754 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



demanded for these purposes ; the expense of removal would be 

 trifling, and possibly at times could be done without cost to the 

 city ; and the improvements made by this means would abate the 

 serious nuisances caused by stagnant water, and by wet and marshy 

 lands, and add to the taxable property of the city. The harbor of 

 New York would also be relieved from the dangers incident to 

 the dumping of ashes and garbage in the neighboring waters, and 

 the adjacent shores would be spared from the offensive nuisance 

 caused by such a primitive and obnoxious practice. The removal 

 and disposal of ashes and garbage should be done by contract, as 

 the details of the work can be minutely specified. As a general 

 rule, municipal work should be done by contract, as the direct 

 employment of men by public officials, and the ownership of 

 carts, horses, and stables by the corporation, are likely to lead, 

 directly or indirectly, to abuses, personal or political, and private 

 enterprise can satisfactorily accomplish nearly all public work at 

 reduced expense to the city. 



3. The city should be divided into districts of such size 

 that one man would be able to sweep the streets of his district 

 and keep them clean at all times. Nothing being swept or thrown 

 into the street, one man would be able to keep in good order a 

 considerable territory. To every twenty-five or thirty districts 

 there should be an inspector or foreman, to note the service of 

 the men, their efficiency, capacity, and faithfulness, and the char- 

 acter and result of their work. To these inspectors or foremen 

 the sweepers in charge of districts should be directly responsible 

 for the cleanly condition of the streets in their respective terri- 

 tories, and the inspectors should be responsible to a general su- 

 perintendent under the Commissioner of Street-cleaning. The 

 inspectors, as well as the sweepers, should be known to the citi- 

 zens of their districts by a badge or uniform ; and they should 

 aid the police, by information and otherwise, in the enforcement 

 of the laws and ordinances relating to the streets and their clean- 

 liness. The inspectors should be men of the discretion and execu- 

 tive capacity necessary to their office ; and the sweepers should 

 be able-bodied, industrious, and temperate men, their qualifica- 

 tions to be tested by a fair trial, and their places secure during 

 good service and behavior. Both inspectors and sweepers should 

 be paid by the month, thereby elevating their respective positions 

 above that of the day laborer, and making this employment 

 desirable on account of its continuity and permanence. 



4. The cleaning of streets and the removal of ashes and gar- 

 bage should be conducted on strictly business principles, and can 

 never be successful or satisfactory unless exempted from per- 

 sonal and political influences. The commissioner at the head of 

 the department and all officers and employe's, including street- 



