practice makes little trouble in the sewers, for they 

 were built with the idea that they would be used in 

 this way and the cost of cleansing them is not con- 

 sidered a serious objection when the benefits of the 

 system of gutter flushing are considered. To remove 

 25,000 cubic meters of sand from the sewers costs 66,000 

 francs, which is about 33 cents per cubic yard. 



The sewers of Paris are among the most interesting 

 sanitary features of the city. The first modem sewer 

 in Paris was built in 1851. The system is now one of 

 the most complete to be found anywhere. The main 

 sewers often exceed 15 feet in diameter and are used 

 for many purposes beside the conveyance of sewage. 

 Suspended in the sewers are water-pipes, telegraph and 

 telephone wires and pneumatic pipes for the convey- 

 ance of letters. 



The sewage flows through the sewers to a point near 

 the western part of the city where part of it is screened 

 and pumped to farms and part allowed to flow into 

 the Seine. The sewage farms cover an aggregate area 

 of over 2COO acres and are among the oldest in exist- 

 ence. The sewerage system was laid out by Belgrand 

 in 1856. 



All workmen receive their wages during sickness and 



while on military duty. They get a vacation of twelve 



davs each year with full pay. There is an 



Vacations J l 



and sick old-age pension to which the men give 4 per 

 cent of their salary and to which the city 

 also contributes. The working day is ten hours except 

 for those who begin at 4 A.M. These men work seven 

 hours only. The men are not uniformed. The work- 

 men carry on their operations in a deliberate not to 

 say dilatory manner. 



98 



