies,
such as unevenness in the surface of the
roadway, spring action of vehicles, and al-
lowances for jacking up in case of break-
down, the clear headroom of the tunnel was
fixed at 13 feet 6 inches.

With the tunnel carrying two lines of
vehicles in the same direction on one road-
way, the normal operation conditions are as
though there were one vehicle 8 feet wide
in the slow line, and one 6 feet wide in the
fast line. There may be times, however,
when there will be 8-foot-wide vehicles op-
erating in both the slow line and the fast.
In the slow line of the two-line tunnel ve-
hicles operating at a speed of 3 to 6 miles
per hour should have a clearance of not

less than 6 inches between the outside of the
tire and the curb, while in the fast line, on
account of the greater speed, this clearance
should be not less than i foot. Allowance
is made for a minimum clearance of i foot
9 inches between the moving vehicles, and
the minimum width of roadway is 19 feet.
For safe and convenient operation, however,
a clearance of 2 feet 9 inches between the
moving vehicles should be provided, giving
a 20-foot width of roadway for two-line
trafiic, which has been provided.

The problem of ventilating the tunnel has
been investigated under three main sub-
divisions: (i) amount and composition of
exhaust gases from motor vehicles; (2) di-
lution necessary to render these exhaust
gases harmless; (3) method and equipment
necessary for adequate ventilation. After
very thorough study the tunnel has been de-
signed with four ventilating shafts, two of
which, 3,400 feet apart, are located near the
pierhead line, and the other two between
these shafts and the portals. With this ar-
rangement, cost of operation is reduced to
about one-quarter of what it would be if the
tunnel were provided with only two ventilat-
ing shafts at the bulkheads. All fans and
motors are to be located in structures at the
top of the ventilating shafts, and will be of
standard sizes. The fresh-air duct is to be
located between the roadways and the ex-
haust duct above, in accordance with the
results of experiments conducted in 1916
by the Public Service Corporation of New
Jersey.

Work has already begun in digging the
shaft for the tunnel, and contracts are being
let gradually, in order to take advantage of
the possible reduction in labor and material
costs within the next three years.

Data Sought by the Hospital, Library and Service Bureau

The Hospital, Library and Service Bureau,
22 East Ontario Street, Chicago, 111., has been
organized by national hospital, public health,
nursing, social service and other organiza-
tions, aided by the Rockefeller Foundation.
It will serve gratuitously those persons inter-
ested in the construction, equipment and opera-
tion of hospitals, sanatoriums, dispensaries,
health centers, and institutions of like nature.

Those interested in the material which is heinp
collected by this bureau may secure a tentative
outline on request to the above address. At-
tention is particularly called to the fact that
very little information has heen collected as
yet, and the cooperation of all agencies is
sought in adding to the material on file in
order that greater use may be made of it by
all health agencies.

233

Present Methods of Concrete Road
Construction

General Data for Public Officials

STRICTLY speaking, there have been
few actually new developments in the
construction of concrete roads during
the past season. Certain new adaptations
or uses of equipment have been found which
have been in existence before. The year
was largely occupied by contractors and en-
gineers in trying out and studying the re-
sults of various types of equipment.

Letting Contracts

Perhaps the most interesting and most
striking new development has been the
change in ideas regarding the letting of
contracts for road construction. There has
been a general tendency toward awarding

a longer time, before good construction
weather begins, to fill their orders for road
machinery. While not all of the aggregates
for road building can be shipped and stored
at the site of the improvement during the
winter months, because of the difficulties in
washing and in shipping freshly washed ma-
terial, the aggregate producers have ample
opportunity for making improvements and
additions to their plants so as to take care
of orders as soon as the season for shipping
opens. In a great many cases these pro-
ducers can operate throughout the cold
weather and store their material ready for
shipment at the proper season. Finally, the
delivery situation is very much simplified

THE MECHANICAL TAMPPER AND FINISHER

more contracts during the winter months.
This winter may not see so many contracts
awarded as is perhaps desirable, but a def-
inite beginning in this manner of contract
letting is being made. During the entire
month of January, 1919, there were awarded
268,782 square yards of concrete pavement,
while reports for the month of January,
1920, show the award of 1,973,193 square
yards.

There are many advantages in this idea of
contract letting. Contractors are able to
plan their equipment for the work which
they have on hand during a season when
work outside is impossible. In turn, the
manufacturers of this equipment are en-
abled to gage their markets, and they have

because open-top cars, in which aggregates
are most frequently shipped, are available
during the early months of the year for
this type of work.

There has been some thought given by
officials and contractors in different parts
of the country to the form which a contract
should take. While a great many contrac-
tors favor the cost plus a fixed percentage
contract, others of excellent repute do not
like this form of contract at all. As one
large contractor has said, "Immediately it
becomes known on the job that the contract
is cost plus, even the mules on the job learn
to loaf." There is a definite tendency
toward the development of a contract in
which the bidder itemizes the unit prices of

234

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

THE HAND ROLLEE FOE SECUEING A DENSE SUEFACE

each item entering into the finished work,
with the exception of labor. In this man-
ner, should the cost of any material fluctu-
ate up or down, the contractor is protected
and the public profits by the reduction, or
bears the expense, as the case may be. In
the ordinary form of contract the bidder
must consider the possibility of a change in
prices, and, in a period of rising markets, to
protect himself against an increase in the
cost of the work he must bid accordingly
higher. In other words, the contractor must
often assume a risk and charge accordingly.

Purchasing Materials

One question which has received a con-
siderable amount of discussion is the matter
of the purchase of the material in the state
highway contracts. A number of states now
purchase one or more of the ingredients en-
tering into the construction of roads and
supply it to the contractor. The usual idea
of the contractors in regard to this practice
is that the contractor should be allowed to
buy all of his materials in the open market.
The contractor is frequently in a position
where instant action is necessary to get a
delivery of material. Delay costs him a
great deal of money. The contractor in
many cases can by paying a certain premium
for the purchase or on the delivery of ma-
terial save a far more costly delay which
would be caused by having his equipment
idle.

Inspection at Source

The quality and the grading of aggre-
gate are designated in the specifications un-
der which the contractor works. It is often
the case, however, that a shipment of ma-

terial when it arrives at the job does not
come up to the specifications in one respect
or another. In this case the inspector on the
work condemns the material, and it must be
taken away. There is a definite tendency
toward the placing of an inspector at the
plant which is the source of material, to
see that the grading is correctly done and
the material up to the specifications in
every manner before it leaves the plant.
This method of inspection is resulting in
economy for both the contractor and the
state, county or other agency letting the
contract.

Size of Aggregate
The fact that a number of states and
counties are increasing the larger limit in
the size of coarse aggregate is particularly
interesting. Actual consideration has
shown that the pavement built with aggre-
gate containing the larger sizes is as good
as, and sometimes superior to, that built of
the ordinary standard size. The aggregate
producers favor this change in specifica-
tions because it will materially reduce the
cost of the finished product. There is less
wastage of stone at the plant and at the
quarry when the larger sizes can be used.

Use of Bulk Cement

During the past season the firms having
large road contracts have been handling
their cement in bulk form almost entirely.
This manner of shipping cement has proved
necessary in the operation of a large con-
struction plant. The cement is more easily
handled with the same equipment that is
used for the coarse and fine aggregates,
namely, the clam-shell bucket; and the en-

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

235

tire central proportioning or central mixing
plant is better organized without having to
follow the laborious method of handling
cement in sacks. One very important item
is the large amount of capital which is tied
up in the use of cement sacks. Sacks are
costing more and more to manufacture, and
there is always a large percentage of lost
sacks.

Use of Finishing Machines

While the finishing machine for concrete
pavements has not been a definitely new de-
velopment of 1919 or 1920, its use and opera-
tion have been outstanding features of the
construction season. In the state specifica-
tions covering 1919 work, only five permitted
the use of the finishing machine; in those of
1920 twenty states permitted machine finish-
ing. In Illinois the work of the machine has
proved entirely successful and the specifica-
tions are to remain in effect. Wisconsin has
not mentioned the use of the finishing ma-
chine in her state specifications, and at a
conference between contractors, material
dealers, equipment manufacturers and state
highway engineers definite statements were
made to the effect that until the results
from using the machine were proved entirely
successful in other places, this method of
finishing would not be specified. On no
known contract has the capacity of this
machine been approached. The apparatus is
idle a considerable portion of the time of

each working day.

The roUer-and-belt method of finishing
has been followed in practically every state
in the country on both large and small jobs.
The performance of this apparatus is al-
ready known to be perfectly satisfactory.

Balance of Plant Necessary

No matter what type of equipment or plant
layout the contractor uses, from the small-
est road contract to the largest, there is need
for perfect balance of every part of the
plant. A mixer of large capacity cannot
justify its existence on a piece of work un-
less the materials reach it so as to keep it
busy constantly, and unless the finishing
behind the mixer can keep up with its per-
formance. In addition to a balanced equip-
ment, there must be constant attention paid
to keeping each item in perfect repair, A
breakdown of any part causes an unbalanc-
ing and breakdown in the entire system. A
repair crew under the direction of a master
mechanic, and a complete stock of repair
parts, are of vital necessity on every job.

There is work for this repair crew, or at
least a portion of it, throughout the entire
winter season. Every part of the equip-
ment needs overhauling and to be put in
perfect shape for consistent work for the
coming season. There are improvements
that the contractor will find necessary, and
parts of equipment which he can build, or
at least remodel, in his own shop. Every

^mOf')^W ■■■■ t

ronSHINO THE ST3SFACB BY HAND BY THE BELT METHOD

236

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

PROTECTING THE NEWLY FINISHED ROAD WITH CANVAS ON LOW FRAMES

part of the entire plant should be in perfect
order and ready to start the season without
the usual details which so often occur.

Central Mixing Plants

During the past two seasons in the larger
contracts the method of preparing the cor-
rectly proportioned batch at a central plant
was followed. In some cases this batch was
hauled to the mixer on the road and there
mixed and placed on the subgrade. In
other instances the batch was mixed at the
central plant and hauled wet to the subgrade
and there dumped. No definite lines can be
drawn to show the size of the contract on
which the industrial railway hauling a dry
or wet batch is more economical than haul-
ing by truck. No outstanding features in
favor of or against the hauling of a mixed
batch of concrete over a distance of several
hundred feet to more than a mile have
proved that it is better or worse than any
other method. Each of the methods has
proved satisfactory, but it will take more
study and more experience to develop any
definite knowledge regarding consistent per-
formance of one method or the other.

Preparing the Subgrade

There are certain construction methods
which are known to be proper and which
need emphasis. Too much cannot be said in
regard to the preparation of the subgrade.
Not many actually new methods in sub-
grade building have been discovered for a
number of years. On the other hand, the
recognized good methods of building the
subgrade have too frequently been left in
discard, and the foundation for a costly

pavement has been inadequately made. En-
gineers too frequently forget or disregard
the problem of draining the subgrade. The
different soils over which the pavement is
laid have not been analyzed in a great many
cases, and engineers have not always met
the problems involved in each type of soil.
Little need be said about the side forms
for concrete pavement, further than the
necessity for perfect support on the sub-
grade. The heavy subgrade finisher and
concrete tamper and finishers which are
coming into wide use must be supported on
forms which remain perfectly true to the
grade under their weight. The evenness of
the longitudinal grade of the finished con-
crete depends upon the strength of the side
forms, the accuracy by which they are laid,
and upon their retaining a perfect grade
under the weight of the finishing machine.

Testing Concrete and Curing

A great deal has been said about the
proper consistency of mix used in concrete
pavements. The slump test was developed,
by which the amount of water in the mixture
was gaged according to the amount of
slump in a column of concrete left after
the withdrawal of a cylinder. Practical
use of this equipment, however, suggested
the use of a truncated cone instead of a
cylinder, because the concrete was less
liable to be disturbed by the removal of the
form.

No new methods have been developed in
the curing of the finished pavement, but
special emphasis should be given to the
proper methods, which are well known.
During warm weather it is essential that a

March^ 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

237

canvas cover be suspended over the pave-
ment immediately after finishing it, to pre-
vent too rapid evaporation of the water in
the concrete. Then may follow the curing
cover, either a layer of water or of wet
earth, which remains on the pavement for
two weeks or longer.

Concrete Roads Must Be Maintained

Maintenance of pavement is too often
done in a dilatory manner or is completely
forgotten. Concrete roads need regular
maintenance, as does every other type of
pavement. This maintenance consists
chiefly in filling the joints and cracks with

regards the supply, training and salaries of
the engineers, the improvement of the prac-
tice in awarding contracts, and the develop-
ment of material supplies.
. During the coming years the road-building
* program is going to demand an increasing
supply of engineers. These men will need
training. It will cost them a great deal of
time and expense in securing this training.
After they have secured it, the positions
into which they step should carry with them
salaries which are at least commensurate
with the ability acquired and the responsi-
bility involved by the position.

It is evident that material deposits will

OTTEINO A CONCEETE BOAD BY PONDING

bituminous material, which prevents the
passage of moisture to the subgrade. This
operation should be performed regularly as
early in the spring as the work can be done
to advantage, and late in the fall. It should
be done regularly at these intervals and at
such other intervals as are found necessary.
It is doubtful if there are any bad prac-
tices in the present methods of building
concrete roads which should be eliminated.
Rather there are certain practices which
need improvement. In general, these are as

often be found from which the aggregates
for road construction can be supplied, if
surveys are made in the regions where proj-
ects are to be built. If these deposits are
developed, the cost of the aggregate on the
job should be lower than when shipped
long distances. This applies, however, only
in cases where established plants cannot
economically compete with local deposits,
because of shipping facilities or because of
the character of the material which they
handle.

The Need of Hospital Service for Rural Communities

Attention must be given to the relation
of the rural hospital in a general com-
munity health program to other programs
of local government and welfare service.
The hospital represents merely one factor in
public health work and private medicine.
Public health work again is but one factor
in the general program of public admini-
stration. One must needs keep in mind that

funds must be provided by a community
for the financing of all its various public
services; for the general government pur-
poses of the legislative, executive and ju-
dicial departments; and for the special
services of protection of persons and prop-
erty, of education, of recreations, of chari-
ties and corrections, of highways, and last,
of health, sanitation and hospitals.

238

Street Lighting in City and Town

By Reginald Trautschold

EVEN less than a decade ago, street il-
lumination was almost wholly for
utilitarian purposes — to discern large
objects and surface irregularities in the
street and on the sidewalk, and compara-
tively little was accomplished in the way of
ornamental street lighting, as mod-
ern street illumination has quite
generally become termed. The
commercial and artistic aspects of
the question could almost be said
to predominate, for the actual
money value to a town or city of
well-lighted streets has been shown
repeatedly by the great increases
in commercial and real estate val-
ues of brightly illuminated business
sections and of harmoniously and
properly lighted residential dis-
tricts. Civic pride is concerned,
for a city is often judged by its
first impression on strangers, and
there is the gain in safety to pedes-
trians, traffic and property which
proper illumination invariably en-
genders.

The question of safety alone
would suffice to warrant the impor-
tance now placed on adequate and
plentiful street illumination. To
conserve coal during the war, most
communities drastically reduced
street illumination, with rather un-
fortunate results so far as lawless-
ness was concerned and the num-
ber of accidents attributable to lack
of sufficient light. In Cleveland,
accidents directly chargeable to
lack of daylight — i. e., those cus-
tomarily occurring after dark — in-
creased some 2)7^2 per cent when
the lighting was cut down. In the metro-
politan district of New York the number
of people killed at night increased 73 per-
cent, and the number of injured 21 per cent,
from 1913 to 1915.

Adequate and proper lighting is highly im-
portant to all communities, large or small,
and it has been made possible in large meas-
ure by the development of electric lighting.
Good street illumination may not be wholly

attributable to the use of electricity, for
there have been some installations of gas
street lighting which have been and still
are reasonably modern, chiefly in the smaller
towns in residential communities, but it is
certain that electric lighting predominates
and is, as a rule, the convenient
and economical system to employ.

Systems of Electric Street
Lighting

Two systems of electric street
lighting are in quite general use —
the arc light and the incandescent
— and it would not be fair to say
that the modern incandescent street
lamp has or will immediately sup-
plant the older arc light, despite
the numerous advantages which
the former possesses. Both systems
have their fields. The arc lamp,
which has been improved greatly
since its commercial introduction
about 1880, maintains a certain
place for itself where powerful
sources of light are required, by
virtue of its efficiency in lumens
per watt consumption, and some-
times the more yellowish light of
some arcs is considered an advan-
tage. The most efficient and use-
ful arc lamp for street lighting is
the direct-current, series, luminous
or magnetite arc lamp, either in
the pendant or upright (ornamen-
tal) type. It is economical to
maintain and reliable in operation,
consuming about 500 watts and
giving a total illumination of about
1.8 times that of a loo-candle-
power, modern, street series incan-
descent lamp. The average cost of operating
such an arc lamp is approximately the same
as that for a 1,000-candle-power street series
incandescent lamp. Diffusing and distribut-
ing glassware is used to moderate the glare
of arc lamps, as it is with high-power in-
candescent lamps, but even with such aid
the use of arcs is now pretty well limited to
centers of street intersections and to the
middle of broad avenues.

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

239

SMAIiL TOWN BUSINESS STREET WITH OENAMENTAL POSTS AND SINGLE FIXTUBES

Now that incandescent street lamps may
be obtained in sizes up to 1,000-candle-
power, they are used very extensively for
general service, where high degrees of il-
lumination are required, as well as where
more moderate lighting suffices. They pro-
vide moderate power with very good effi-
ciency, and the tendency in public street
lighting now is to use the smaller and more
flexible types of illuminants, which tend
toward simplification of the lighting sys-
tem and are procurable in a number of sizes.
Technical considerations which are of con-
siderable economic moment also favor the
use of the modern street series incandescent
lamps. The comparatively low voltage at
which the series incandescent lamps operate
is an advantage. This prevents the exces-
sive heating of the lamp and also allows the
use of heavier filaments than in constant
voltage incandescent lamps such as are used
in industrial and domestic lighting. Though
the filaments of series incandescent lamps
gradually evaporate in use, this also in-
creases their resistance, so, with the current
maintained virtually constant, the current
density in the filament is consequently in-
creased, and very nearly uniform intensity
of light is maintained during the life of the
lamp. This life will average close to 1,350
hours. Carbons of arc lamps, on the other
hand, have to be renewed after about 120
hours' operation.

Lighting Circuits

The modern incandescent lamps for street
lighting operate on alternating current cir-
cuits — the only exceptions being a few iso-
lated plants and some small public-service

installations where the conditions of growth
have not warranted new and more efficient
equipment — with the lamps connected in
series, rather than in multiple. The funda-
mental advantage of series lighting is the
economy in the use of copper, but an ad-
vantage of even greater importance is the
uniformity in the operation o-f the lights
secured by the series connection. In series
circuits the same current is forced through
all the lamps in the line, while in the case
of multiple circuit, which is used for all
domestic and industrial lighting, it is the
voltage which is supposed to remain con-
stant. This, however, is not entirely pos-
sible on a multiple circuit, on account of the
voltage drop in the line between successive
units, though the loss can be greatly re-
duced — almost to a negligible quantity — by
the use of extra quantities of the expensive
copper, so where the distance of transmis-
sion is great, as in street lighting, it is much
more economical to use the series system.

Alternating current circuits for street
lighting are pretty generally standardized at
6.6 amperes — occasionally at 7.5 amperes —
and though such current is suitable for the
smaller lamps and is used for lamps up to
400 candle-power, greater efficiency is se-
cured with 600- and 1,000-candle-power
lamps if the current strength is increased
to 20 amperes, the voltage at the lamps being
reduced correspondingly. Even in the case
of 400-candle-power lamps, a current
strength of 15 amperes will increase the
efficiency of the lamp. To secure this in-
crease in current strength, compensators
are installed next to the lamps of greater
power. These compensators, which are

240

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

really step-down transformers, also serve
another important function. They act as
"choke coils" or checks against surges or
sudden changes of current strength pro-
duced accidentally, through short-circuiting
a number of lamps or through the action of
other current-consuming elements in other
parts, of the same circuit. In the case of
filament failure, the compensator acts as a
cut-out and permits the current to flow in
series through the other lamps in the cir-
cuits.

For series street lamps of low candle-
power which are not provided with com-
pensators, a film cut-out held between the
conducting clamps is provided to guard
against breaking the circuit should the fila-
ment of a lamp fail. The thickness of this
film is such that it is an insulator at the
normal voltage of the lighting circuit, but
when a lamp filament fails, the voltage piles
up and punctures the film, establishing a
short circuit, or by-pass, which allows the
current to pass on through the lighting cir-
cuit as before, without passing through the
damaged lamp.

Selection of Lamps

When electric street lighting was first
taken up with a view to beautifying the
street, as well as for the more practical
purposes of proper street illumination, the

CHARACTERISTICS OF MAZDA SERIES LAMPS

Nominal Rated

Total Lumens

Watts Consumed

Candle-Power

6.6 Amperes

7.5 Amperes

400

600

800

1,000

2,600

4,000

6.000

10,000

46.8

72
155
244

100

250

147

400

228

400

Lamp Amperes
15
20
20

Watts at Compensator
210-245

600

297-330

1,000

475-544

tendency was to use ornamental fixtures with
clusters of comparatively low-candle-power
lamps, each in a diffusing globe mounted on
decorative standards some 10 or 12 feet
high. This practice has been greatly modi-
fied since the high-power incandescent
lamps for street lighting have been avail-
able, and now the standard with a single
powerful light promises to supplant the
more elaborate equipment. The single-light
standard can be more widely spaced, and

this reduces the expense of maintenance.
The poles, compared to those of cluster
standards, are slender and graceful and
therefore less conspicuous. They lend them-
selves to more artistic treatment and har-
monize better with the architectural sur-
roundings, but the chief advantages of the
single-light arrangement are very practical.

The efficiency of the single light is very
much higher, for the light from several
lamps in a cluster is reduced by interfer-
ence between the various globes and the
pole itself. Each globe not only absorbs
light from the lamp within, but also obstructs
light from all the other lamps. The loss in
many cases amounts to 15 or 20 per cent.
In fact, it is claimed that a 20 per cent in-
crease in light with a saving of 10 per cent
in wattage can be secured by the use of
single large lamps.

In the question of light distribution, the
single light also shows up to decided advan-
tage, for though the downward illumination
is very nearly the same for both arrange-
ments, the upward illumination is nearly 50
per cent greater with the single light. Ini-
tial cost and maintenance expenses are
naturally much lower with the simpler stand-
ard, and the single light is much more flex-
ible, as refractors, globes and reflectors can
be provided to throw the light in any desired
direction, an arrangement not feasible, as a
rule, when there are a
number of individual
lights.

Street Lighting Systems

As illumination require-
ments are rarely compar-
able in even quite similar
localities in cities and
towns, it is quite impos-
sible to advance rules or
even definite recommenda-
tions incorporating the ad-
V i s a b 1 e candle-power
of lamp, type of reflecting, refract-
ing and diffusing equipment, spacing of
posts and height of lamps, that are not sus-
ceptible to such modification as to be of
really little value. However, as in most
cities, towns and even villages there is the
important business district, the less impor-
tant business streets adjoining, possibly a
factory district, important and less impor-
tant residential streets and quite probably
parks, some indicative guide for the district

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

241

can be made. This classification of streets
or districts can, of course, be greatly ex-
panded, but it will serve to indicate that
there are roughly six classes of streets the
lighting requirements for which will vary in
every city or town of fair size, the intensity
of the desirable illumination decreasing with
the importance of the street for business
purposes in the order mentioned.

The spacing of the lighting standards will
vary between quite wide limits — say between
50 and 100 feet, or even more; the wider
the street, the closer should be the stand-
ards. This introduces the question of
whether the lighting standards should be
placed along the center of the street, as is
done on some wide boulevards and avenues,
or, if placed along the edges of the road-
way, whether the lights should be placed
opposite one another or the staggered ar-
rangement adopted. As far as lights skirt-
ing the roadway are concerned, a general
scheme which tends to a harmonious and
decorative layout is to place the lights op-
posite one another when standards are set
at each of the four corners of intersecting
streets and to stagger them when lights are
located at two diagonal corners. The
mounting height of the lights should be ade-
quate to keep all powerful rays of light out
of the plane of vision, even when — as should
invariably be the case where high illumina-
tion is employed on important thorough-
fares — diffusing media are employed.

The illuminating systems of important

cities naturally serving as criteria for the
lighting of other communities, it may prove
of interest to record the present standard of
New York in this respect. As an indication
of the cost of illumination, the power of the
lamps used will be given in watts, a 500-
watt lamp of the street series incandescent
type giving approximately 1,000 candle-
power. On the brightest streets, 500-watt
lamps are used, mounted 20 feet above the
road. On car streets and wide avenues the
standard lamps are 400 watts, mounted at
the same height. On the avenues where the
traffic is not so heavy, 300-watt lamps are
used, the 20-foot height being general.
Residence streets are lighted by 200-watt
lamps placed about i6j^ feet above the side-
walk, or by lOO-watt lamps at a height of
I4j^ feet. The lighting of the parks in New
York has been pretty well standardized.
The lights are staggered on either side of
the roadway, 80 feet apart, mounted at a
height of 10 feet, and are of the loo-watt
size. In Cincinnati, another well-lighted
city, the general scheme is to place the light-
ing standards opposite one another at 80-
foot spacing, with the lamp filaments 13
feet 4 inches above the road-bed.

Typical of good lighting practice as are
these arrangements, they fail to convey a
proper application of the degree of illumina-
tion attained. In New York, the illumina-
tion on a plane 4 feet 8 inches above grade,
the average intensity in well-lighted streets
is 0.135 candle-power, with a maximum of

LIGHTING SCHEME FOR A HEAVILY SHADED STREET WITH SERIES INCANDESCENT LAMPS
ALONG THE CENTER OF THE ROAD

242

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

0.96 and a minimum of 0.021 candle-power.
On other brightly lighted business streets
the intensity of illumination varies from
0.015 to 1.04 candle-power, with an average
of 0.185, while on still others the range is
between o.oio to 0.75 candle-power, with an
average of 0.135. Well-lighted residence
streets have an average illumination of
0.068 candle-power, the maximum and mini-
mum being 0.347 and 0.0102 candle-power
respectively.

Lighting Residential Districts

In the lighting of many residential dis-
tricts, the presence of shade trees and the
desire to secure as uniform illumination of
them as possible often makes it necessary or
advisable to use only small-size lamps. Deco-
rative considerations make it customary to
place the lights in opal balls mounted on
ornamental posts, with the result that a
large amount of the light is thrown up-
ward and so lost for lighting the street.
To avoid this drawback, approved practice
is to employ prismatic reflectors to collect
the upward rays of the small lights — usually
loo-candle-power lamps — and redirect the
light outward at a slight downward angle.
These primatic reflectors consist usually of
a double concentric band with smooth outer
and inner exposed surfaces, with prisms on
the two inside surfaces, sealed at top and
bottom to exclude dust and dirt.

lighting Country Koads

For rural highways the lighting fixtures
are usually of the comparatively inexpen-
sive variety with the lights and reflectors
mounted on long mast arms over the center
of the street. As it is impossible to secure
any degree of uniformity in light intensity,
owing to the necessarily wide spacing of
the lights, the silhouette principle with di-
rect illumination should be employed. This
scheme provides a light background against
which objects intervening on the ground

stand out in bold relief, like the daguerreo-
types of the days of our forefathers. In
some cases, prismatic refracting glassware
of the bowl type can be used to good ad-
vantage to enhance the intensity of light
immediately beneath the lighting unit, so
securing more light directed on the road
surface in the vicinity of the unit and a
more nearly uniform light intensity over the
entire, but limited, lighted area. The light-
ing of interurban highways is quite cus-
tomarily performed with twenty to twenty-
one lamps per mile.

A typical lighting fixture for country
roads consists of a 20-inch radial wave re-
flector street-hood body furnished with a
diffuser. Such a unit may be used with
lamps as large as 600 candle-power, con-
suming approximately 350 watts.

Costs

No discussion of street lighting — even
one as necessarily sketchy as this — can make
any claim of being constructive without
some mention of the all-important costs of
street illumination. Obviously, no detailed
figures can be advanced — so much depends
upon the design of the lamp posts, etc., — ^but
some very general figures will serve as an
indication of what the average installation
of modern ornamental street lighting actu-
ally costs. Based on an average spacing
distance of 70 feet for lighting standards,
the installation cost per standard will aver-
age not far from $100, and the yearly cost
of operation and maintenance should not
exceed $50 or $60 in normal times. Con-
sidered in the light of the benefits to a
community in enhanced business value of
well-lighted streets, the safety to its citizens,
and the attractiveness of its streets after
sunset, this would indeed seem a trivial sum
to pay.

Acknowledgment: — Text and illustrations furnished
by the courtesy of the Society for Electrical Develop-
ment, Inc.

Motorization Reduces Complaints Regarding Garbage

Collection

Under the contract system of garbage collection an average of 200 complaints were
received each day, while under municipal collection with trucks and trailers only 10 are
received each day from the 70,000 homes served in Indianapolis. One truck has proved to
be the equivalent of three wagons and accomplishes in an hour and a half the equivalent
of a day's work for a horse. Between 90 and 100 tons of garbage are collected daily.

243

Considerations Governing the Design of
Pavements for Heavy Traffic

By Prevost Hubbard

Chemical Engineer, The Asphalt Association

THE load-carrying capacity of any type
or design of pavement must of neces-
sity be influenced by the support af-
forded the pavement from below. Such
support is furnished by that portion of the
earth directly below the pavement, known
as the subgrade. The supporting value of
natural subgrades varies enormously, as
illustrated by the two extremes of muck or
quicksand and solid rock. Most subgrades
consist of soil lying between the extremes
mentioned but still varying greatly in sup-
porting value, depending not only upon type
but upon their moisture content and degree
of compaction. With very few exceptions,
any well-compacted soil will of itself sup-
port the heaviest conceivable traffic if its
moisture content is properly controlled and
if it is protected by a structure which pre-
vents the displacement of particles at its
surface. The protective structure termed
the pavement will then need to be only of
sufficient thickness to afford such protection
and at the same time itself withstand the
various destructive agencies of traffic. For
a given traffic, this thickness will depend
largely upon the type of pavement used.

The bearing capacity of most soils, par-
ticularly the clayey types, decreases as their
moisture content increases above a certain
point. Although there is much yet to be
learned regarding the comparative bearing
value of soils, this fact is generally recog-
nized, and various drainage methods are
employed to control the moisture content of
the subgrade. Proper drainage is the first
essential for maintaining a dry subgrade,
and measures taken to prevent access of
water to the subgrade directly below the
pavement are often more important than
measures designed to remove accumulations
of water in the subgrade. Some soils are
so persistently retentive of moisture once
absorbed that it is impossible to remove it
with sufficient rapidity by any ordinary sys-
tem of drains. Certain clayey soils belong
to this class, and when all practical pre-
ventive measures in the way of drainage are
apt to prove inadequate, it may well be ad-

visable to modify the character of the sub-
grade material. Thus, at relatively low cost
a clay subgrade may often be greatly im-
proved by mixing it with sand in exactly
the same manner as in the construction of a
sand-clay road. Such a mixture will not
only retain less moisture than the clay but
will possess a much higher supporting
value than moist clay.

Uneconomical Design

It is now generally admitted that in the
past too little attention has been paid to
drainage in the construction of pavements
outside of municipalities. At the same time
there exists a marked tendency to increase
the massiveness of design to a point far
beyond that which is at present proving
entirely satisfactory for heavy traffic in
municipalities and in other places where
subgrade conditions are favorable. This
matter should receive the most careful con-
sideration of engineers, as it points not only
to the most logical but also the most eco-
nomical solution of the design of pavements.
It is evident that in many cases it will cost
far more to increase the thickness of a
pavement to such an extent that the load
will be distributed sufficiently to enable a
poor subgrade to support it, than it would
be to change natural subgrade conditions so
as to create a high supporting value for the
relatively thin pavement.

The widespread use of rigid pavements,
or pavements with rigid foundations, has
been largely responsible for this trend in
paving design, through too great depen-
dence upon the bridging value of such rigid
types. Right here exists a rather anomalous
situation, for while many claims are made
of the bridging value of rigid pavements, it
is generally admitted that careful prepara-
tion of the subgrade is necessary to uni-
formly support these rigid types. As a mat-
ter of fact, it is impracticable to design a
highway which will permanently bridge ap-
preciable areas of a weak subgrade when
subjected to modern heavy traffic.

In pursuing a policy upon which general

244

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

attention has once been centered, many who
are interested in highway construction are
apt to overlook the experience of others fol-
lowing different lines of development, and
fail to profit by their experience. One of
the most striking examples of this has to do
with the flexible type of construction as
represented by the asphalt base pavement,
and this in spite of a number of valuable
papers and discussions upon the subject by
leading engineers. Citations of past and
present experience in localities other than
that of interest to the individual engineer
apparently carry little weight once the ma-
jority concentrate on a given line of de-
velopment, and it is difficult to focus atten-
tion on any other line for the time being.

Remarkable Facts

To state that considerably over 12,000,000
square yards of asphalt base pavement are
now giving satisfactory service in Cali-
fornia and Oregon, many of them 5 inches
or less in total thickness and subjected to
heavy motor traffic, and that some of these
pavements have been in service for over 20
years with little or no cost for maintenance,
should at least arouse some degree of in-
terest on the part of eastern engineers. To
further state that in such cities as Wash-
ington, D. C, Chicago, Omaha, Pittsburgh,
Buffalo and Denver, there are in existence
sections of bituminous base which have
given satisfactory service for over 20 years,
should also serve to dispel any illusion that
the serviceability of this type is restricted to
any given locality.

Service results should in themselves be
conclusive, but explanations of such results
are sometimes required before their full
significance is grasped. It is true that
theories have been advanced, but these have
not been backed up by test data in such a
way as to make them convincing. Some de-
gree of cushioning effect imder traffic has
been claimed and admitted for the asphalt
base as well as the wearing course, but few
engineers have believed that a mineral ag-
gregate cemented together with asphalt
could possibly possess any slab strength or
beam strength, at least to an extent com-
parable with the rigid type of construction.

The Effect of Impact
With this in mind, an investigation was
begun under the direction of the writer as-
sisted by W. E. Rosengarten, Traffic Engi-

neer of the Asphalt Association, to deter-
mine certain relations that exist between the
rigid and flexible types of construction.
Fortunately, through the very valuable
work of the U. S. Bureau of Public Roads
it has already been proved that impact and
not dead load is the most destructive traffic
factor to be taken into account in the de-
sign of modern highways. It was therefore
decided to limit these investigations to a
study of the effect of impact upon test speci-
mens having thicknesses equivalent to those
commonly used in the construction of high-
ways. It was clearly realized in advance
that it would be impossible to duplicate all
the variable conditions under which impact
is delivered to a pavement by traffic, and it
was therefore decided to confine this study
to the effect of pure impact as delivered by
an iron bar falling from a relatively small
height.

In order to obtain comparisons at two ex-
tremes of conditions, it was decided to con-
struct and test slabs of various design upon
a solid uniform subgrade and to test beams
of the same design supported only by knife
edges.

Testing Slabs on a Solid Uniform Subgrade

A plot of ground was secured and upon
this was laid a 6-inch course of cinders
thoroughly compacted by rolling. Slabs 3
feet square were constructed directly upon
this subgrade, except that after the forms
had been placed, the subgrade within the
form was leveled up with a very thin layer
of sand so that each specimen would have
a uniform thickness throughout. Portland
cement concrete slabs were cast 4 and 6
inches thick, of a i :3 :6 mix. These were
cured under a cover of moist sand after
they had set. Some of the concrete slabs
were then covered with from 2 to 4 inches
of coarse graded aggregate asphaltic con-
crete, and some with sheet asphalt with and
without a binder course. In addition, slabs
were constructed of asphaltic concrete base
mixture and covered with either asphaltic
concrete surface mixture or with sheet as-
phalt so as to produce total thicknesses di-
rectly comparable with the Portland cement
concrete base specimens. At the same time
corresponding sets of beams 4 feet long and
10 inches wide were constructed of the same
type and thickness. In general, the speci-
mens were tested when the concrete was 28
days old, although in a few cases they were

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

245

slightly older when for one reason or an-
other it was found impossible to keep up
with the testing schedule which had been
planned.

All slabs were tested where they had been
cast, by means of a machine which was de-
signed and operated so as to drop a 125-
pound iron ball upon the center of the upper
surface from a height of 6 inches at the
rate of about 30 blows per minute. In all
cases a specimen was coiisfdered to have
failed when the first crack appeared.
Cracks in the Portland cement concrete
were invariably first noted developing on
one or more sides of the specimen from the
plane of contact with the subgrade. Under
continued impact these cracks traveled to
the upper surface of the monolith and then
across the upper surface toward the center.
The all-Portland cement concrete specimens
broke into two to four large fragments
shortly after the first crack appeared, while
similar slabs with an asphalt top showed
no cracking of the top after the base had
failed. The results obtained on check speci-
mens were in some cases erratic, in others
quite close together. By averaging results,
however, the general trend is apparent and
is closely borne out by results obtained on
the beam specimens.

The following diagram shows the resis-
tance to impact of the various types of slabs
as measured by the number of blows re-
quired to produce failure. The dotted ex-
tensions of the asphalt tops on slabs with a
Portland cement concrete base show the
number of blows at which the test was
stopped, no failure of the top then being ap-
parent.

Testing Beams Supported by Knife Edges

The beams were tested upon steel knife
edges 3 feet apart with the same machine
used for testing the slabs, but with a 50-
pound iron ball dropped from a height of

15^ inches at the center of the span at the
rate of about 50 blows per minute. The
number of blows required to produce the
first crack was recorded as point of failure.
In all beam tests complete failure occurred
within a very few blows after a crack ap-
peared. The results of these tests are
shown in the second diagram in the same
manner as the slab tests.

In considering these diagrams no attempt
will be made to draw conclusions based upon
a comparison of absolute values as here
shown; in fact, it is frankly admitted that
such a course would be unwise until many
more test data are available. It is believed,
however, that the general similarity in trend
of the results obtained in both the slab and
beam tests are highly significant and point
to interesting facts. What is clearly ap-
parent for conditions under which these
specimens were tested may te summed up a?
follows :

Asphaltic mixtures develop very decided
slab and beam strength as measured by their
resistance to impact. The all-asphalt type
of slab and beam appears to offer consider-
ably more resistance to impact than an
equivalent thickness of 1:3:6 Portland ce-
ment concrete, considered either as an in-
tegral structure or as a base for an as-
phaltic top.

It is recognized that, unsupported by
practical service results, deductions drawn
from these tests might not be conclusive as
applied to the design of highways for heavy
traffic. They do, however, help to explain
the remarkably satisfactory service record
of the millions of square yards of 4- and 5-
inch asphaltic concrete pavements in Cali-
fornia and Oregon, and point the way to a
more rational development in the design of
highways in other localities. In summing
up the substance of this paper, there are a
few points which the writer wishes to em-

^^BJt

1: )£ n
AsnwjK
5mt A*HAa

ZZZan ZZZZZZZEZZZZZZ ZZZZZZ OZZZZZB

Beams

» CCM[ar CoNfxETC

COHCMTi:

NuMecK Of Ounn

^SULTS or IMPACT TESTS ON SLABS

•(UMBER v Blows

AND BEAMS OF DTTTEEENT MATEEIALS

246

phasize :

Points of Emphasis

I. Any rational design of highway should
take into account the fact that the sub-
grade must ultimately take the weight and
shock of traffic as transmitted through the
pavement, and practically any reasonable
dry subgrade will do this if it is compacted
and its surface is protected from displace-
ment. Careful attention to subgrade prepa-
ration and drainage is therefore the first es-
sential to be considered.

2, The asphaltic cojicrete pavement is
highly resistant to impact, which is recog-
nized as the most destructive traffic factor,
and under impact develops as a single unit
relatively high slab and beam strength.

3. It is manifestly uneconomical, if not
impracticable, to adopt a design of highway
which will permanently bridge appreciable
areas of weak subgrade. While the asphalt
type develops bridging action to an appre-

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

ciable extent, it will of itself constantly seek
to maintain contact with the subgrade at all
points and thus reinforce itself with the
maximum supporting value of the subgrade.
The rigid type of pavement or base cannot
do this because of its inherent characteris-
tics. It is therefore almost sure to crack
eventually where appreciable areas of sub-
grade fail to support it uniformly.

4- Both the service history of asphalt
base pavements and the test data here pre-
sented indicate that under given conditions
it is not necessary to adopt as massive a de-
sign for the flexible type of base as for the
rigid type. It is difficult for engineers who
have had no opportunity to observe the as-
phalt base pavement under heavy traffic to
think of it in terms of less thickness than
the rigid base, but in the light of present ex-
perience such consideration appears to be
entirely warranted.

Acknowledgment.— From a paper presented before
the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia, December, 1920.

Teach Fire Prevention in the Schools

KEEP YOUR MATCHES IN PRISON

— DON'T TURN THEM LOOSE

ONE REASON FOR THE HIGH
COST OF LIVING

Cenrtesy of the National Board of Fire Underwriters

BLAOKBOAED CARTOONS FOR THE SCHOOLROOM

AJwost every sclioolroom contains pupils with some talent for drawing. The simple cartoons shown aboV«
jnay be copied by them upon the blackboardn Ann vin >4ii in

247

The Municipal Refuse Destructor at
Montevideo, Uruguay

A Successful Experiment in New Principles and Design

By Robert Balmer

Sanitary Engineer, New York and Buenos Aires, Argentine

IN 1915, after an open competition in
which a number of the best-known Eu-
ropean destructor firms had taken part,
a Special Committee of 19, including the
Mayor of Montevideo, Uruguay, all the
Commissioners of Department, and a num-
ber of prominent engineers and sanitarians,
recommended the erection of a Balmer ref-
use destructor. After the preliminary sur-
veys and the preparation of the site, the
work of construction was begun, and it
was concluded within five months, on Au-

antee of 60 long tons per battery was soon
exceeded by normal operation at 100, long
tons, with reserve capacity to meet any
emergency. The public needs are met by
two batteries. They proved themselves cap-
able of dealing with the city's whole out-
put of refuse — garbage, ash, rubbish and
street sweepings, together with a number
of special services, such as cremation of
dead animals, condemned food, commercial
residuals, etc.
The destructor station occupies a part

LOOKING TOWARD THE RESIDENTIAL PORTION OF MONTEVIDEO FROM THE DESTRUCTOR

Note the proximity of high-quality residences

gust 25, 1915. One month more was taken
up with drying out and warming up the
batteries; then came an official test of two
months' duration, under the supervision of
the author, which demonstrated a normal
excess of 66.6 per cent over the contract
stipulations.

Description of Plant

The plant consists of three batteries of
three fire-grates each. The original guar-

of the block between Ejido and Cuareim
Streets, on a bluff overlooking a handsome
boulevard or driveway that skirts the river-
side — a conspicuous position, within seven
blocks of the City Hall, and calculated to
put to the severest test the possibility of
nuisance from this system.

Regular service under municipal manage-
ment began January i, 1916, immediately
after termination of the official trials above
mentioned. Early in 1917, the City Engi-

248

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

THE PRONT or THE BATTERY Or FUENACES AT THE MONTEVIDEO REFUSE DESTRUCTOR

neer, H. Millot-Grane, issued the official re-
port for the preceding year. Some brief
extracts from that report will demonstrate
the character and extent of the service ren-
dered during the first year's working. The
report says:

"In table A will be found a resume of the
amount and quality of garbage and refuse re-
ceived by the destructor during the year 1916,
the first year of service. This table shows that
the plant, although only a provisional struc-
ture built only to test the efficiency of the
system, received and destroyed without the
slighest inconvenience all the garbage and
refuse regularly produced by the city.

"On the other hand, the elimination and
destruction of the street sweepings and fish
residuals bear testimony to the high crema-
tory power of the batteries."

A GARBAGE AND REFUSE DESTROYED 1916

"Table B, complementary of the preceding,
details some unexpected services rendered by
the plant. In this direction, during the present
year, an effort will be made to extend these
services, making them available to many public
and private institutions and, in general, to all
those establishments which are interested in
quickly getting rid of such refuse as they pro-
duce in large quantities."

TABLE B

SPECIAL SERVICES

Cartload

5 Character

Total Weight

57,426

64,443,610 Kilos

10.415
2,175

Street Sweepings

(141,775,942 lbs.)

1.432.250 Kilos

(3,150,950 lbs.)

„2,176.000 Kilos

593..
373

Military Barracks

(4,787,200 lbs).
_296,000 Kilos
651,200 lbs.)
. 186,500 Kilos

174. .

Hospitals

(410.300 lbs.)
174,000 Kilos

18..

56..
152

Private Individuals ....
Residuals from the Port

(382,800 lbs.)
..9,000 Kilos
(19,800 lbs.)
(19,800 lbs.)
114.000 Kilos
(250,800 lbs.)
152,000 Kilos

(334,400 lbs.)

Source

Objects Incinerated

City Dog-Pound

2,980 Dogs..
45 Sheep
12 Cows
1 Horse

Animal Sanitary Police

Medical Faculty

Municipal Chemical Laboratory. .

Various

9 Cases of

Foodstuffs
$5,664 555 in notes

etc.
6 270 kilos (or 13 -

794 lbs.) of Dupli-
cates, etc.

71,383 Cartloads with.

68.983,360 Kilos
(151.763.392 lbs)

"In order to complete these brief notes on
the incinerating capacity of the Montevideo
destructor, as exhibited during its first year
of working, and to give an idea of its intrinsic
value. Table D is attached, in which may be
seen its capacity exhibited in comparison with
the incinerating stations of the greatest sci-
entific importance as yet known, without ex-
cepting that of Hamburg, which must be taken
as the most considerable effort of modern sani-
tary technique on the matter of garbage and
refuse disposal.

"The above consideration may be concluded
by stating that, according to the technical
report officially issued under date of September
19, 1916, by the Institute of Industrial Chemis-

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

249

TABLE D

INCINERATION PER UNIT

1916

City of

System

Number
of
Units

CeUs

per

Unit

Daily Output
per
Unit

Cost of

Construction

per Unit

Weisbaden

Frankfort

Furth

Milwaukee

Hamburg

Montevideo

Dorr

Herbertz

Humboldt

Heenan

Udhe

Balmer

19,500 Kilos
(42,900 lbs)
30,000 Kilos
(66,000 lbs)
27,500 Kilos
(60,000 lbs)
80,000 Kilos
(176,000 lbs)
i 44,000 Kilos
(96.800 lbs)
*90,000 Kilos
(198,000 lbs)

$13,606
$52,900
$17,250
$69,000
$21,850
$21,666

try, the clinker and ash of the Montevideo
destructor show a perfect incineration of the
garbage and refuse, or, which is the same,
an absolute elimination of all organic matter."

"And Table F exhibits the economy with
which the plant is operated. In making up
this last table, we have taken as basis the
actual working budget of the plant, which
reaches $28,800 annually, and the cost of amor-
tization and interest on a capital of $65,000,
covering the cost of the plant."

"It is desirable to state here that this low
cost of construction and operation is due to the

mechanical simplicity of the Balmer system.
The complicated apparatus and devices which
form part of all known systems of destructors
do not exist in our establishment. Situated
at a low level, the natural action of gravity
carries the garbage and refuse down to the
fire-grates.

"Another characteristic worthy of mention,
as representing the economic nature of our
installation, is its central location with respect
to the service of collection. The distance of
seven kilometers, from the centre of the city
(City Hall) to the disgraceful garbage dump

TABLE F

COST OF OPERATION PER 1000 KILOS INCINERATED ANNUALLY (1916)

City of

System

Annual Cost of

Operation with

10% Int. & Mort.

Quantity

Incinerated

Annually

Operating cost
per 1000 KjIos
(or long ton)

Zurich

Milwaukee

Frankfort

Wiesbaden

Furth

Hamburg

Montevideo

Horsfall

Heenan

HerberU

Dorr

Humboldt

Udhe

Balmer

$30,820
81.650
67.160
19,205
11,040
71,300
35.000

20,000 Long Tons
54,000 "
46,500 " '
17,000 «
12,000 "
100,000 " "
66,000 "

$1.54
1.51
1.45
1.13
12.000 0.92
0.71
0.53

WORKMEN'S REST ROOM AT THE MUNICIPAL REFUSE DESTRITCTOB

250

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

of the Buceo, was reduced, in virtue of the
new station, to 800 metres. And, in the first
year of working, it has been proved that, owing
to this more favorable location, it would be
possible to reduce to one-half the expense of
collection and cartage, and thus effect a
monthly saving sufficient to cover the total
present cost of working of the station, viz.,
$2,400 monthly, and to cover likewise the
interest and amortization on the capital em-
ployed in construction."

Up to the end of 1920, the destructor sta-
tion has operated without developing its
own power. It has now been decided by
the municipality to install boilers and an
electric generating plant to utilize the heat
produced by the furnaces. By the third
quarter of the current year, the new power
service should be in full operation. It is
estimated that each battery will develop a
minimum of 400 kilowatt capacity.

Principles of Operation

A brief reference may now be permitted
to the underlying principles of the Balmer
destructor. These had already been put into
practice in the lOO-ton destructor of Flores,
Buenos Aires; in the 1,000-ton destructor
of the Quema, Buenos Aires, and a dozen
smaller destructors in that and other Argen-
tine cities. In the Montevideo plant, the
same principles have the advantage of the
foregoing practical experience, aided by
more careful designing and a more esthetic
setting, expressive of the new social status
of the service.

Fundamentally, and espec'ally in dealing
with serrii-tropical refuse, where ash is
practically non-existent and where garbage
constitutes an excessively high percentage,
the Balmer destructor depends for its sani-
tary efficiency on the development and util-
ization of hitherto unappreciated and neg-

lected elements in the refuse itself. By fer-
mentation of organic constituents, displace-
ment and expulsion of accompanying mois-
ture, volatilization of hydrocarbons, and
even oxidation of metals, — all aided by the
application of waste heat from the combus-
tion chamber, — a molecular readjustment is
effected, which transforms the character of
organic refuse to a combustible ; its ignition
becomes easy, and it develops high tempera-
tures. It is true that, under this treatment
in the pioneer installations, some unusual
phenomena presented themselves: spontane-
ous combustion of the refuse in storage,
and the production of explosive gaseous
mixtures, with violent dilatation in the air-
flues and in the furnace itself. These
phenomena, while exceedingly inconvenient
under the conditions of the first installa-
tions, were very convincing signs of the ex-
istence of considerable caloric potentials in
ordinary city refuse, which only required
adequate measures for their utilization to
insure a perfect sanitary service and an
abundant source of power.

Tiie Collection System Used

It may be noted here that in both capital
cities above mentioned, the improvement in
the service of final disposal of refuse re-
acted automatically in the creation of a
higher standard for the vehicles of collec-
tion and transport of the refuse. A cov-
ered type of van was at once developed,
which effectually kept the refuse out of
sight and provided shelter for the driver
in all weathers. The service became less
an ocular and olfactory offense, and soon
gained the toleration and then the respect
of the average citizen.

Assessments for Street Sprinkling

IN Hartford, Conn., it is customary to
assess the cost of street sprinkling or oil-
ing or flushing, as the case may be.
The cost for this work for the fiscal year
ending March 31, 1920, was $61,538.61. The
rates charged were 6 cents per foot front-
age for paved streets flushed every night
and 4 cents for paved streets flushed less
than every night, and 4^^ cents for macadam
streets. In all, iii miles of streets, or 222
miles of street frontage, are figured in the
assessment. The assessment as prepared

by the Department of Engineering, filled 700
legal cap typewritten pages, which listed
13,448 names of property owners. Of late
years it has been the custom to substitute
oil for water on all macadam streets, and
especially where sand is added. The mat
which is formed protects the road and
many times does away with the necessity
of redressing it. This cost might better be
charged up to maintenance instead of being
assessed against the individual property
owners.

251

Aeroplane Map Used by City Planners

in Dallas

By Major Edward A. Wood

IN order that the city planner may make
his studies, many kinds of maps and
drawings are necessary to show the re-
lation of one section of the city to another.
Natural as well as artificial features must
be shown — watercourses, hills, valleys,
wooded areas, railroad lines, streets and
highways, buildings, etc. Usually these fea-
tures are delineated by means of a topo-
graphical map, requiring months and even
years to make. A photograph, however,
shows much more clearly than any map
both natural and artificial features, and it is
here that the map made by aerial photog-
raphy surpasses any map drawn by hand,
because it shows the landscape with its
innumerable details and enables the city
planner to visualize the scene.

In the zoning of a city, the "mosaic" or
aeroplane map is particularly valuable, be-
cause it shows so clearly the existing use of
the land, the height of buildings, shadows
cast by the very high buildings, the rela-

tion of the streets and highways one to an-
other, the absence of direct connecting
streets, the railway lines, terminals, indus-
trial districts, etc. Taking it all in all,
probably there is no one single map of as
much value to the city planner as the
"mosaic."

Making the "Mosaic"

Dallas is particularly fortunate in pos-
sessing such a map. In March, 1920, when
city planning began to assume definite form
in this city. Mayor Frank W. Wozencraft
and Fire and Police Commissioner L. E.
McGee asked Colonel Burwell, Command-
ant of Love Field, if a map of Dallas might
not be made by aviators for the use of the
City Planning Commission. The matter
was finally arranged, and a De Haviland
bomber, piloted by Lieut. M. J. Plumb, win-
ner of the New York to Toronto race, ar-
rived in Dallas early in April. Lieut. C. H.
Billet, Photographic Officer, U. S. Air

A£BOFLAinS VIEW OF DAT.T.AS, TEX.

252

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

Service, after experimenting with the den-
sity of the light, etc., selected an altitude of
6,000 feet and began the making of the big
map; 378 plates in all were exposed, and
the taking of the pictures was limited to the
hours between 10 A. M. and 2 P. M., to
avoid shadows. Prominent streets were
selected as guiding lines, and the giant
bombing plane, adapted to a more peaceful
occupation than bombing, flew back and
forth along these parallels, accurately
recording every detail of the landscape.

One of the greatest advantages of aerial
photography is the rapidity with which the
work may be done, provided bad weather
does not interfere. And yet the task is a
difficult one for the pilot, for the ship must
keep an even pull and a direct course. Fur-
thermore, the same altitude must be main-
tained, else the pictures will not have the
same proportions.

After the prints have been made comes
the tedious part of the task, for every print
must be carefully trimmed to fit its neighbor

and pasted so as to maintain a proper scale.
In this manner the "mosaic" is made, the
name being derived from the many pictures
that go to make up the completed map.

The Dallas map is about 5 feet by 8 and
includes 52 square miles of territory. This
covers areas that are not as yet included
within the city limits, but which some day
will be occupied by the city. The map will
be valuable in projecting new additions.

Primarily the map was made for the
City Planning Commission, to be used in its
work. It will first be used in connection
with the zoning of the city, and later in
planning major and minor street systems,
street widening and street extension proj-
ects, relocation of freight terminals, the
flood control of the Trinity River, location
of parks and boulevards, and many other
city improvements. Already the Fire Com-
missioner has used this map to locate several
new fire stations, and, according to George
E. Kessler, City Plan Consultant for Dallas,
the uses of such a map are legion.

Atlanta Children at Play

"THE OLD WOMAN WHO UVED IN A SHOE"
With an area of only 26 square miles, Atlanta, Cra., has 18 public parks and playgrounds

253

Housing Conditions in American City

Schools

A REPORT on the finding of a national
survey on housing conditions in
American city schools has just been
published. This survey is the second in the
series of studies of conditions in urban
schools which is being conducted by the
National Committee for Chamber of Com-
merce Cooperation with the Public Schools,
and the American City Bureau'

Four hundred and twenty-nine cities have
participated in this survey. The purpose of
this wide cooperation between civic and
commercial organizations ivith city school
officials is to assist in the study and develop-
ment of the local school program based
upon carefully assembled facts. When the
American people come to a full realization
of the present emergency they can be
counted upon to provide the support neces-
sary for the maintenance and development
of our public school system.

Public school enrollment, size of classes,
school buildings and grounds, and local
taxation in support of schools vitally afifect
the efficiency of our public schools. The
results of this inquiry upon all of these mat-
ters will be found in this report. The find-
ings presented here show that we have
failed to provide education for all of the
youth of America, and that there are tens
of thousands of children now housed in old,
unsanitary, dangerous buildings. The fol-
lowing is a summary of this survey.

Summary of Report

Attendance

1. The report is based on facts given by
429 cities out of about 950 cities in the
United States whose population exceeds
8,000. The population of the cities reporting
is 70 per cent of the total population of this
group.

2. A growth of 21 per cent in the school
population of these cities in six years has
greatly increased the demands upon school
plants; 19 per cent of all these children leave
school before they are 14, and 64 per cent
before they are 16 years of age. If this
growth in school population continues, or
this heavy elimination can be checked in any
considerable degree, the congestion in the
school plants will become so acute as prac-

tically to block the carrying out of the edu-
cational program.

Sise of Classes

3. Lack of building accommodation is
mainly responsible for large classes: 40 per
cent of all elementary school classes have
40 or more pupls each ; 20 per cent of all
kindergarten classes have more than 50
pupils; II per cent of all junior and senior
high school classes exceed 35 pupils each.
In such large classes the individual pupil
cannot be given the care and personal in-
struction to which he is entitled.

Playgrounds

4. Very little playground space is pro-
vided for city school children. Half the
children reported have less than a 6 by 6
foot plot each for their recreational and
athletic activities. Only 19 per cent of
them have as much as the standard mini-
mum of 100 square feet. The most favored
child of the lowest fourth has only 12 square
feet, less than is allotted to him in the class-
room.

Buildings

5. Half the children reported are housed
in buildings, with their additions, erected
more than 22 years ago. One building of
every four now in use was built before
1886. Most of the buildings housing half
of these children are unsanitary, inade-
quately lighted, badly heated and ventilated,
and do not have rooms that can be con-
verted properly into the shops, laboratories
and gymnasiums which are essential to the
kind of education now demanded in pro-
gressive cities.

6. A large number of the school systems
have too many small buildings either for
economy of administration or effective
grouping of the pupils. Half the elemen-
tary school buildings do not exceed ten
rooms each, and one-fourth of them have
six rooms or fewer.

7. Very few school buildings are fire-
proof: 44 per cent of all buildings reported
have brick or masonry walls, but the ma-
terial of all floors, ceilings, partitions and
stairways is combustible; 21 per cent are

254

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

wooden frame buildings. At least 30 per
cent of the children in these cities are
housed in buildings of more than one story
of these two types just described. Only 5
per cent of the total number of buildings
are of the types of construction usually
called fire-proof.

8. Although this large percentage of
school buildings are non-fire-proof, only a
small number have fireproofing elements to
lessen the fire hazard to the children. In
only 18 per cent of the two poorest types of
buildings is the heating apparatus in a fire-
proof enclosure. At least 25 per cent of the
buildings of these two types are of two or
more stories and do not have a fire-escape.
Thirty-nine per cent of these two types are
without fire-extinguishers, and less than 10
per cent of them have automatic sprinkler
equipment in any part of the buildings.
Only 1 1 per cent have automatic fire alarms.
Such facts as these demonstrate the exist-
ence of a real menace to the children of
these cities.

9. Thousands of children in these cities
are housed in makeshift buildings unsuited
to school use, or are on half-time because
of lack of space: 130,000 children are using
portables; there are 43,000 in rented dwell-
ings, stores and lofts; 55,000 are in annexes;

8,000 are in halls and corridors, and 3,000
in attics; 31,000 are in basements which are
inadequately lighted and more than 3 feet
below the ground level; 248,000 children in
these cities are on half-time. Seventy-five
per cent of the cities report one or more
of these types of congestion. Over 600 new
30-room buildings are required to correct
this one phase of congestion in the schools
of these cities.

Expenditure and Tax Rates

10. These cities vary widely in their tax
rate for school purposes and in their an-
nual expenditure per pupil attending school.
The median tax rate allowed for school
purposes is $15 per thousand of the assessed
valuation. Half of these cities allow a rate
between $9 and $25 per thousand. The
range for all cities reporting is from $1.60
to $60. The amount of income from local
taxation for each pupil attending any kind
of school in the city last year ranges from
$16.50 to $132. The median for all cities
reporting is $56.89. The middle half of
these cities expend between $45 and $71 per
pupil.

Editorial Note. — Copies of the report can be ob-
tained from the publishers, the American City Bureau,
Tribune Building, New York, N. Y.

The Unifying Influence of Community

Music

WITH A POPTTPLATIGN OP 2,000, LUTSSBOBO, KANS., PBIDES ITSELP ON A OOMBrONITT
CHOEUS OF MOBE THAN 600. SINCE 1882 THE RENDITION OP HANDEL'S "MESSIAH" HAS
BEEN A TEABLY FEATUBE IN THE TOWN. THE ANNUAL EASTEB FESTIVAL IS ONE OF THE
MOST IMPOBTANT MUSICAL EVENTS IN THE MIDDLE WEST. SINGLE FAMILIES ABE
BEPBESENTED BY THREE GENEEATIONS IN THE CHOBUS

255

forward y^tops

Reported to THE AMERICAN CITY

bpjfunicipal Officials 6^ Department Jfoads

(jtty Managers

Municipal Water Plant Helps Pay
City Manager's Salary

Westerville, O. — This city adopted the
city manager form of government by a char-
ter which became effective in January, 1916,
and the present manager has held office since
September, 1917. Under this plan of city
administration a very satisfactory record
has been made by the municipally owned
water-works and the light and power plant.

During the past year the first big step
toward carrying out the new water-works
program was completed, namely, the con-
struction of a 20-foot-diameter reinforced
concrete well, 31 feet in depth, laying about
one mile of 6-inch cast iron force main, and
erecting a 200,000-gallon steel water-tank
and tower. This tower, shown in the accom-
panying photograph, was furnished and
erected by the Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel
Company.

The policy of the present administration
has been to make as many improvements to
the utilities as possible from the earnings.
When the city manager administration took
office in 1916 it inherited several thousand
dollars of indebtedness in the water and
light departments. The close of the year
1920 shows that the earnings of these plants
have paid for approximately $35,000 worth
of improvements, enlargements and repairs,
and that meanwhile the operation of the
utilities has been kept strictly within their
incomes.

Although the population of Westerville
(3,000) has increased by only several hun-
dred during the last five years, the excellent
service of the municipally owned utilities
has more than doubled the number of light
and power consumers, which has neces-
sitated considerable outlay to provide for

the growth. This has been met from the
department's income. It is believed that the
light and power is cheaper to the consumer
than that of the average municipally or pri-
vately owned utility.

The writer is heartily in favor of mu-
nicipally owned water, light, gas, sewage
and other utilities, provided they are prop-
erly managed. Even small municipalities
should be able to employ an expert
manager and pay at least three-fourths of

THE CONICAL BOTTOM AIDS MATEEIALIiY IN
SETTLING SEDIMENT TO BOTTOM OF
RISEE PIPE OR MUD DRtM

his salary and all the salaries of his assist-
ants from the earnings of its utilities, be-
sides having the benefits of this executive's
time and experience for the other depart-
ments of the corporation. The water and
light department of Westerville pays $2,-
025 toward the city manager's salary.

Without a paying water and light plant,
Westerville could not employ a city manager
and keep within a reasonable tax rate.

R. W. OREBAUGH,

City Manager.

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

Departments
of Education

Teaching Accident Prevention

Detroit, Mich. — Two years ago the
Board of Education of Detroit, upon recom-
mendation of the Superintendent, made
safety education one of the subjects of the
school curriculum. The first year was
spent in an attempt to develop this subject
through a part-time supervisor and a com-
mittee of teachers. At the end of the first
year the social importance of the subject
was more fully realized and a full-time
supervisor was appointed. The alarming
and increasing number of accidents to
school children on the streets of the city
served to emphasize the need of work along
this line.

To the Department of Safety Education
was assigned the business of studying the
causes of accidents to children in the streets,
playgrounds and homes, of building up a
course of study to teach accident prevention
in every grade, of organizing all the safety
work in the public schools, and of co-
operating in every possible way with the
Police Department, the Fire Department,
and with other civic activities concerned
with public safety and welfare. Without
text-books or precedents to follow, the De-
partment of Safety Education made a care-
ful study and analysis of the accident re-
ports furnished to the Board of Education
by the Detroit Police Department. These
reports not only revealed the seriousness of
a situation that in twelve months caused the
injury or death of 1,097 school children in
the city, but furnished valuable, definite in-
formation about the causes and types of
such accidents. They showed, for example,
that the younger children need careful in-
struction and frequent practice in safe ways
of crossing the street ; that foreign children
are in many cases the accident victims ; that
accidents to boys from twelve to fourteen
years of age are usually the result of bicycle
riding or hitching; that instruction in home
safety is greatly needed to reduce the num-
ber of preventable accidents and deaths
caused by falls, scalding, firearms, etc.

Experiments were carried on in various
grades and schools in order to find out how

to teach safety in a manner suited to the
natural interest and ability of the children
and helpful to the teachers. Every teacher
was found to be attempting to teach acci-
dent prevention in some way or other, and
many of the teachers have contributed use-
ful ideas. As a result of these experiments
a course of study has been prepared and is
now a part of the curriculum of the public
schools from the kindergarten through the
eighth grade. It covers the principles of
accident prevention, fire prevention, health
conservation, first aid, and community civ-
ics, adapted to each grade. Safety is not
taught as a separate subject and does not
impose an additional burden upon the
teacher, but safety topics are suggested for
use in the regular subjects of the classroom,
and are welcomed by the teachers, s'nce they
provide motivation and appeal to the inter-
est of the children in their various studies —
language, drawing, civics, arithmetic, and
especially dramatics. These topics avoid all
morbid features of accidents and emphasize
the constructive side of safety.

In the lower grades, games are used to
teach the children the right way to cross the
street and give them a working knowledge
of the rules of the road. Starting with the
traffic policeman and the pedestrian, both
represented by children, the game is gradu-
ally elaborated to include automobiles,
trucks, street cars and motor-cycles. The
front part of the school represents the main
avenue nearest to the schools, aisles the side
streets, and chalk marks on the floor repre-
sent the curbs, street car tracks, and safety
zones. Some children in their seats are
"tall buildings with the traffic going on
around them." Semaphores for the use of
the younger children in their traffic games
are made by the older boys in the manual
training classes. One teacher of a first
grade asked her pupils to request their
parents to look out for little boys and girls
who might be waiting to cross the street,
and take them safely across. The next
time the children played a traffic game, every
one wanted to be a "father taking some It-
tle child across the street." Thus very
early the idea of service to others is devel-
oped, and in many other lessons the same
thing occurs, without conscious effort on the
part of the teacher to emphasize that ob-
jective.

The teaching of accident prevention lends

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CllY

257

itself admirably to the various forms of
language work, oral and written composi-
tion, letter writing, and reading. The sav-
ing of life is a subject that children are
eager to talk about. They discuss acci-
dents that have come within their experi-
ence, describe ways of avoiding such acci-
dents, tell what they are doing to help
safety, compare safe places to play in with
unsafe places, safe toys with unsafe toys,
all with such lively interest that the teach-
er's only difficulty is to direct the dis-
cussions into the most helpful channels, and
emphasize the constructive side of safety.

Drawings by k"ndergarten and first-grade
children illustrating safety at the street
crossing show that the children have a
clear idea of the four corners, the traffic
policeman who helps pedestrians across,
and people waiting for the signal, and some
children even add an automobile or two to
their drawing. Although in these crude
sketches other persons are represented with-
out arms, the policeman never fails to be
provided with these useful appendages, and
with blue uniform, buttons and badge as
well. In the minds of kindergarten chil-
dren the idea ot a uniform is already estab-
lished and they may be given a conception
of the other uniforms with which they are
familiar, that of the postman, fireman,
street cleaner, etc. In this way an intelli-
gent and helpful attitude toward public
service is developed, and the foundation
laid for good citizenship.

The course of study pro-
vides for safety clubs and
organizations for safety
by the pupils themselves,
for cooperation with the
Fire Department, in efforts
to reduce the fire loss,
which in Detroit amounts
to more than four million
dollars annually, and for
participation by the chil-
dren in all civic enter-
prises.

The records of the De-
troit Police Department
show the results of a year
of accident prevention
work by the Department
of Safety Education :

Fatal accidents to school
children

Serious accidents to school
children

Minor accidents to school
children

Sept. 1, 1918

to
Sept. 1, 1919

837

Sept. 1, 1919

to
Sept. 1, 1920

102

439

589

Total 1,097

HARRIET E. BEARD,
Supervisor, Department of Safety Education.

Public ^^orks
Departments

Auxiliary Garbage-Gollection
Equipment on Ash Wagons

WiNNETKA, III. — In this city garbage and
ashes were formerly collected in separate
equ'pment. It was noted, however, that the
amount of garbage collected on any one
route during the winter months was con-
s'derably less than the amount collected on
the same route during the summer months.
The absence of alleys in Winnetka made it
necessary to work the two equipments to-
gether, namely, one ash wagon and one
garbage wagon, in order to operate with
only two men on each route. It was found
that by fitting each ash wagon with the
auxiliary carrying equipment shown in the
illustration it was possible to do without
garbage carts entirely during the winter
months, thus saving the hire of five horses
per day.

THIS SIMPLE EQUIPMENT MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO DO WITHOUT
SPECIAL GARBAGE CARTS IN WINTER

258

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

The construction of the equipment is very
simple, as it consists only of two metal con-
tainers of heavy galvanized sheet iron w^ith
reinforced corners and edges, supported by
an angle-iron rack hung from the top of the
ash wagon and clipped securely to the rear
axle. This equipment has worked out very
successfully and merely requires the proper
bracing of the rear of the wagons used so
that they will not be injured by the weight
of the garbage and the containers.

W. A. GIBBON,
Superintendent of Public Works.

Puhlic^olfare
Departments

Recreational Activities Coordinated

Houston, Tex. — The boards of Commu-
nity Service and of the Recreation Bureau of
the Department of Public Welfare of the
city of Houston were recently consolidated.
They made a combined appeal to the Mayor
and Council that a full department of the
city government be created to supersede the
previously existing bureau. This request
was granted on January 24, and an ordi-
nance establishing the Department of Re-
creation and Community Service was
passed.

The ordinance creates a Board of Com-
missioners of eleven members, of which the
Superintendent of Schools, the Superinten-
dent of Parks, the City Librarian, the City
Health Officer, and the Director of Public
Welfare are ex-officio members. Thus the
recreational activities of the city are co-
ordinated.

The ordinance provides that all children's
playgrounds, indoor recreation centers, play
fields, gymnasiums, public baths, comfort
stations, and other recreational properties
now owned and controlled by the city of
Houston, or that may hereafter be estab-
lished or acquired by the city, shall be under
the control and management of the new
commission. The power of the School
Board or the Park Board to veto the use of
any of their respect"ve buildings or grounds
for recreational purposes is preserved to
those boards. The ordinance also gives
power to the new commission to conduct
recreational activities on or in private prop-

erties with the consent of the owners. The
new department has powe^ to receive dona-
tions, legacies, or bequests for the improve-
ment or maintenance of its playgrounds or
recreational properties.

Having secured the creation of the new
recreation commission, the former boards
of the Recreation Bureau and Community
Service then organized themselves into a
new voluntary association to be known as
the Recreation and Community Service As-
sociation of Houston, for the purpose of
supplementing municipal appropriations
from voluntary contributions, in order that
a larger consolidated and well-coordinated
program of public recreation may be de-
veloped in this city.

H. WIRT STEELE,
Director of Public Welfare.

Jfpcreaiion
Departments

A Recreational Center Which
Teaches Self-Government

Rochester, N. Y. — A plan for community
work aimed at developing boys into useful
cit'zens is being worked out by a group of
Rochester citizens who have enlisted the aid
of educational authorities. Business men
who are backers of the plan have insisted
on remaining anonymous.

An evening recreation center for boys
from 12 to 15 years old, in which instruc-
tion will be given not only in games and
athletics, but also in self-government, has
just been opened as an adjunct to the public
night schools. This recreation center plan
is an experiment in Americanization. The
school in which the center is being con-
ducted is in one of the foreign districts of
the city. The work of this center is under
the immediate supervision of the director
of the department of physical education of
the public schools. Classes will be held for
two hours in the evening once a week.

Boy students at both day and night
schools, and working boys, will be admitted
to the classes. They are divided into three
groups, according to age, and each evening
is divided into four periods so that individ-
uals may take part in all four classes each
evening.

The first class takes up gymnasium work,

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

259

with train'ng in basketball, mass athletic
work to fit the boys for later competi-
tion, also wrestling and mass games of
many sorts which have proved effective in
training boys both mentally and physically.
The second class is held in the game room
and plays chess, checkers, shuffleboard, and
pool. The third class is known as the self-
government group, and gives training in
parliamentary law, the conduct of meetings,
and extemporaneous speaking, all of which
will aid in turning out good American citi-
zens. The practical application of what is
learned to the problems arising out of the
organization of the center as a whole, is
the aim of this class. The fourth class
takes up a special activity each week, such
as Boy Scout work, motion pictures. Safety
First, thrift, etc.

HERMAN J. NORTON,
Director, Department of Physical Education of
the Public Schools.

fire

£)epartments

A Sati factory Fire Sigoal

Bridgeport, Conn. — The city of Bridge-
port has installed and uses for fire signals
eleven Klaxon horns in different sections of
the city. They have been in use for six or
eight years, giving excellent service and
demonstrating their effectiveness in clearing
the streets. They are operated from fire
alarm headquarters; those in the center of
the city through a uniform time relay,
which is cut in at headquarters on a closed
tapper circuit and is operated by a 20-volt
storage battery through a switchboard.
There is a duplicate set of batteries in re-
serve. In testing, the record is made on the
outgoing register, in the same manner as
for the alarms going to the engine houses,
which furnishes a check on the condition of
the circuit.

The open-circuit side has a duplicate set
of twelve storage batteries that run to each
of the seven horns operated from head-
quarters to a 4-ohm open-circuit relay, lo-
cated in the horn box on the pedestal. There
are ten weather-proof Columbia dry cells
in each horn box to operate the horn. Us-
ing a relay and batteries at the location of
a horn enables one to make all necessary
tests in cleaning and adjusting a horn with-

in CASE OF FIRE, THESE HOBNS EFFEC-
TIVELT CLEAB THE STREETS

out disturbing any other horn.

There is a push button key on the tele-
phone desk at fire headquarters, and when
the apparatus responds to a still alarm, a
signal of 2-2 is keyed out by the operator
without leaving his chair. The accompany-
ing picture shows the pedestal with horn,
fire and police box, and signal light, which
is flashed by a motor-driven transmitter at
police headquarters. There are forty-eight
of these lights. The globes have the words
"Fire Alarm" or "Police" on them, as the
case may be. When not being flashed, a
steady light is shown.

This fire alarm device was worked out in
the Bridgeport Fire Department, and has
proved exceedingly satisfactory.

ARTHUR E. PLATT,
Superintendent, Fire Alarm Telegraph and Police
Signal System-.

26o

forwardSteps^^'^^

Children as Home Fire Inspectors

Columbus, Ohio. — The American home
is- a sacred precinct, not open to invasion,
and yet it is a prolific source of fire loss and
death. The child is the Ink that binds the
school and the home together, the teacher
being practically the mother during school
hours. Under the Russell Law, fire preven-
tion must be taught in the Ohio schools, and
since this is so, why not use the child as the
means of getting the vital doctr'ne into the
home?

From this train of reasoning was born
the Home Inspection Blank idea. The city
of Columbus tried it out in one of her
"Clean up, Spade up, and Keep it up" cam-
paigns. The result was at once astounding
and satisfactory. This blank took in not
only the fire hazards, but also the hazards to
life and limb, and the beautification of the
home and its surroundings. Perhaps this
was going too far, since a few of the parents
objected to questions they considered im-
pertinent, and yet a large percentage of the
questions were answered. For instance :

It is difficult to have removed from homes
the deadly rubber tube connecting service
pipes with different types of natural gas
stoves and heaters. Especially is this a
delicate task in private home bathrooms
and bedrooms. The ch'ldren found these
menaces, and inspectors of th's department
and the fire department removed them. It is
true that some were immediately replaced,
since neither this department nor the fire-
men had a right to destroy them, but in the
majority of cases the lesson of the danger
had been driven home and — stuck!

To make a long story short, each school
child, no matter of what grade, was given
a blank by h's teacher and told to fill it out.
The teachers cooperated with this depart-
ment and the Fire Prevention Committee of
the Chamber of Commerce having charge
of the local clean-up. Over 5,000 hazards
were found. Those pertaining to health
were referred to the proper city department.
Boy and Girl Scouts also did splendid serv-
ice. Fire chiefs of other cities used the
idea, simplifying or adding to it to meet

local conditions. The next time the blanks
were used there was less parental opposi-
tion. A copy of the blank follows :

HOME INSPECTION BLANK FOR SCHOOL
CHILDREN

Ordered by the Fire Chief

The teacher is requested to give one of these sheets
to each of her pupils to take home. The questions
should be answered by the pupil with the help of the
parents and returned to the teacher on the following
day. The teacher should take up the sheets when
properly filled out and turn them over to the fire
chief; they are not intended for the insurance com-
panies.

QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED:

Name Town

Street and No

Is there any rubbish, such as old papers, broken

furniture, etc., in the attic ?

Is there any rubbish or scattered kindling in the

basement or cellar ?

Is there any inflammable rubbish in the yard?...
Are floors under stoves protected by metal or

otherwise ?

Are walls, ceilings and partitions protected from

overheating of stoves, furnaces and pipes?

How do you dispose of your ashes?

Do you keep your matches away from heat and

out of the reach of children ?

What is the material of the house and the

roof ?

Is the foundation enclosed?

Are chimneys in good repair ?

When were they last cleaned ?

Do stovepipes pass through attic or closets?

If there are any unused stovepipe holes, how

are they covered ?

Do you ever keep or use gasoline in the house?. .
Do you use a gasoline or kerosene stove for any

purpose ?

How is your "house heated ?

Are any gas connections made with rubber tub-
ing?

Name all the purposes for which kerosene is
used in your home

20 . Do you use a "dustless" oil mop ?

If so, where do you keep it when not in use.

10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

15.
16.

17.
18.

?1 . Do you use electric smoothing irons?

22. Name any other fire hazard in or about your
h ome

23. Have you any fire extinguishers?

24. Where is the fire alarm box nearest your
home ?

25. Do you know how to turn in an alarm?

In Columbus, the way to the home through
the school child had been admirably paved
by Lieutenant Glenn A. Beall of the local
Fire Department.

In addition to the inspect-on blanks, it is
now proposed to present an attractive badge,
engraved "School Fire Chief," to the best
posted scholar in the several schools. After
a reasonable time these badges will be open
to competitive examination.

WILL C. PARSONS.
Division of Fire Prevention and Publicity, Ohio
State Fire Marshal's Department.

±6i

Organization of the Sewerage and Water
Board of New Orleans

Long-Term Appointive Board Proves Effective in the Administration of Water-
Supply and Drainage Systems

THE drainage and water-supply prob-
lems to be overcome in New Orleans
have been difficult and unusual and
have presented many opportunities, if not
necessities, for unusual treatment. The fact
that their treatment has been in the hands
of men who have developed with and by
their work and who have in mind all of the
local experience and difficulties of the past
to guide them in the maintenance, operation
and extension of the work in the future, has
been a most important factor in the success
and economy of the results thus obtained.
The Sewerage and Water Board of New
Qrleans, a long-term appointive board in
charge of this work, is composed of 13 mem-
bers, as follows:

1. Seven members, one from each of the
seven municipal districts into which the city is
divided, who must be a resident and property
taxpayer of said district. These members are
appointed by the Mayor, with the approval of
the City Council, for 14-year terms, so that,
except for deaths, resignations or removal
from the districts which they represent, a va-
cancy occurs only once every two years. In
case of a vacancy for an unexpired term, said
vacancy is filled for the period of the unex-
pired term, so that the regular term dates are
not disarranged. Reappointment is rather the
rule in case of expiration of terms.

2. Two members of the Board are ex-officio
members because of their membership on the
Board of Liquidation of the City Debt, a life
board, which elects to fill its own vacancies,
namely, the President of the Board of Liquida-
tion and one other member.

3. Three designated members of the City
Commission and the Mayor of the city are ex-
officio members of the Sewerage and Water
Board, and the Mayor is ex-officio President of
the Board.

The members of the Board receive no
salaries or compensation in any way from
the Board, nor do the members of the Board
of Liquidation. The Mayor and members
of the Commission Council of course receive
regular salaries.

The Sewerage and Water Board was or-
ganized in 1899. At that time the City
Drainage Commission, which was somewhat
similarly constituted, had existed since
1897, ^^^ ii^ 1903 there was a final merging

of the two boards into the Sewerage and
Water Board, constituted as above de-
scribed, and the drainage work was also
placed under the jurisdiction of the Sewer-
age and Water Board.

The result of the above procedure has
been that the original employes of the
Drainage Commission and the first employes
of the Sewerage and Water Board taken
on from 1900 to 1903 constituted the nu-
cleus of the force used to develop all three
systems. Nearly all the men occupying the
most responsible positions in connection
with all three systems have come up by pro-
motion from these original forces. No one
has ever lost his position or failed of pro-
motion because of any political considera-
tion.

At present the demand for service is over-
taking the capacity of the present system,
and the funds available for further improve-
ments are too limited, with present material
and labor cost, to permit the Board to main-
tain such margins of safety as should really
exist in the services over which it has juris-
diction. This necessitates conditions for
both operation and improvement which de-
mand the most intimate knowledge of the
systems by the forces in charge, in order to
have the greatest possible amount of service
for every expenditure and still keep every-
th'ng moving toward proper and logical
ultimate developments.

A Wise Policy'

The original general main drainage plans
prepared in 1895, ^^id the sewerage and
water plans developed from 1900 to 1903 and
built mainly from 1903 to 1909, have all
three proved themselves admirably adapted
to meet the local difficulties, and the gradual
construction and extension of all three sys-
tems have conformed closely to these general
plans, which in no case attempted to dictate
so minutely the procedure of the future as
to preclude such improvements as experience
and changing conditions might require.

There has, therefore, never been anything
Ike a change of policy or administration on

262

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

the part of the Sewerage and Water Board,
but the whole development from the first in-
ception of the drainage system, the con-
struction of which was started in 1897, has
been carried on harmoniously with a gradu-
ally expand ng force to meet the expanding
fields of work — first design, then construc-
tion, then maintenance and operation, with
extensions and improvements, all with the
unanimous belief that every dollar of ex-
penditure was of service for the greatest
number of people.

The expenditure for the construction of
the three systems out of the Sewerage and
Water Board construction fund have ag-
gregated about $30,000,000 to date ; the cost
of maintain"ng and operating the three sys-
tems was $1,089,000 for 1919, having gradu-
ally increased to that amount from $743,000
in 191 5 on account of the increased material

and labor costs, and increased amounts of
service required of all three systems. In all
of these expenditures there has never once
been even a suspicion of any graft or any
impropriety on the part of any member or
any employe of the Board.

All of the above would seem to indicate
the wisdom of having commissioners ap-
pointed for longer terms than that of the
city administration. It was the obvious and
expressed intention of the law creating the
Sewerage and Water Board, that its salaried
employes should hold their positions in-
definitely, so long as there was need for
their services and they were competently
performing such service, and that vacancies
should be filled as far as possible by promo-
tion. There has as yet been no tendency to
follow any other course.

Art Suggestions for American Homes and Communities

Realizing the vital importance of home
surroundings as a background for develop-
ing American life. The American Federa-
tion of Arts, a national organization of 252
chapters and thousands of individual mem-
bers throughout the country, has in circula-
tion two interior decoration exhibitions giv-
ing color and arrangement schemes for
home furnishings; several exhibitions of
printed and woven fabrics which may be
used in the various rooms from the living
room to the nursery ; several exhibitions of
prints, most of them in color, and photo-
graphs suitable for home decoration. Other
pertinent collections to follow will include
pottery, furniture, silver, lighting fixtures,
etc. Recently the Federation has inaugu-
rated a service which consists of sending
to individuals portfolios of prints and photo-
graphs so that home-makers may at their
leisure select one or more which particu-
larly appeal.

Not only to the home of moderate means
does the Federation confine its suggestions.
It keeps continuously on tour many groups
of original oil paintings, water colors, etch-
ings, tapestries, pieces of sculpture, most of
which may be purchased. Then there are
the collections of domestic architecture and
landscape architecture, which round out

this comprehensive group of some fifty tra-
veling exhibitions.

All the collections sent out by The Ameri-
can Federation of Arts are assembled by
experts, and while, of course, they are not
submitted arbitrarily by the Federation jury,
they contain some of the finest examples
of artistic production in the various lines
represented. A community showing an ex-
hibition sent out by this organization bene-
fits by it, and nine times out of ten makes
the showing of Federation exhibitions a
habit. Membership is not a condition of
obtaining the exhibitions, and they may not
be shown for pecuniary profit.

A most interesting sidelight on this effort
of The American Federation of Arts is the
interest shown by public-spirited citizens
and groups from the standpoint of commu-
nity or town growth. The presence of
such exhibitions in a town or village, or in
a club or institution in a larger city, gives
a certain cachet to the community or region,
a sign indicating progress, a proof that that
group at least is looking toward cultural
advance.

Further information may be obtained
from Richard F. Bach, Extension Secre-
tary, The American Federation of Arts,
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
N. Y.

263

Playgrounds and More Playgrounds —
How to Get Them

By Harrison Gray Otis

Editorial Note. — An increased and widespread interest in outdoor recreation is one of
the war's heritages. Cities everywhere are enlarging their playground systems, and are em-
ploying more trained recreation leaders. The Playground and Recreation Association of
America, i Madison Avenue, New York City, has for fourteen years been promoting the play
movement, and presents herewitli a resume of the methods that cities are employing to secure
and extend public playgrounds and recreation systems. Getting playgrounds is only one step
in the program. There still remain the problems of construction, equipment, management,
operation, activities, and methods of securing trained play leadership. The American City
will welcome inquiries from readers on any ^natters having to do itnth community recreation.

MR. and Mrs. Public have about decided
that playgrounds are good things.
We say "about," because there are
still hundreds of towns and cities that seem
quite sure their
alleys and gutters
will do for John-
nie, and that Nel-
lie should "stay
in her own back
yard," anyw a y .
However, the ra-
pid spread of the
playground move-
ment during the
past few years
gives hope that
Progress is wind-
ing up the Big
Bens of public
opinion and plac-
ing them under
the pillows of
these slumberers.
An early awaken-
ing seems certain.

There is a dif-
ference between
deciding that a
thing is good, and
investing in it.
Enter, the famil-
iar problem of
ways and means.

How can we get playgrounds, more play-
grounds? is the question before the house.

The fact that other cities whose financial
conditions are probably no more flourishing

Courtesy Park International
WE WANT A

than our own are investing thousands, even
millions, in playgrounds and parks, shows
that the problem can be solved. The meth-
ods by which some of these towns have se-
cured the neces-
sary funds may
point out the fac-
tors which will
solve the equa-
tion in our town.
The year's sta-
tistics for 1920
showing the
progress of public
rec r e a t i o n in
American cities
present some in-
teresting figures.
The 465 cities
reporting, main-
tained 4,293 play-
grounds and re-
creation centers
under paid leader-
ship. They em-
p 1 oy ed 10,218
workers — an in-
crease of 2,175
over the number
reported for 1919.
There was an in-
crease of 42 per
cent in the num-
ber of p 1 a y -
grounds and recreation centers established
during the year. More than $7,200,000
was spent for recreation work.
The complete report on bonds issued is

PLAYGROUND

264

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

not yet on hand, but during 19 19, 17 cities
voted a total of $13,510,000 for establish-
ing and increasing playground systems.
One of the largest bond issues recorded in
1920 is that voted last November by Akron,
Ohio, a city of 208,000 population, amount--
ing to $2,000,000 for a system of parks and
playgrounds. The largest single invest-
ment in recreation authorized during 1919
was the $10,000,000 bond issue voted by
Detroit for increasing its public outdoor
play facilities.

These figures are little less than astound-
ing when we realize that the whole move-
ment for organized playgrounds in America
is a development of this generation. When
Chicago appropriated its first $1,200 for
playgrounds, there was widespread opposi-
tion and ridicule aroused by such a "frivol-
ous expenditure of public money." This was
less than twenty years ago. To-day Chicago
has millions invested in its wonderful play-
ground system. Is it paying? A study of
juvenile delinquency, by Allen T. Burns,
shows that the presence of recreation centers
in Chicago's south side was coincident with
a decrease of delinquency within a radius
of half a mile, amounting to practically 30
per cent. Chicago's voters prefer to invest
in playgrounds rather than in reformatories
and jails.

A clear presentation of such facts means
more playgrounds. There are arguments
a-plenty to appeal to the heart and the
pocketbook of the shrewdest business man.
The art of driving them home is salesman-
ship, and when the idea is thoroughly sold
by modern publicity methods, the chief
problem is solved, for if a community really
wants playgrounds it can always find some
way to raise the funds.

Public Pay for Public Play

There is a growing tendency to regard
recreation as a municipal function, and
there are, of course, self-apparent reasons
why the public should support these recrea-
tion centers which benefit the citizenship
as a whole and are open equally to all. Fig-
ures are not available as to just what pro-
portion of funds for securing playgrounds
comes from the public treasury, and what
part is subscribed by private individuals.

It is, however, significant that in 361 of
the 465 cities reporting, public recreation

work was supported in whole or in part by
some department of the municipality — over
79 per cent of the total number, and an
increase of 20 per cent over the correspond-
ing figures for 1919.

Whenever the field secretaries of the
Playground and Recreation Association of
America are called upon to assist a com-
munity in developing a year-round recrea-
tion system, which usually involves more
playgrounds, the advisability of securing
municipal appropriations is strongly urged.
The method of procedure employed by these
trained promoters of community recreation
varies, of course, with local conditions. The
request for their services usually comes
from some responsible organization, such
as the Chamber of Commerce or Rotary
Club, from a group of leading citizens, or
from the city government itself. A strong
representative committee is formed, and a
careful study of the local problems made.
A year's program is then developed, includ-
ing the construction of a playground sys-
tem or the expansion of the playground sys-
tem in many cases, and a detailed budget is
prepared. Simultaneously, an educational
campaign is carried on, utilizing the usual
channels of interviews, speeches, news-
papers, and sometimes demonstration play-
grounds, parades and pageants.

The budget and a draft of the necessary
legislation, with supporting data, endorse-
ments, petitions and information as to what
other cities are doing, is duly laid before the
city authorities at the right time, by the
right people, in the right way. Usually the
initial municipal appropriation is not so
large as will be needed as the work develops.

Frequently the community finds that its
immediate playground needs exceed the limi-
tations of the available city funds and re-
quire a special bond issue, which usually
means an election. Again, it develops that
the legal taxing and bonding limits have al-
ready been reached and do not permit of
further expansion. Increased taxation,
moreover, is sometimes a bugaboo difficult
to overcome, for it is a strange fact that
some men who are generous contributors
to a worth-while movement will oppose the
same movement if it means a higher tax
rate. Consequently, many cities have de-
cided, perhaps wisely, not to wait for suffi-
cient public funds before starting their play-
ground systems.

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

265

"Coupon Bonds" for Playground

Charlotte, N. C, has a population of some
50,000. Playgrounds were needed. A group
of citizens decided to endeavor to raise
money by popular subscription, and placed
the necessary amount at $15,000. Feeling
the need of the added stimulus to be gained
by calling in a trained community organizer,
arrangements were duly made, and a gen-
eral committee of those interested met with
the Mayor on Saturday, May 15, 1920. At
this conference so much opposition was
aroused that the Mayor was requested to
telegraph the organizer not to come, but
fortunately could not locate his address.
On Monday a second conference of the

to sell as many of the $5 membership cou-
pons as he wished. It was explained to the
committee that if they issued 150 of the $100
certificates and sold them they would have
their $15,000 and, incidentally, an advisory
board composed of those who were actually
interested in the movement. In turn, if
these 150 holders each sold all of his $5
memberships, there would be a total sus-
taining membership in the Playground Asso-
ciation of 3,000.

The committee decided it was worth try-
ing, and arranged for speaking dates and
luncheon engagements with the following
organizations : the Rotary Club, the Kiwanis
Club, the Good Fellows Club, the Parent-

ENJOYING A HOSE BATH AT A PATERSON, N. J., PLAYGROUND

same group was called, with the organizer
present. It developed that the city was just
passing through a tremendous financial
campaign to secure $40,000 for another
movement, and that the total amount raised
was only $22,000. The community and its
leaders were worn out and discouraged.
The organizer, realizing that it would be
impossible to conduct another drive of a
similar nature, sketched a rough draft of a
certificate calling for the underwriting of
$100. Attached to this certificate were nine-
teen $5 membership coupons. A person sub-
scribing to a $100 certificate would auto-
matically become a member of the general
advisory board of the Charlotte Playground
Association. He was. of course, orivileeed

Teachers Association, the Woman's Club,
the Teachers Association, the United
Daughters of the Confederacy, the Daugh-
ters of the American Revolution, and a num-
ber of others. Before each group the play-
ground movement was advocated, and it
was carefully explained that the financial
methods proposed would not involve solicit-
ing money by the usual drive methods. A
general luncheon to be held at a leading
hotel Wednesday noon, May 26, was an-
nounced, and cards pledging the signers to
attend this luncheon were distributed at
these meetings. Two committees were ap-
pointed; one called the "Initial Gifts Com-
mittee," composed of leading business men,
was detailed to do a bit of advance work so

266

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

!tf«

W-f PLAY QF flr/i tA£M MAS TM£ MIMTtCS T Ittn U£/ta CH fMC MAIMriMAIfCt OP M0N-t4AINr£NAflC£ OF LAWS.

SHARES $1.00 SERIES 1910. /f/

''No Shares

NON-ASSESSABLE- UNLIMITED ISSUE

(il|ts(3prUftr$!l}at

M/^/num^z/.^^i^,^ PLAVGRgUND^ STOCK z^ia^yca/ect(
X^ySne^y£Ac/S/ten^/e^yi<>-xAz^M ?i<:l' /i^'corn o/</>7^- ,^<^y4 icd/>?i^

3ln Witness Btifwof /m^y<4^^yai^MoUz^x)^cffM.,Amie >

\J;:,~^':iSut'i''^!

PLATGEOUND "STOCK CERTIFICATE'
IN BALTIMORE, MD.

as to Start the subscriptions off in good
sha|)e. The "Follow-Up Committee" was
appointed to take the names of those who
had agreed to attend the luncheon, to see
that they did not forget the appointment,
and to secure the attendance of other repre-
sentative citizens.

At the luncheon 145 people were present.
The "eats" were followed by some rousing
community singing, and the campaign plan
was sprung. Within an hour the entire is-
sue had been sold and over-subscribed, and
there was every indication that the $16,100
pledged would be increased to $20,000 with
little effort.

A similar method was employed in Wil-
mington, Del., in September, 1920. An
executive committee of the City Park Com-
mission and of the Wilmington Community
Service had charge of the campaign. Sep-
tember 26 was "Community Sunday," and
the pastors referred in their sermons to
playground and recreational work. Officials
of the Central Labor Union offered cam-
paign help, and General T. Coleman DuPont
added impetus to the drive by offering to
give 5 per cent of the entire sum raised dur-
ing the campaign. The "surprise feature"
of the campaign was made known at the
campaign luncheon at the Hotel DuPont on
September 28, when the sale of $100 "cou-
pon bonds" began. "Buy a playground
bond" became the slogan. The young wo-
men of the Red Cross Motor Corps went
about the room collecting- olede-es. An ac^-

ISSUED

gregate of $22,600 was
subscribed.

The following organ-
izations bought bonds at
the luncheon, to the
stated amounts; the in-
mates at the New Castle
County Workhouse
(where community sings
had been held), $100;
Volunteers of America,
$500; Knights of Colum-
bus, $700 ; Washington
|^M[[ Heights Century Club,
$200; Junior League,
$300; Greek citizens,
$1,000; Stores Commit-
tee, $300; DuPont em-
ployes, $1,200; Theater
Committee, $100; St.
Andrew's and Grace
Churches, $100 each;
Daughters of Isabella, $300; Central Labor
Union, $1,000; Kiwanis Club, $500; Red
Cross Motor Corps, $.1,500; Hercules Pow-
der Company, $400; Speakman Company,
$200. Large contributions were also made
by private citizens.

Somewhat kindred to the "coupon bond"
method is the "stock selling" plan. Balti-
more was perhaps one of the first to sell
playground "stock," in its playground cam-
paign of 1910. One-dollar shares were sold
at par in whatever quantities the purchaser
could be persuaded to invest. This method
lacks the "hurry-up" feature of the $100
coupon bond, but by reducing the unit from
$5 to $1 the number of "investors" is in-
creased. The stock certificate, attractively
engraved and containing apt quotations, has
proved a popular selling document.

Community Chest at Cleveland

There is hardly a community in the coun-
try that has not had experience in conduct-
ing popular drives during the past few
years, though perhaps "popular" is no longer
a good word to use in this connection.
There are cities, however, that are raising
their funds for playgrounds by the same
sort of campaign methods employed during
the war. Other cities have adopted the
"community chest" idea, with their play-
ground projects included in the general
budget. Cleveland, Ohio, has had a par-
ticularly successful experience in conducting
communitv chest camoaiens. The buderet

March, I921

THE AMERICAN CITY

267

for 1921, which has recently been raised,
provides $41,960 for Cleveland's recreation
council. Some of the publicity methods
used by Cleveland may well be adapted to
playground campaigns. The accompanying
diagram, which appeared on the back cover
of the campaign book, tells its own story.

During this campaign an eight-page
photogravure newspaper supplement told
the story in pictures in a most forceful and
impressive manner.

At Winnetka, 111., a residential suburb of
Chicago, effective use was made of letters
sent to practically every citizen. The letter-
head contained the names of the "Committee
of One Hundred" and set forth the proposi-
tion briefly, clearly, and with a telling touch
of human interest. Attached to the letter
was a table of parallel arguments issued by
the Playground and Recreation Association
of America.

Oftentimes the playground movement has
had for its sponsor some one or more com-
munity organizations. At Hagerstown,
Md., the Rotary Club was so thoroughly
"sold" that it became godfather to the move-
ment and pledged sufficient funds to start
things going. In Newark, Ohio, the public
schools organized and put through a suc-
cessful campaign. Six hundred h'gh school
students were divided into thirty teams of
twenty pup'ls each who did the actual solicit-
ing.

A Neighborhood-Made Playground

A great deal can be accomplished with-
out much money if there is determination

Average Amounts Spent in 1919 for

Various Items by Residents of Cleveland

and Suburbs

( Figures tor Commodities are average for entire United States
as sliown in statement by U. S. Treasury)

$5.00

$10.00

Candy

Cigarettes

Tobacco and
Snuff

Perfumery and
Cosmetics

Ice Cream, Soft
Drinl(s, etc.

Cigars
Jewelry
Community Fund

Estimated on a
Per Capita Basis

■$9 50

■$7.60
■$7.60

■$7.00

■$5.75

■$4.90

■$4.75

.$4.35

Connnlty
Fni

M.35

Loxuries Lsted
above

&47.10

per capita

PLAYGROUND CAMPAIGN PUBLICITY IN
CLEVELAND

and cooperation. In the stock-yard district
of San Francisco, known as Bay View, the
community got together last spring and
turned a stump-filled, tin-can-covered field

PLAYGROUNDS DEVELOP:

1. Health, by spontaneous outdoor exercise

2. Initiative, by forcing the child to make his

own decisions

3. Purity of mind, by keeping the child active

in whoksome surroundings

4. Cooperation, by teaching the child to give and

take assistance, thus showing him the
value of concerted action

5. Ambition, by teaching the child that leader-

ship is the result of successful endeavor

6. Honesty, by causing the child to repudiate

any success that does not come through
fair play

7. Imagination, by lifting the child out of the

commonplace and filling him with en-
thusiasm

8. Self-confidence, by giving the child some re-

sponsibility in the games

9. Obedience, by teaching the child to respect

the leader
10. lustice, by teaching the child to have con-
sideration for those who are physically
and mentally weaker

PLAYGROUNDS DIMINISH:

Idleness, by keeping the child constantly em-
ployed

Delinquency, by influences that tend to de-
velop the better self

Exclusiveness, by giving each some part in
the games

Unfairness, by teaching true sportsmanship

Gang-spirit, by diverting the spirit of leader-
ship into the right direction

Selfishness, by encouraging the child to help
others

Rowdyism, by furnishing the influences that
foster courtesy and self-respect

Temptation,
streets

by keeping children off the

Social barriers, by bringing children of all
classes together

Reformatories, by giving the child active
work to do, thus forming instead of re-
forming character

268

THE .AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

into a community playground. Five hundred
men, women and children spent a single day
on the job, and the result was a surprise to
everyone. A baseball diamond was laid out,
a basketball court staked off, and a kiddies'
corner located. The equipment was fur-
nished by local fraternal organizations : the
Ancient Order of Hibernians gave the back-
stop for the ball field; the Knights of
Pythias equipped the basketball court; the
Carnation Club supplied the kiddies' field
with sand-boxes, swings and slides. The
entire play field, complete in every detail,
was constructed and equipped by volunteer
effort.

A time-honored way of raising money was
employed at Key West, Fla., with rather un-
usual success. On April 6, 1920, the Red
Cross held a cabaret and dinner dance for
the purpose of securing funds for the play-
ground. The affair consisted of a fashion
review, instrumental and vocal music, and
esthetic and social dancing. About 400 peo-
ple attended, and the gross' receipts totaled
$1,000. The amount cleared was enough to
begn the playground work contemplated.
On April 8 and 9 a one-act play, entitled
"America First," wa*s given at two of the
public schools. The admission charge of
15 and 25 cents yielded $250 for playground
equ-pment. This method of securing funds
has the advantage of being a worth-while
sort of community recreation in itself.
There were 88 people in the cast, and music
was furnished by two volunteer community
orchestras.

Individual Donations and Memorials

Many communities have started or in-
creased their playground systems through
the generosity of well-to-do citizens who
have donated funds, land, and in some in-
stances fully equipped playgrounds, to the
city.

There are many illustrations of this form
of public service. Two of the best-known
in the country are those at La Jolla, a
neighborhood of San Diego, Calif., and
Peoria, 111., where complete recreation cen-
ters, including admirable community build-
ings, have been constructed through the
generosity of private citizens.

By far the larger number of playgrounds
have been secured through bond issues and

municipal appropriations, yet in nearly
every case the initiative has fallen upon
community leaders who have created the
public sentiment necessary before public
funds are forthcoming. Cooperation and
publicity are the fundamental requisites. A
handbook on publicity methods has just
been published by the Playground and
Recreation Association of America.

Many playground systems owe their ex-
istence to a combination of public and pri-
vate funds. In Americus, Ga., last May, the
city bought a playground site for $11,000,
and the Americus Community Service com-
mittee undertook to raise a like amount for
equipment and operation. At Bay City,
Mich., playground funds are provided in
part by the school board and in part by the
Bay County Community Board.

Intelligent Leadership Essential

The one thing needed most in this, as in
all civic projects, is enlightened community
leadership. The modern chamber of com-
merce democratically organized is admirably
adapted to the task of starting the ball roll-
ing.

Before a community sets out to get play-
grounds it must know what it wants. A
definite proposition is much easier to sell
than a vague principle. Some sort of in-
telligent study of the local situation, tem-
pered by the knowledge of what other cities
are doing, and of the essential features of
modern playgrounds, is a prerequisite. It is
often a wise economy to invite the co-
operation of some acknowledged playground
authority before definite plans are adopted.

Another prerequisite is a clear under-
standing of the laws relating to playgrounds.
Several states have already passed enabling
acts providing for their construction and
maintenance. Among the best of these acts
are the ones passed in Michigan, in New
York and in Pennsylvania.

State after state is enacting laws making
compulsory the proper physical education of
school children. A well-equipped play-
ground is almost essential to the carrying
out of such legislation. The time is not far
distant when every city and town of the
country will come to realize the importance
of organized play in the great out-of-doors
as a mighty factor in building good citizen-
ship.

269

Standard Schedule for Grading Cities
and Towns for Fire Insurance

Part III

With Reference to Their Fire Defences and Physical Conditions

By John S. Caldwell

Engineer, New England Insurance Exchange, Boston, Mass.

Editorial Note. — The earlier instalments of this article cover the requirements for
a satisfactory water-supply and fire department and the deficiencies applied to the
Standard Schedtde for insufficient equipment or personnel.

THE response to alarms should include
that an adequate running card will be
established, providing for first and
subsequent alarms, and for outlying com-
panies to occupy vacated stations. Appa-
ratus should respond to all first (including
telephone) alarms in amount commensurate
with the normal hazard of the district, but
not less than as follows :

In mercantile and manufacturing districts :

Not less than 2 engine or hose companies
and I ladder company in cities under 25,000
and over 4,000 population

Not less than 3 engine or hose companies
and I ladder company in cities over 25,000 and
under 50,000

Not less than 4 engine or hose companies
and 2 ladder companies in cities over 50,000

In residential districts :

Not less than 2 engine or hose companies,
except for cities under 4,000 population

Modern fire methods should include the
liberal use of chemicals, shut-off nozzles,
and salvage appliances to reduce water dam-
age, the use of appliances for powerful
streams on serious fires, suitable ladder
work and ventilation, and the general policy
of attaching lines to Siamese connections
serving sprinklers and stand-pipes.

Lack of proper equipment should be con-
sidered in determining deficiency in fire
methods.

In considering conditions affecting fire
department operations, the street surfacing,
existence of railroad crossings, drawbridges,
grades, traffic regulations and ordinances
are considered, together with presence of
high-tens'on and overhead wires, which in-
troduces a more or less obstruction to the
use of ladders and in general retards the
work of the department.

Systematic and frequent inspections of

buildings should be made by company and
department officers to acquaint them with
local conditions, and records of such inspec-
tions should be kept both by notes and
sketches.

Proper records of all fires, fire methods,
losses, apparatus, and all department mat-
ters should be kept in convenient form.

Fire Alarm

The subjects considered under the fire
alarm system are as follows :

1. Qualifications of Management

2. Adequacy of Maintenance Force

3. Operators

4. Headquarters Building

5. -Apparatus at Headquarters

6. Circuit Protection

7. Batteries

8. Circuits Underground

9. Condition and Material of Circuits

10. Circuits near High Potential

11. Open or Grounded Circuits

12. Overloaded Circuits

13. Alarms to Fire Stations

14. Condition of Inside Wiring

15. Type of Bo.xes

16. Conspicuousness and .Accessibility of Boxes

17. Condition of Bo.xes

18. Distribution of Boxes

19. Tests and Records

20. Speed of Alarms

21. Fire Department Telephone System

22. Transmission of Telephone Alarms

23. Provisions for Transmitting Telephone Alarms

from the Telephone Exchange

24. Method of Handling Telephone Alarms at the

Telephone Exchange

In considering the item of Qualification
of Management, it is assumed that the ex-
ecutive in charge is competent and experi-
enced in the details of fire alarm construc-
tion and maintenance to efficiently fill the
office.

The maintenance force should be ade-
quate so as to minimize the time that the
system would be out of commission in case
of breakdown, as well as to efficiently oper-
ate and maintain it, or good, reliable pro-
visions should be made for obtaining emer-
gency competent help.

270

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

The operating force should consist of
some competent man controlled by the mu-
nicipality, but not necessarily at fire alarm
headquarters, on duty at all times to handle
telephone alarms, provided, however, that
in municipalities of less than 10,000 popula-
tion one-half credit, and in larger cities
one-quarter credit, may be given for a tele-
phone operator on duty at each public ex-
change at all times v^ith facilities for trans-
mitting alarms giving the definite location
of the fire.

In cities handling an average of over one
alarm a day, a fire alarm operator should
be on duty at fire alarrn headquarters, and
when manual operation is depended upon
for transmission of alarms, two operators
should be on duty at all times. An operator
of the department telephone system if
capable of operating the fire alarm system
may be considered as one fire alarm oper-
ator.

The building housing the apparatus on
which operation of the system and the re-
ceipt and transmission of alarms are de-
pendent should be housed securely against
fire, including danger from conflagration.
When service is dependent entirely upon
the telephone exchange, application shall be
made to the exchange building.

The apparatus at headquarters should be
such as will ensure the receipt, recording
and transmission of all alarms, and should
be maintained in proper working condition.
Cities having over 100,000 population or
more than 350 alarms a year should have
provision permitting transmission manually ;
if automatic transmission is also provided,
means should be provided for cutting out
the automatic feature. Relative values of
headquarters equipment are as follows:

Manual System : Per Cent

Receiving apparatus 25

Transmitting apparatus 25

Recording apparatus 20

Switchboard 16

Testing facilities 15

Automatic System:

Repeater 50

Break-wheel transmitter 20

Switchboard 15

Cable terminal 5

In automatic systems registering device
and means of manual transmission need not
be at fire alarm headquarters, but must be
where telephone alarms are received.

The protection to circuits should consist
of heavy-current and sneak-current fuses
and lightning arresters at headquarters, so

located as to prevent injury to any operat-
ing mechanism, lightning arresters and
heavy-current fuses at junction of overhead
and underground construction and heavy-
current fuses on battery rack.

Energy for operating the system should
be supplied by storage batteries in duplicate
sets, or generator sets with sufficient re-
serve, properly mounted in a well-heated
and ventilated room separated from other
apparatus. In single-circuit systems pri-
mary batteries may be used. Provisions
should be made for obtaining a duplicate
source of supply within five hours. Charg-
ing should be normally from an all-metallic
circuit and should preferably be current of
not over 250 volts.

The location of outside circuits should be
underground. In underground construction
and aerial cables, they should be at least
No. 14 gauge copper with rubber insulation
in lead sheathing and with each leg of a
circuit in a different cable. All aerial cir-
cuits should have conductivity of No. lO
galvanized iron and tensile strength of No.
10 copper wire, with double or triple braided
weatherproof insulation. Pole construction
should be substantial, and wires including
box leads should be well strung and free
from injury. The running of circuits into
buildings other than fire stations introduces
a hazard.

No circuit should be in the same duct or
manhole nor on the same pole w'th high-
potential circuits. All box and alarm cir-
cuits must be normally closed, all metallic
and under constant test. There should not
be more than twenty boxes dependent upon
any box circuit, and box circuits should
have only boxes attached, except that in
automatic systems registering instruments
and tappers in fire stations may be con-
nected. No alarm circuit should connect
instruments in more than five fire stations.

Except where only a single circu't system
is required, each fire station should receive
alarms over two alarm circuits ; in an auto-
matic system each box circuit should extend
to some fire station and may count as one
of the alarm circuits. Station apparatus
should include a gong, a tapper and a per-
manent registering device, the register and
tapper to be on the box circuit in automatic
systems.

Circuits at headquarters and in fire sta-
tions should be in accordance with the Na-
tional Electrical Code, wooden moulding be-

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

271

ing strictly prohibited, and all circuits should
enter stations in conduit.

Boxes including both public and private
should be of the positive non-interfering
type, and when more than twenty boxes are
on the system they should have the succes-
sive feature; all boxes to be accessible to
the public and conspicuous as applying to
location and designation, and including red
lights at night on or close to boxes in high-
value districts; they should also be pro-
vided with key in lock, glass panel door, or
keyless self-acting door.

Boxes should be maintained in good op-
erative condition, tested monthly and after
electrical storms, test to include visual in-
spection, operation, cleaning and repairing;
condition of boxes is used in judging of
thoroughness of tests.

Proper distribution of boxes requires a
public box or a private box accessible to
the public within at least 500 feet of every
building in mercantile and manufacturing
districts, and 800 feet of every important
group of buildings elsewhere.

Tests and records should include that
circuits at headquarters will be tested three
times daily in automatic, and twelve times
daily in manual systems, also frequently in
wind and electrical storms, including tests
for grounds, breaks and current strength;
in manual systems insulation resistance to
be tested weekly; battery cells to be tested
for voltage and electrolyte weekly; office
circuits three to twelve times daily, circuits
examined monthly and after wind and sleet
storms; complete records to be kept of all
tests of apparatus and layout of system and
of all troubles; condition of system to be
used in judging of thoroughness of tests.

Speed of boxes and of alarm transmission
should not be less than one stroke per sec-
ond in automatic and two strokes per second
in manual systems ; tower bells, if necessary,
to be operated on a separate circuit so as not
to delay the operation of the system.

There should be a telephone at each fire
station connected by a single-party line pre-
ferably from some central po'nt where a
municipally controlled operator is on duty at
all times; for cities having more than five
fire stations these should extend from a pri-
vate switchboard. Provisions should be
made permitting stations to be communi-
cated with simultaneously or in groups.

Telephone alarms should be transmitted
from the public exchange to the same place

in all cases and not to any fire company
called, nor to all fire stations simultane-
ously; they should be transmitted to all fire
stations as box alarrhs, after notifying the
nearest company by telephone.

The sounding of ward or box numbers on
tower bells or equivalent mechanism is suf-
ficient in towns up to 5,000 population hav-
ing call or volunteer fire departments.

At least one circuit from the public tele-
phone exchange should be reserved for fire
calls with the switchboard jack conspicu-
ously marked, and the supervising operator
or other responsible employe should verify
the location and oversee the transmission of
fire alarms.

Police

The subjects considered under Police are
as follows:

1. Cooperation with Fire Department

2. Patrol Wajions

3. Signaling System

i. Cooperation with Building Department

From the standpoint of fire protection, the
dut'es of the police are the discovery of
fires and the sending of alarms, the pre-
serving of order at fires, and the reporting
of buildings under construction without per-
mit. Adequate service requires a proper
signalling and telephone system. Munici-
palities of over 2,000 population should have
an adequate number of patrolmen on duty
day and night, and if over 15.000 population,
should have sufficient wagons and ropes and
a signalling system.

Building Laws

The subjects considered under Build'ng
Laws are as follows :

1 . Fire Limits

2. Laws

a. Areas and Heights

b. Protection to Horizontal and Vertical Open-
ings

c. Frame Construction in Fire Limits

d. Wall Thickness

e. Chimneys and Heating Apparatus

f. Improved Construction

g. Private Fire Protection

h. Provision for Fire Stops, Parapets and Fire

Escapes
i. Provision for Quality of Material and Work

3. Wooden Shingle Roofs

4. Records

It is well recognized among builders and
architects, as well as the insurance inter-
ests, that one of the large contributing fac-
tors to the enormous fire waste in this coun-
try is the tinder-box construction of the
average American city and town, and while
it seems like "locking the barn door after
the horse is stolen," the only way to offset

272

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

this evil is by the adoption of adequate
building laws, either state or municipal.
There should be prescribed fire Imits, in-
cluding all closely bujlt mercantile and
manufacturing districts and surrounding
blocks on all sides which constitute an ex-
posure to the district or within which new
construction of a mercantile or manufactur-
ing character is developing; within these
limits frame construction should be pro-
hibited. Proper restrictions should be made
for heights and areas, requirements for pro-
tection to vertical and horizontal openings
of all kinds, thickness of walls, private fire
protection, chimneys and heating devices,
etc., as given in the National Board Build-
ing Code. Wooden shingle roofs should be
prohibited throughout the limits covered by
the water distribution system. A properly
qualified official should be in charge, with a
requisite number of assistants. Proper
records of building permits and operations
and inspections to be kept. Lack of en-
forcement to be considered as equivalent to
no laws.

Hazards

The subjects considered under Hazards
are as follows :

1. Electricity

a. Laws

b. Condition of New Inside Work

c. Condition of Old Inside Work

2. Gas Lighting and Heating

a. Laws

b. Conditions

3. Oil Lighting and Heating

a. Laws

b. Conditions

4. Explosives and Inflammables

a. Inflammable Liquids of Class 1

b. Inflammable Liquids of Class 2

c. Inflammable Liquids of Class 3

d. Hazardous Chemicals

e. Carbide

f. Garares

p. Dry-Cleaning

h. Nitro Cellulose and Films

i. Motion Picture Machines and Booths

i. Explosives
k. Fireworks

1. Matches
m. Combustible Tibres, etc.
n. Lumber and Packing Material
o. Rubbish, Trash. Ashes. Bonfires, etc.
p. Definite Requirement for Inspection of
Premises

5. Records

Closely allied with the need of building
regulations in our American municipalities
is the need of regulation of hazardous con-
ditions in all classes of property, as well as
the public highways, and it has been demon-
strated that the passage of laws, either
state or municipal, on the subject of elec-
tricity, explosives and inflammables and
proper enforcement of such laws, produces
immediate results.

The National Electrical Code is the gen-
erally recognized standard for electric wir-
ing; its adoption by ordinance is of first
importance. The laws should also provide
that current shall not be furnished until the
installations have been inspected and ap-
proved. These results may be obtained
through enforcement by a properly quali-
fied official, or under insurance inspection
backed by a city ordinance. Where elec-
tricity is not generally used, the hazards of
glass-body oil lamps, swinging and open
gas flames, and of gasoline and acetylene
lighting systems are unusually present. The
increasing use of oil for heating and indus-
trial purposes introduces a still further haz-
ard which should be regulated by ordinance.
In addition, the laws should cover other
uses of inflammable liquids and their com-
pounds, explosives and the care of com-
bustible rubbish of all kinds.

Requirements should conform to the sug-
gested ordinances and regulations issued by
the National Board of Fire Underwriters.
Enforcement should be strict, and frequent
inspections should be made; the most ap-
proved method of inspection is through the
members of the fire department. Lack of
enforcement to be considered as equivalent
to no laws.

Structural Conditions

.The subjects considered under Structural
Conditions are as follows:

1. Area of District

2. Street Widths

3. Accessibility of Block Interior

4. Per Cent of Area in Streets and Open Spaces

5. Per Cent of Rlock Area Built Upon

6. Heights of Buildings Other Than Fire-nroof

7. Large and Excessive Areas Other Than Frame

8. Deficient Party and Fire Walls

9. Unprotected Floor Openings

10. Unprotected Exposed Openings

11. Frame Buildings

12. Permanent Awnings

13. Conflagration Breeding Blocks

14. Exposures of District

Th's subject is designed to be applied to
any mercantile or manufacturinsr district;
in the smaller cities it is to be applied to the
pr'iicipal mercantile district, but in larger
c'ties a separate grading may be desirable
for each distinctive high-value district. All
items apply only to the district considered.

In bounding a district, streets and alleys,
sometimes extended, railroads and natural
features will be used where practicable, and
every block or part block shall be included
in which approximately one-third of the
area is of the same general class as the dis-
trict.

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

273

Narrow streets, inaccessibility of build-
ings, congestion of the d'strict and of the
individual blocks, poor general structural
conditions and exposures from surrounding
sections all increase the probability of
sweeping fires. ,

Buildings of fire-proof construction,
sprinklered brick buildings, fire-breaks, fire
barriers and separate high-pressure fire sys-
tems designed to deliver capacity at 90
pounds hydrant pressure or more, form im-
portant mitigating features.

Credits

The subjects considered under Credits
are as follows:

1. Superior Construction and Protection

2. Fire Engine Capacity where Water-Supply at

Direct Hydrant Streams is Adequate

3. High-Pressure Fire System

(Note.- — Items apply only to the high-value district
considered.)

Buildings of fire-proof construction and
sprinklered build'ngs tend to offer a barrier
against a spreading fire as well as offering
the fire department a vantage point in pre-
venting a fire from gaining conflagration
proportions, and cred'ts are allowed accord-
ingly.

Where the full fire flow is available as
direct streams either from a domestic water
system or from a high-pressure system,
the maintaining of engines in service, with
adequate provisions for the'r response and
operation, is considered an advantage as
reducing the probability of a fire gain'ng
headway in the interval of time necessary
to control the flow from a broken main, and
credit should be allowed accordingly.

A high-pressure system may have a grav-
ity supply, direct pumpage supply, or a
combination of the two. It may be a sep-
arate system for fire service only or may
be the extension of a high-service domestic
supply into a low-service area, in which
latter case only two-thirds the actual fire
flow obtainable should be assumed as avail-
able capacity. Fire-boat pipe lines should
also be considered. To be standard a high-
pressure fire service must comply fully with
the various items listed under Water-Supply
and be capable of delivering in the weakest
part of the system the full fire flow required,
including that necessary for a second fire,
such supply to be available in an area equal

to that served by the number of hydrants
necessary to deliver this required fire flow
when discharg'ng 1,000 gallons a minute
each. For standard fire service this quan-
tity should be available at a residual pres-
sure of 250 pounds, residual pressures less
than this, down to 90 pounds as a minimum,
permit classing a system as a iHigh-Pres-
sure Fire System, but of less worth in re-
ducing the deficiencies in Structural Condi-
tions. Hydrants should be of ample dimen-
sions with four independently gated hose
outlets and with 8-inch gated connections
to the mains, to be so distributed that the
entire area of the district is protected and
the average area served per hydrant will
not exceed 40,000 square feet.

Climatic Conditions

The subjects considered under Climatic
Conditions are as follows:

1. High Winds

2. Excessive Snowfall

.S. Severe Cold Weather

4. Hot, Dry Weather

5. Unusual or Exceptional Conditions

In consideration of these subjects ten
years' records have been compiled from the
United States Weather Bureau Stations
relative to winds of 25 miles velocity or
over, snowfall in excess of 10 inches per
month, number of days having a maximum
temperature of 32 degrees or less, months
having an average mean maximum tem-
perature of 65 degrees or more, with the
number of days having .01 inch or over of
precipitation, and unusual conditions not
measured by climatic conditions, such as
forest fires, tornadoes, hurricanes and cy-
clone blizzards and severe snow-storms,
earthquakes, etc.

Where the fractional classes correspond-
ing to the points of deficiency of the water-
supply and fire department differ by three
classes or more, there shall be added to the
points of deficiency a certain number of
points varying with the amount of diver-
gence between the classes of the two fea-
tures as represented in the following table :

Additional Points of Deficiency,

Divergence in Classes Engine Basis Hose Stream Basis

.3 4.5

4 90

5 150 45

6 225 90

7 315 150

8 420 225

9 540 316

10 680 420

274

Combating the Shade Tree Pests

By S. R. Winters

VARYING from the seemingly harmless
efforts of the "measuring worm" in
denuding trees of their foliage, to
the more pronounced activities of the two-
lined chestnut borer in sapping the very
vitality of oaks by its mine-tunneling oper-
ations, insect depredations upon shade trees
in American towns and cities inflict an an-
nual loss of $10,000,000. The toll exacted
is both civic and eco-
nomic in character,
and the ravages of
a countless variety
of pests are of suffi-
cient magnitude to
necessitate commu-
nity as well as in-
dividual effort.

The methods pre-
scribed by the Bu-
reau of Entomology,
United States De-
partment of Agri-
culture, for combat-
ing these tireless
and insidious foes
are almost as varied
as the kinds of in-
sects enumerated as
inimical to shade
trees. Spraying de-
vices, used in ap-
plying arsenical mix-
tures, however, con-
stitute an approved
mode of warfare, the
size of the equipment
varying from a
hand- operated
sprayer for inject-
ing a poisonous solu-
tion into newly-

opened burrows, to a high-geared spraying
outfit for sending the stream of a death-
dealing dose to a height of 35 or 40 feet,
seeking the destruction of the gypsy moth.
Or, as specified in eradicating the elm leaf
beetle as an enemy of all species of elm,
both community action and costly spray-
ing apparatus are essential. Satisfactory
results are insured only when all the trees

nJMIGATINO AND FILLING A CAVITY

When this cavity was opened it was found to be full

of borers and fungus cups. A syringe could not

reach the borers, so fumigating was used. The tree

is now healthy and sturdy

in a particular locality are treated simul-
taneously. The winter months and earlj
spring, the trees being dormant, are op-
portune seasons when organized effort is
most effective.

The Elm T.e<«f Beetle

The elem leaf beetle, enemy of every spe-
cies of elm, but partial to the common Eng-
lish elm, increase;
when the buds begir
to swell in th<
spring. It hibernate:
in the adult or beeth
'ondition in any suit
able shelter. Th(
elm leaf beetle work;
untiringly for a par
tial or a complet(
defoliation of trees
apparently b e i n ^
particeps criminii
with the bark-borin§
insect whose attack;
subsequent to defoli-
ation result in cer-
tain death to th(
stately elm.
frequently
tiv"ties of
leaf beetle
b'ng trees of theii
leaves lead to a slov\
death. Spraying th(
trees with lead ar-
senate when tht
buds of the elms
have burst, repeated
two weeks later, is
the prescribed
method of control.
Destroying the pupaf
at the base of the trees will likewise mini-
mize its numbers. Two generations of the
beetle are produced annually, the eggs oi
the second generation appearing in July.

The Enemies of the Birch

For a quarter of a century or more, pri-
vate and city parks have been deprived of
their birch trees by the inability of the lat-

Not in-
the ac
the eln

in rob

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

275

ter to withstand the attacks of natural
enemies. The master offender is the bronze
birch borer, whose infestations of the bark
and wood are accomplished with the seem-
ing ease with which the mole tunnels
through the surface of the earth. The top
branches of the birch yield first to the un-
dermining influence, the vitality of the tree
gradually deteriorates, and its complete
death is accomplished a year or two later.
Dying tops, reddish or rusty brown spots
on the white bark of the trunk and larger
branches, and ridges in the bark, are signs
of infestation. The borer, which is par-
ticularly destructive to imported birch in
parks and lawns of the Northern States, at-
tacks poplar and aspen trees as well. The
insect is described by an entomologist as a
slender, flattened, footless, creamy white
grub, about three-fourths inch long when
full-grown, which transforms into a small,
slender, olive-bronze, winged beetle nearly
one-half inch in length. They spend the
winter in a chamber in the wood or outer
bark which is a tribute to their excavating
powers; emerging from their hibernating
quarters the following spring, they are
transformed into pupae, and these into
adults, which gnaw their way out — oval
holes in the bark being unmistakable evi-
dence Trees which have been subjected
to extensive ravages not only cannot be re-
covered, but are a menace to other trees.
The badly damaged specimens should be
felled and burned during the winter, or not
later than May first.

Birch, poplar and aspen trees not beyond
redemption can be rescued by spraying with
a kerosene emulsion, which destroys the eggs
and young larvae before they gain admit-
tance to the wood. The kerosene emulsion,
which is equally effective in annihilating in-
sects on some other shade trees, is the re-
sult of the following formula: two gallons
of kerosene, one-half pound of laundry or
fish-oil soap, and one gallon of water. Dis-
solve the soap in boiling water, remove the
solution from the fire, immediately add the
kerosene and thoroughly agitate the mix-
ture for five minutes, until it becomes
creamy—an emulsion. To each two gal-
lons of water add emulsion: in fall and
winter, one gallon; in summer, one-third
gallon. Designed to terminate the existence
of any insect, it can be applied with a

varipfv nf snravinp- devices, a tin atomizer

not being too crude for small trees. Power
sprayers with fine nozzles are essential for
extensive operations. Any of the standard
miscible oils can be substituted for kero-
sene emulsion as a solution for spraying
the bark. By the incorporation of one
ounce of sodium arsenate in each gallon of
water used for diluting kerosene emulsion
or miscible oil, a number of species of tree
borers are killed while young, by applying
the mixture on the bark.

The Pcplar Borer

The poplar borer is an inimical agent in
the Middle and Western States, taking toll
of the tree to which its name refers. Ir-
regular formation, death of limbs, and the
riddling of the trunk of the tree with holes
of sufficient capacity to invoke the effective-
ness of wind in divorcing its branches from
the body, are the results of insect depreda-
tions to poplars. The tunneling stage of
the borer is accomplished by a yellowish,
cylindrical grub, distinguishable from other
insects by the presence of numerous fine,
short, hard points on a plate immediately
back of the head. The larva negotiates
mining operations the first year beneath
the bark, and during the succeeding couple
of years penetrates into the wood. Spray-
ing of infested trunks with kerosene emul-
sion and digging out and killing the young
borers in early fall are prescribed tactics
for arresting the invasions of the pest.

The Hardy Tussock Moth

In spite of an abundance of parasitic in-
sects which are its natural enemies in re-
tarding the multiplication of its kind, the
whitemarked tussock moth is of increasing
menace to shade and park trees. It has
formed acquaintance with a wide variety of
trees, evidencing partiality for poplar, soft
maple, elm, alder, birch and willow. The
marks of its infestations are conspicuous,
glistening white, frothy-looking egg masses,
located low down on the trunk or on main
limbs of the trees. The season for this
evidence is from September until the fol-
lowing spring. The caterpillars hatch from
overwintered eggs in April and May.
Forthwith they begin skeletonizing the
leaves,, subsequently puncturing holes in the
leafy growth and finally devouring all but
the main veins. Seemingly, a quirk in na-
ture perpetuates their destructive tactics,
making a continuous story. As the tiny

276

THE AMERICAN CITY

Vol. XXIV, No. 3

creatures are suspended from a tree by a
silken thread, a wind or a passing object
may transport the insect to other trees, to
continue its devastating efforts. The insect
remains a caterpillar for a month or five
weeks, shedding its skin five times. The
eggs can be destroyed in winter, either by
hand picking or scraping them off and
burning or by spraying with creosote oil
mixed with turpentine to keep it liquid in
winter. Another method is to spray the
infested foliage with lead arsenate, a violent
stomach poison obtainable at seed stores.
A barrel pump
mounted on a horse-
drawn cart with one
or two 50- 1 00- foot
leads of garden hose
and a lo-foot bam-
boo rod with a spray
nozzle at the end
will meet the re-
quirements of a
small town.

The Bagworm

Shade trees,
shrubs and ever-
greens sustain con-
siderable injury
from a caterpillar
described as a bag-
worm, the name re-
ferring to the bag-
like shelter which is
a part of the equip-
ment of the insect
for undergoing the
changes to which it
is subject. After a
series of transfor-
mations the bags are
left clinging to leaf-
less trees. The bag-
worm has a limited

distribution, rarely appearing north of
southern New York and the central por-
tions of Pennsylvania and Ohio. South-
ward, however, it is a troublesome pest
in robbing shade trees of their foliage,
inflicting serious injuries in New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West
Virginia, . Ohio, Indiana and Illinois in
1907. A recurrence of similar serious visi-
tations is not unlikely in the years ahead.
The bagworm is most effectually combated
by hand picking the bags in winter and

t PBH BHlllppB

TREE IN BROOKLYN, N. Y., BANDED TO PRO-
TECT IT FROM CLIMBING CATER-
PILLARS

use of a 12-foot pole pruner. Another
method which has proved its efficiency is
to spray with Paris green in the proportion
of one pound to 150 gallons of water.

The Hickory Bark-Beetle

The hickory bark-beetle is the most de-
structive insect enemy of hickory trees in
the eastern United States, taking a toll of
millions of trees in recent years. Fading
and dying foliage in August and September
betrays the ravages of the pest. A notable
illustration of its destructiveness in recent
years was that
achieved in Long
Island The pres-
ence of the beetle is
unmistakably identi-
fied by centipede-like
galleries in the in-
ner bark and
grooved on the sur-
face of the wood.
Trees thus afflicted
should be marked
and utilized for fuel
during the winter.
From November to
June is the time spe-
cified for making
effectual this work.
"If this is not done,
practically all the
hickory trees may
d'e within a few
years," enjoins Dr.
\. D. Hopkins of the
Bureau of Entomol-
ogy.

Methods of
Control

Other than the ap-
plication of an ar-
senical spray with
deadly effect, there are numerous artificial
methods of control which serve to a rela-
tive degree in minimizing the yearly loss
of $10,000,000 exacted by insects in ex-
ploiting the verdure and vitality of shade
trees. The fall canker worm, for illustra-
tion, can be successfully combated by plac-
ing some sticky substance or cotton bands
around the trees as a means of forestalling
the ascent of the female to the place where
she deposits her eggs. Fortunately, the
canker worm is a wingless creature, and its

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

277

for shade-tree beautification. The bands
are placed in the fall and maintained until
the end of May the following year. The
Cottonwood borer, whose ravages are inimi-
cal to the well-being of poplar and willow
trees, is forestalled from perpetuating it-
self by a mechanical arrangement on this
wise: A wire screen, up to one-half-inch
mesh, is wrapped around the base of the
tree, projecting itself about a foot above the
ground and several inches into the ground.
It fits snugly at the top and is an inch or
two away from the bark the remainder of
the way, thus preventing the beetles from
laying their eggs in it.

Still another method of control is sug-
gested in the warfare authorized on the
leopard moth — an imported variety — which
is proving a menace to the propagation of
shade and ornamental trees along the At-
lantic seaboard, from eastern Massachu-
setts to southern New Jersey, and in the
Hudson River Valley. As the moth had
intrenched itself in the public parks of New

York City, bisulphid of carbon was adopted
as a remedy. The larvae of the leopard
moth feed on living wood by tunneling
operations rather than feeding on foliage;
consequently, bisulphid of carbon is inserted
into the apertures made by the pest, and
the openings are forthwith closed with vari-
ous substances. The death-dealing dose is
injected into the burrows by a long-spouted
oil can or a small glass syringe, which has
the added convenience of determining the
amount of bisulphid, and there is no thread-
ing to be injured by the reagent. A tea-
spoonful of the liquid is injected into each
burrow. Putty and moist clay are ineffec-
tual in daubing the holes and thus sealing
the liquid, grafting wax being recommended
as satisfactory. Coal tar can be used as a
substitute, or the holes may be sealed by in-
serting a wooden plug and sawing it off even
with the trunk of the tree. The object de-
sired is a stopper, tight enough to exclude
rain and the entrance of other injurious
insects.

Breathing-spaces in City Streets

A FEW TREES ADD TO THE BEAUTY AND COMFORT OF A CITY STREET

278

Color Characteristics of a New England

Water-Supply

An Analysis of Various Feeders Provides Interesting Data for the Consideration
of Municipal Engineers and Water- Works Superintendents

ONE of the matters which has to be
given serious consideration in the
choice of treatment of a water-
supply is the question of color. While this is
important only from the esthetic stand-
point, still it is hard to secure the approval
of citizens where the water delivered to con-
sumers has a pale amber color in a drinking
glass when resting on a white cloth. A
color of less than 10 is practically always
insisted upon. It has been found, however,
that people accustomed to color of 15 to 20
become greatly pleased at a reduction, and
should any recurrence of the higher colors
appear, there is usually a great hue and cry.

Caleb Mills Saville, Chief Engineer,
Board of Water Commissioners, Hartford,
Conn., has given some very interesting data
in a paper read before the annual conven-
tion of the New England Water Works
Association, in September, 1920. He de-
scribed the development of the Nepaug
Reservoir, which is one of the late additions
to the Hartford water-works. There are
three principal streams entering the Nepaug
Reservoir — Clear Brook, Phelps Brook and
the Nepaug River. Clear Brook is a small,
rapid stream draining an area of about 1.05
square miles and having its beginning in
heavy gravel deposits. Only a very small
amount of swampy land is tributary, and the
color of the water rarely goes above 15,
except in the spring of the year or under
condition of storm run-off. Phelps Brook
drains an area of about 2.9 square miles.
There are several rather extensive swamp
areas on its watershed, which account for
the high colors recorded on the table re-
produced herewith.

The Nepaug River drains an area of about
23.9 square miles. The course of the main
stream is rather flat for this region. Where
there are rather extensive meadow lands
bordering, there are no areas of swamp or
marsh land. Several tributaries, however,
have their rise in somewhat extensive high
swampy lands, and from these comes much
of the color in the main stream. For the
twelve months ending August i, 1920, the

average and median colors are 30.5 and 31
respectively, with a minimum of 10 during
the snow and ice run-off period, and 50 in
June and November, the former due to a
severe downpour of rain, and the latter to
seasonal conditions.

Phelps Brook Conditions

The accompanying sketch shows the
principal part of the Phelps Brook water-
shed, and on the left is a table giving in-
formation obtained from observations made
on two different occasions. A study of this
shows some interesting facts which indicate
the origin of the high color of this stream
and suggest economical remedies.

Two of the larger swamp areas are en-
closed in irregular doted lines. At "A" is
located a permanent weir with an automatic
recording device, and there is a rain-gauge
located not far from "M", The stream
flow was measured at other places with a
current meter, and colors determined both
with a field glass and by laboratory com-
parison. Conditions may be understood by
a brief analysis of the data tabulated.

Starting at "T," there is a color of 60
with a run-off of 9.4 cubic feet per second.
A branch from the south, "S," brings a
color of 22, and the combined color at "R"'
is found to be 55 at the head of the swamp.
The several branches leadmg into this
swamp differ considerably in color, "A"
and "P" ranging as high as 75 and 90 re-
pectively; the combined color at "N" with
a flow of 0.9 cubic feet per second being 65.
Nearly half of the water producing this
color comes from the high-colored tribu-
taries "P" and "Q." It is evident, there-
fore, that the first steps toward improve-
ment should be taken on these streams.
"M" with 0.4 cubic feet per second and a
color of 55 mingling with the 65 color of
"N" with its flow of 0.9 cubic feet per
second, gives at "L" a total of 1.3 cubic
feet per second and an actual color of 63
as against 63.5 color computed.

Similarly, down the stream high colors
coming from **I" and "J" combine at "G"

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

279

POINT

meu-
TApy

AI/EA
SqMis.

Character OfAka

Ji//i£ esK) 1920

M6. 12, 1920 1

aSCtlARGE
CU.FTPtR5£C

COLOR

DISCHAIfGE
CU FT PER SEC

COiO?

TOTAL

PERSqH

TOTAL

flWVfi

/60f

Si» 1^

Pond at /leadwaters

02 ol

6? J

io'®

160

40 !y

3.1

Swsmpy-

03 ,i

100

Muck hole gi headmtfii

64 1^

56 \

1.1

/.,? 1

riai P^lly wooded

Q4o

Odi

06 3

Swamps at lieada/aters

OS y

0.; !y

05 ?S

Steep Wooded

■T

Swampy

0.4 i

7.^

Note- Points XSL are approx. the Sim& The reason the flous are
so different rs because they vere taken on different days.

THE PHELPS BBOOK WATERSHED WITH TABLE OF COLOS CHABACTEEISTICS

in proportion to their discharges, and "G"
combined with "H"' produces a color of 75
at "F." "E" stream entering below "F" un-
doubtedly has some influence in reducing
color, but the long swamp area to "D" is
more than sufficient to counteract it. It
appears from this study so far that streams
"I" and "J" ^^so will repay attention and
that probably best results both in affusion
and economy can be had here by attacking
the entering streams before advancing to
the more extensive swamp areas.

A most interesting phenomenon was
observed in connection with this work, and
duplicate observations were taken to make
sure that there was no error either of obser-
vation or amount of water flowing in the
stream. The elevation of the weir "A" is
516, while that of a point about 4,000 feet
west along the brook, or 700 feet east of
"C," is 675, a difference in elevation of 159
feet in 4,000. On June 6, the flow at "A"
was 10 cubic feet per second, and the color
70. At "D" the flow was 9.9 cubic feet per
second, with color 00. No elevation was
taken at "D," but the brook has little fall
between "C" and "D." With practically the

same flow at the two stations there was a
reduction in color of 20.0, On August 12
check observations were made; the flow at
"A" was 4 cubic feet per second, with color
74; the flow at "D" was 4 cubic feet per
second, with color 100, a difference of 26.

As there are no entering streams between
"D" and "A," and as the gagings show no
appreciable inflow of low-colored spring
water, the conclusion seems warranted thai
because of the swift water from "D" to
"A" there is a reduction of color from 20 to
26 points in a distance of about one mile.
Similar work to the above is being under-
taken on the Nepaug River stream, and as
maintaining forces are available, work will
be done from time to time, attacking first
those locations where the greatest amount
of color is evident. A survey of this charac-
ter is comparatively inexpensive and often
results in much economy by undertaking
work to remedy the root of the trouble
rather than starting on the more spectacular
project of extensive swamp drainage. The
latter is often disappointing in failing to
get results commensurate with outlay be-
cause of lack of careful diagnosis.

28o

The Change in Attitude of the Public and

Public Service Companies Toward

State Regulation

By Farley Gannett

Gannett, Seelye and Fleming, Harrisburg, Pa.

A FEW years ago a lawyer friend of
mine, whose specialty was corpora-
tion law, and whose practice was
largely before state regulatory commissions,
told me this incident in his practice.

One day the President of probably the
largest utility in the state came to him to
retain him to assist in putting a rate increase
through the Public Service Commission.
This was a most attractive and valuable
commission, and one most desired by many
attorneys and particularly so by my friend,
whose practice was young but growing.

The lawyer thanked the President and
asked why he came to him when the utility's
regular attorney, a man of national reputa-
tion, was still under retainer and able to
look after his client's affairs. The Presi-
dent replied that he wanted them both; that
he recognized that my friend specialized in
this class of work, resided in the state capi-
tal city, and would be of much value to his
company. My friend again thanked the
President and declined his retamer, much
to the latter's astonishment. When asked
his reason, he said that he could not take the
case unless he took it alone ; that he recog-
nized the ability of the company's regular
attorney, who, however, had not yet learned
that public utilities were under state regula-
tion, and he was too old to learn it. The
old attorney has since passed on, and my
friend's firm now represents the utility.

There are still many lawyers who cannot
make up their minds to the new idea of
state regulation ; and there are probably
more operators of utilit'es who cannot. The
older men are passing on or becoming con-
vinced of the actual conditions, and these
last few years have seen a vast change in
their attitude. The utility has learned that
far more can be gained by playing fair and
honestly with the commissions and the pub-
lic than by practicing subterfuge, withhold-
ing facts and attempting to befuddle the
authorities.

When governmental control of public serv-
ice corfK>rations was first discussed some

twenty years ago, the idea was quite gener-
ally objected to by the companies. Grad-
ually this attitude was modified and softened
until most of the states enacted laws or-
ganizing public utility commissions. The
older men in the business could not at first
understand or countenance interference in
their business by the public utility commis-
sions. The rising prices of recent years
have, however, so brought home to them the
advantages of state control that they fear
and dread the possibility of losing such
control, which carries with it protection.
In other words, they see that it is not one-
sided control. The company is controlled,
but so is the public. The commissions have
prevented the public from keeping rates
fixed by ordinance or agreement at such
low levels as to drive the companies into
receiverships.

Utility Commissions Act as Buffers

And now the utilities fear that the Legis-
lature of Illinois may do away with the
Public Utility Commission of that state.
They fear {hat by so doing the utilities will
become "a political football." They want
the protection of the Commission, even
though they do sometimes reduce the profits,
operating salaries and management fees, and
criticize managerial methods of the utilities.
Utilities realize that it is due to the public
utility commissions alone that many of
them are able to live and do business.

These are of course hard days for the
public serv'ce commissions, called into being
by the public to prevent undue profits by
monopolies, and to protect those monopolies,
recognized as properly so, in their invest-
ments. These commissions for the last few
years have had to say "yes" to the great
majority of applications for rate increases,
because of advancing costs of operation and
maintenance. The public is dissatisfied with
the creature it created. It is not keeping
rates for gas, water, electricity, trolleys and
telephones down, but constantly permitting
them to mount higher and higher.

If it had not been for the public utility

March, 1921

THE AMERICAN CITY

281

commissions, where would the utilities be
to-day, with their ordinances calling for
five-cent fares, fixed water and gas rates,
etc.? Imagine the controversies between
city and company officials when attempts
were made to alter existing ordinances. The
situation in New York between ihe Mayor
and the trolley company wouid have been
repeated thousands of times. As it is, a
great many public utilities, chiefly gas and
trolley companies, have succumbed and gone
into receivers' hands, but how many more
would have done so were it not possible in
many states to forget ordinances and con-
tracts which set rates and fall back on the
power of the public utility commiss'ons to
regulate them equitably ! Thus, that which
was the protection of the public a few years
ago is now considered by the public to be its
menace, and that which in the mind of the
utility operator menaced the life of the ut'I-
ity and took away its individuality and 'nde-
pendence, is now its protector.

If costs have really started to reach a
permanently lower level, the utilities have
the prospect of lower operat'ng and ma'nte-
nance costs before long. Will they be as
quick to reduce rates when costs are lower
as they have been to raise them — and should
they? There is a lag between the time in-
creased rates are needed and the actual re-
sults of rate raises. In those states where
the law provides that approval must be ob-
tained before rates are raised, this lag is
great and its effect sometimes disastrous.
In those states where new rates merely
have to be filed thirty days in advance of
the date they are effective, the lag is not so
great, but it is considerable, for it sometimes
takes months to get the new schedule in
shape for filing.

Utilities may be pardoned in some cases
if they postpone rate reductions until after
they have recouped the losses incurred dur-
ing this period of lag, but as a rule the com-
panies will probably not rush to reduce
rates, and we may expect that the cities will
before long begin actions before the com-
missions, asking for rate reductions based
on redufced operating expenses. .Thus, be-
fore many years, or it may only be months,
the commissions will have a chance to square
themselves with the public by ordering rate
reductions in the majority of cases which
come before them. When this time arrives,
will the utilities then attempt to oust the
commissions, as the public is doing in some

states now? I do not think they will.

It is to be hoped that the utilities will
carefully watch their balance sheets and will
play the game to the extent of keeping the
rates down on the basis of reduced cost of
service if that cost does become less. It is
to be hoped that they will not wait to be
driven down by complaints to the commis-
sions, and it is also to be hoped that the
public will be patient and give the utilities
time to recoup some of the money lost dur-
ing the lag period, before starting suits be-
fore the commissions asking for reductions.

It may be fairly said that public utility
rates did not rise as rapidly or as high as
wages and prices of most other commodities
did during the war, and subsequently. Per-
haps some of the companies were earning
so well under pre-war conditions as not to
need much increase, and didn't want to
run the risk of valuations by commissions.
Others hoped that costs would soon cease
their upward trend and start down, and
thus postponed rate revisions. There are a
large number of companies which have not
increased rates at all during this period.

All in all, it would seem, when the prob-
lem is studied as a whole, that the public
utility companies have come through the
trying period of the last three years with a
record which the public should appreciate.
This situation should be made clear to the
public by someone who is willing to collect
the data, and the result would be to put the
utilities in a good light in the eyes of the
understanding section of the public. Now
the utilities must not mar this record by
trying to make the increases, which have
been necessarily made, permanent — a perma-
nent additional burden on the public. Of
course the utilities are not entirely respon-
sible for their good record during the war,
as to increased rates. Had there been no
commission control there would probably
have been chaos. Some companies, which
could do so, would have undoubtedly ad-
vanced rates out of proportion to rising
costs, while others, those which had their
rates bound by contracts and ordnances,
would have succumbed and gone into re-
ceiverships. The fairly even tenor of the
way of the utility during the war and post-
war period can be credited to commission
control. It has kept increases reasonable,
and far below the increases in most other
things, and at the same time it has saved the
financial life of innumerable corporations.

282

Street Flushing for Cleanliness

Descriptive Material and Cost Data of Value to Municipal Officials

STREET flushing is being increasingly
used by cities throughout the United
States, supplanting the inefficient hand-
sweeping method. Power flushers wash the
surface of asphalt, brick, and concrete and
other hard-surfaced pavements by directing
streams of water from fan-shaped nozzles
under pressure onto the pavement, chiseling
off the dirt, scraping the surface, and carry-
ing the refuse into the gutters. The pressure
at which the water is thrown onto the pave-
ment is obtained from a separate gasoline
engine mounted between the driver's seat
and the tank, which makes it entirely inde-
pendent of the truck engine.

The flushing units are so made that they
can be used with one, two or three nozzles
operating at a time. Three nozzles are used
to. clean the street from curb to curb on one
trip, us'ng one front and two side nozzles.
Two nozzles are used at one time when
cleaning exceptionally wide streets or streets
having car tracks in the center. In this
case the left front and right side nozzles
should be used, or vice versa. Only one
nozzle is used when an exceedingly h'gh
pressure is required for spring clean-up or
for streets which would ordinarily require
a scraper to remove the dirt.

When streets are covered with dirt that
is hard and dry and baked to the surface, it
is well to sprinkle before flushing in order
to soften the material, which increases
flusher efficiency about 50 per cent. Flush-
ers are also equipped with sprinkler heads
located at the front of the machine and
fitted with a three-way cock, so that the
operating levers controlling the front noz-
zles can be used to control the sprinkler
heads also. These sprinkler heads throw a
wide fan-shaped stream in front of the
truck, covering a strip of 60 feet, which can
be decreased to 30 feet by reducing the
speed of the flusher engine.

The first method of street cleaning used
was the "White Wing," the man with the
push broom and cart. This is also the most
expensive when present-day labor costs are
considered. One motor-operated flusher can
do the work of 20 White Wings. Horse-
drawn sweepers were formerly used quite
commonly up to the time flushers were

placed on the market, but this method doe>
not remove the fine particles of street dust,
which is read'ly blown about by the wind.
One flusher can do the work of about six
horse-drawn sweepers.

Operating and Cost Data

In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the flushers be-
gin to operate at 4 o'clock in the morning.
The first territory to be cleaned each day is
the business district, and this is done at the
early hour to avoid the heavy traffic. Dur-
ing the day from 8 o'clock the residence dis-
trict is taken care of, covering about 60
miles of paving. The flusher covers th's
territory once every 12 days. Two men
are employed on the flusher at an average
daily expense of $15. The dirt forced by
the flusher into the gutter is picked up by a
.p"ang that follows the machine continually.
Flat sewers do not permit the flushing of
this dirt into the catch-basins, so that it is
necessary to clean out the gutters con-
tinuously.

In Waxahachie, Tex., 71,000 square yards
of street are flushed daily by a Fierce-
Arrow truck with Studebaker model flusher.
This machine has been in operation since
June I, 1919, and the total cost for repairs
rnd parts to date has been $36. It is oper-
ated by a competent man, who is very care-
ful, and the streets are kept exceptionally
clean.

About 2 miles of paved street in Tyl