EUROPEAN METHODS OF STREET CLEANING 



It is this authority which lays the pavements or specifies 

 how they shall be laid and lets the work by contract. 

 It issiu-s permits for opening pavements when openings 

 must l>r made. It constructs the sewers and lays all 

 pipes and conduits beneath the streets, or, at least, has 

 control of this work. 



In the city of London the control of street conditions 

 by the central authority is so complete that it includes 

 not only street cleaning and refuse removal, but the 

 construction and maintenance of sewers, sidewalks, 

 pavements, fire hydrants, public comfort stations, sub- 

 ways for purposes other than passenger transportation, 

 lighting, the removal of dangerous structures, the erection 

 of scaffolds for building purposes, and even the care of 

 public clocks. This authority is called the Public 

 Health Department and the work is done under the 

 direction of an engineer of high standing. In other 

 large cities the control of various matters which have 

 to do with the condition of the streets is also much 

 centralized. 



It seems unnecessary to point out the advantages 

 which accrue from this centralization. The plan is 

 worthy of careful study in America, where responsibility 

 is so much divided and where active cooperation between 

 different spheres of authority is so difficult to obtain. 



If the great cities of Europe are cleaner than the 

 great cities of America, it is due largely to the quality 

 of the labor employed. Much depends upon 



Labor 



the capacity of the ultimate personal unit. 

 In Germany the streets are cleaned by Germans; in 

 France by Frenchmen; in England by Englishmen; in 

 America by Italians, Irishmen, negroes, and often by 

 persons who have lost caste in every community. 



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