590 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Paris twenty inches of snow fell in December, eight inches at one 

 time and twelve at another. And this was a remarkable event in that 

 city, although such storms are not uncommon here. For instance : on 

 February 3, 1876, we had eleven inches of snow ; on January 13, 1877, 

 thirteen inches ; and March 16th following, three and a half inches. 

 In the winter which proved so unfortunate for our public officers, we 

 had, on January 1, 1879, five inches of snow, and on the 16th thirteen 

 inches more, or eighteen inches in all, and nearly as much as fell in 

 Paris last winter. Between these storms we had freezing weather, 

 the thermometer marking above the freezing-point only six times, and 

 never rising above 38 in the hottest part of the day. So the cases 

 are not altogether dissimilar. Let us see how much better the efficient 

 street-cleaning department of Paris did its work than ours. 



The following extracts are from the " Figaro " of December 10, 

 1879: 



*' ' La Presse ' says, ' A little less politics, and a little more sweep- 

 ing.' 



'"Le Mot d'Ordre' : *A little more sweeping ! "La Presse" is 

 right ; let them sweep out. the head of the bureau.' 



" ' La Presse ' : ' We have lived in countries where snow is not an 

 exception, as it is in Paris. In those places snow has never been an 

 obstacle in getting about the streets. As soon as the snow begins to 

 fall, they sweep it up and carry it away.' " 



And " Figaro " adds : " All this is perfectly true ; in London, they 

 melt the snow instantly with jets of steam ; in Berlin, where it snows 

 almost constantly in winter, the street-cars do not cease running for 

 an instant, owing to analogoias measures, which keep the rails abso- 

 lutely free. But we are in France, we are in Paris ; and a practical 

 spirit is, unfortunately, the only thing we lack." 



How much all this sounds like the talk of our own newspapers ! 



The attacks of the press were so persistent, and the displeasure of 

 the public so marked in various ways, that M. Alphand was summoned 

 before the Municipal Council. In his speech, reported at length in 

 " Le Figaro " of December 12, 1879, he referred in the following words 

 to some of the statements made in the newspapers : 



" Foreign countries have been mentioned ; it has been stated that 

 in them the snow is removed immediately. Brussels has been given 

 as an example ; now I myself was in that city three years ago, at the 

 very time when they had a fall of snow ; I declare to you that I did 

 not see a single cart carrying away snow, and when it thawed people 

 splashed along in a black mud twenty-five centimetres thick" (ten 

 inches). 



M. Alphand stated that there were at that time employed in re- 

 moving snow 13,940 men, 3,900 horses, and 2,400 carts. 



Imagine our Board of Apportionment supporting the hands of its 

 public officers, in trying times, in this fashion ! 



