Evening Star Newspaper, October 30, 1880, Page 2

pressed. Th° mastic ts comp sed of th follow cement (refined Trinidad oo parts, petro! OUR STREETS AND PAVEMENTS, BEPORT OF LIEUT. GR‘ENE, An Interesting Exhibit. . Limestone pot Lieut. F. V. Greene, U. S. Engineer Corps, Assistant Engineer of the D strict in charge of surface work,—street-paving, <-., &c., a3 dis- tinguished from drainage and sewerage, in Charge of Lieut. Hoxie,—has submitted his annual report to Eegineer Commissioner Tw! ing, as follows: ENGINEER DEPARTMENT, DisTRICT OF COLUMBIA, WASHINGTON, October 20, 1330, Ma). W. J. Tivining, Corps of Engineers, Engineer Commissioner, D. - Masor:—I have the honor to submit the fol- jowing annual report concerning the streets and roads of the District of Columbia for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1880. The work con- ducted under my direction ts shown in the fol- lowing statement of operations and estimates: {Here follows a table showing the expendi- tures under each one of fifteen different appro- paving, improvements, lighting, ete., etc. Tac sum- 635,690 54; appropri- estiimaies, 1531-33, 100 100 ‘The specifications of last year called for 18 to 20 per cent of asphaltic cement, but experience showed that this proportion made the pave- Ment too soft in summer, and the proportion actually used was between 16 and 17 solid base of Masonry practically imperishable, and smoot! fee be Rees it—Bay every 15 or 20 years. crete base is easily made and sat 3 making the wearing surfac® practical dificulties which re- quire constant attention and skilled experi- enced Jabor. The pavement is subjected to a temperature of 150 degrees in summer and 10 in winter, a range of 160 degrees Fahren- heit, at all of which temperature it 1s required to present a uniform surface, The danger practice is that in extreme cold the surface will crack and become friable, and in extreme heat it will become so soft that it will roll or creep under the traffic and present a wavy surface, Very uncomfortable fo travel over. ry brittle at a tem ‘ahrenbett, or less; mwiting from petroleum ‘comes ductile and soaee bat it there are many cleaning,’ current repairs, mary is as follows:) Total expenses, 1879 distillation, it the heavy oll is added in per cent.—the mixture will fuse or run ata temperature of 150 deg. probiem is therefore to mix these two hydro- roportions that the mixture uid under the The conditions of thestreets on the ist of July ast was 2s follows: Asphalt and concrete (¢ 2. ; Or even less. The square yards, 1457 m‘le square yards, 18.04 oy! 30 square Yards, 7.40 miles; gravel, 31 miles; woo, 509.431 quare yards, 22.10 miles; unimproved, 1,799,541 miles.’ Total, 5,121,493 sqriare he principat wors exe. cuted’ on the streets during the past year (43 during the year preceding) was the replacem at tion of the rotten wood pavements. A careful examination of the records of the old corporation and board of that there were laid in all i yards of wooden pavement, aggregating a length of nearly 50 miles, and costing $4,03,- resent '‘Commissionérs came into office in 1575. there were then on the streets, exclusive of paving between raliway tracks, 34 Miles (79,000 square yards) of wooden pave- ments. {Here a tabie in the report shows that on the 30th of June, 1550, these pavements had beea ly replaced with 171,985 43 s . at & cost Of $305.0 carbons in such shall neither be extremes of cold and heat actually experienced Up to the present time the pro- A kept at about 2 to 100 or percent. None of the pavements laid stance ave cracked under the cold (minimum 5 Fahrenheit) of the two winters since that date. A few of them have in two or three smuil places crept into waves under the heat of summer, as in spite of all precautions mistakes will some- times pecur in the preparation or handilng of the material. The mixture of asphalt (/- . mineral bitumen) and cement which binds together the particles of sand, which foria *; of the wearing surface, and constitute tis real resisting cement must be less than enough to fill the votd3 im the sand, and only tnough to bind them to- gether when perfectly compressed. In order to a3 much ag added to the sand in the proportion of about 1 | to4. The powder fs of such degree of fineness that it will all pass a 26 screen, and 75 per cent of it will pass a40 screen. The cement, as pra. viously Stated, 1s added in the proportion of about 15 toS5 of sand and limestone po% combined. The oldest pavement of this class 13 the one laid by the pavi on Pennsylvania avenue, streets. This has now been on the street b>- tween three and four years, and the repairs (made at the expense of the ‘contractors) are (ood to have cost $2,142.50, or at the rate be number of yards 198.80 the annual expense for repairs less than 13s cents per sq' asphalt pavement lad by y on Pennsylva- 6th streets, the re- on the streets. 44,993 square yards, portion of oil has yards, 230.05 miles. ublic works shows petroleum oll is. tho material, This 1.12 Total square yards, 27: 000 square yards reduced the total milesge of wood to 22 miles; since the first of July there has been executed or placed under contract 56,000) square yards of repairing. expedient during the last few months on some streets the wood-has been taken uj the center end replaced with gravel weil ro! the amount of this betn; After all these Made there will remain on the ist of January BEXt, 17 miles, containing 355,000 square yards This pavement has beea ommission of 1876 Ween 6th ard 15th about 33.000 squaré per arnum. leductions have pressed the Neuchatel Paving Com] nia avenue, between ist an irs are reported to have cost about $1,957, or 622.33 per annum. The number of’ yards being 25,322,28-100 the annual expense for re- pairs has been about 234 cents per sq! ‘This pavement of the Neuchatel company ts of the same character as those laid on the roaa- ways in Paris. It is com; uminous limestone, which is broken and reduced to powder by heat, placed on the street in form of powder and compressed by mers. The pavements which are now laying in this city, under the name of asphalt, are arti- Jwial mixtures or mastics. Our investigations and practice are therefore on an entirely dif- ferent Une from those in Paris. nade to the Paris be its slipperiness: Of Wood pavement. giaduaily beco ing more and more intolerable With each month, until now in ihe whole 17 | mn'les there 1s hardiy a single square on which a carriage can be driven with safety ‘at a speed Greater than a slow walk; the wooden streets are far less passable than those marked as un- posed Of natural Dit- »priations for replacing pavements for the ) ar 1579-50 was $150,000 and for tm- proveme?.! of streets $100,000, But the contracts ade on the 30th of June, 157 pected to pay out of the funds of 1575-79 were Charged to the year of 157 The amount of these con’ leaving but 366,036.46. The balance of the ap- Propristion for tmproving new streets was, how- made available for pavements aod the nded during the year was § inspection, advertising, 8 For the current year the appropriation ts $500,000, of which about $135,000 under contract already, leavin There can hari more important for a city keep Its streets in a passab! ition. The streets now covered with wond are ot in such a condition; and they should be dis- sed of within another fiscal year (/. e. by | S any of thes¢ are in outlying sections of the city where there 13 but ‘These could, with little expense, gravel, which would answer | their purpose perfectly well until the streets are | About 120,000 ° square yards The remaining , Which it was ex- 30. tracts Was $53,963.54, The objections avement are well known to uring a light rain or in damp weather, and the difficulty of cleaning. Tne contracts for maintainance provide for sand- when slippery and for amount of water and total amount ex) $200,315.44 (inclu & Ing the pavement flushing {t with a large scrubbing with a rubber mop or “sq! ree, order to Clean it. The same objectivas appiy to the compressed asphalt pavement on Peansyl- vanla avenue; while the mastics a3 laid here are almost free from these objections, owing to the gritty nature of the sand, which forms a large portion of the ingredients. It is too soon as yet | to affirm anything positive as tothe wear of the mastics. “When cut connections with plpes coat does not show any appreciable wear; tae pavements are all to be repaired at the contrac- lors expense during the period of five years from date of completion, but as yet no re} have been necessary except for cuts the balance tilt ly be any duty ernment than to | and healthy con- | 2) at the latest. M: lumbers for making Sewers, the surface ‘be replaced with eculd thus be disposed 265,000 yards could te repaved with tue balance of this year’s appropriation and an aporopria- tien of $440,000 for-next year. roptiated the wood can all be removed ia teen months frem this date. amount is appropriated some of the wooden have lo remain ta the same -alser- m that they are now watil tundsare provided fer repaving them. | toa, I beg leave to inviteyour | special attention to the condition of the spacz in front of and adjacent to the ol City Low used ior the courts of justice. Tae por ons of Louisiana and Indiana avenues be~ a streets have a width of 120 fect o' carriagewsy, with still wider space at the inter- eud 6th street. ‘Theres uot, aud cannot be, any necessity for carriageways of spy such width. and no others exist in the city. The space which they cover noo square Yards, between cigh™ s, Lo repave which will cost abou ‘Xpense of repatrs to the The entire surface of asphalt pavements, ona concrete base, tn this cliy on the ist of danu- ary, 1881, will amount to 350,000 square yards; Of the so-called concrete pay ibe cementing substance w tar, the amouat 15 700, Lata of 1,050,000 sq mooth surface ehgth of 44 miles. This 1s than exists on the roadways of all other cities in the world taken together, tae am: | dilies being as follows: | yards—193; miles; London. 150,0/ 634 miles; New York, 20.000 square yards wile; Other cittes, (csumated), yards—2*; mlles—a Lota! of 609,000 square yards, If this amount ts meuts, of Which wire yards; giving 2 yaids of monoitthic iderably more qaare Yards— ‘CONCRETE PAVAMENTS.” The so-called concrete pavements are, a3 a general rule, in a fair state of preservation. ‘They were generally laid ona base of broken Stone from 4 to 6 inches thick, covered with a layer of “binder” about 1 inch thick, compo3ed Sf pebbles anda cement of coal tar. The Wwearlng Surface was made in various ways, according wo the patent, but consisted essentially of small gravel, sand or stone dust cemented by a pro- duct of coal tar. In the later pavements of this ‘Y @ certain proportion of asphait wa3 mixed with the coal tar and with beneficial re- sults. Several of these pavements have stood the test of five years’ wear with little or no re- pairs, and are to-day in others were of inferior quality. surface has worn off, these pa ver go to pleces very rapidly, and 1 them from destruction i covered with a new During the year 13 Teeurtaced, and 17,5 demined, taken up and replaced with the Stand- aid asphaltum pavement on a conerete base. year about 15,000 yards u Or are under contract. Experience has, however, shown that by care- ‘ul attention abd Constant repair of small quantities in each, these pavements can be _inade to last much longer than was antlelpated. Pavements, for exampie, which seemed on ths polpt of destruction two years since have by Constaut patching beea matntalned up to the present time and still preseat good surfaces. ‘These pavernents, how: a few yeurs of cach other, and there is ap: bility that after a few years more of wear th: might all break up at the same time—dai severe winter, for example. Ic 13, therefore, economical to gradually resurface a , aud an appropriation of be made anaually for this uu Fpore. [A table is given bere showing that there was jaid from 187! to 1875 741,415 square yards, at a Cost Of $2,254,004 91, oa Which tharé has beea expended for resurfacing and minor repairs Since 1873, $448,152.09.) ‘These repairs extend over a pertod of seven years; (. ¢., from 1s73—the average time of jaying—to 1550 and the average annwal exoensa Of repatrs ts therefore $61.026—or at vhe rate of 53g cents per yard. ‘This is certainiy not an ex- pensive rate ‘for the luxury of smooth pave- ments. The asphalt pavements belug composed of Jess perishable materials and being laid in a more substanttal manner, it may be coafldeatly expected that the cost of maintenaace will be and nine acre $50,000, besides the pavements in the future. If these carrtac Were reduced to a width of 60 feet, which wor beamp)ysufictent to accommodate all the travel, the amount of pavement would be reduced to juare yards, and a saving of $39.00 be even after paying the cost of relaying ‘Te appearance of the whole space would aiso be immensely improved, pom ‘Would be in accordance with the rest of the curbs, sidewalks. &¢. ich a change, however, 1s not possible with- ut special legislation by Congress, for the act | i, which 1s still tn force, pro- | Dist. Col., sec. 225) “The e District are authorized art from time to time, as parks to with shade trees, walks, abd enclosed With curbstones, not exceeding’ onevalf the Width of any and ail avenues an eity of Washington, excey Where the top ments begin to bi ist be prom earing sartece, POMPUY ards were thus rds were entirely coa- Proper suthorities id strvets of said Pennsyloania, Lovis- nues, and Four-ant—<- During the current t, = feet ih width ta ave been resurtaced ues and streets. pa: such inclosure Carry out this law in replaciny Pavements, pow in an impassable condition, In Hall. will require an unueces- front of the City e. will prevent the app-arance of the street from heing improved. i Congress be asked to repeal so ct as accepts Louisiana and In: nd Four-alid-a-nalf street from the benefit cf its provisions. act T, were all Lai 4 recommend ths reall laid within n strictly adhered to, except ly about $140,000 syor jon of ith street and Lontst- at the fnterse Dreseed asphalt Yet to give any positive opinion as to uld Lot be well to lay apy larg a five years’ test, a et al compete with the standard pavem THE GRANITE BLOCK PAVEMENT, la.d on a foundation of gravel atd sandand Hlled In the joints witha cement of coal tar, gives great satisfaction’ in business streets Where the travel is heavy. The experienc Paris and London pits the life of this character of pavement (when laid without cement tu the at about 30 years with an aanual ex- pense of about 10 cents a yard for malutainance and repairs. There ts every reason to believe that the stone pavement laid in this elty will prove equally Gurabie, and that the cement to te joints, by makin; Ught and giving the will reduce the annual cost of maintainan 2 orScents ayard. The only objection isever mace to this class of pavement, arises from the nolse made by heavy teams. In Several cases it has been nm to hi where there are no business or heavy travel, but where the de is heavy (above 2-100) carris.eway is very narrow between the track all suc ie has been eae, the curb. In all suc’: cases ‘the residents, on account The minor repairs of concrete and asphalt pavements are made by contract, let to the low- est bidder and ru repairs include the damage done to pavements by plumbers’ cuts, tne actual costo! paid by plumbers. The work to be done is spe- | Y this office, aud the whole city ts care- fully examined and repaired about four umes a year or ottener If necessary. under careful tus} tors employed by th: ‘The rough stone pavemeats (rubble and cob- bie) remain tn the same condition as mentioned fm the last annual report. fortable for travel, but tne! for one year. oe —— water Tae work {3 done pection o. experienced laspec- They are uncom- ir replacement 18 of ‘seco! importance, on sanitary grounds a3 Well as others, to the replacemeat of the wooden THE MACADAM PAvi when laid in the center of a city and subject to heavy travel, have proved very unserviceable here as elsewhere. The pavement of this chara>- ter on 43s st. 1s 1n very bad order, and to pro. erly repair it would Cost not leas than 6) to 70 cents a square or more than $20.00 for ts a sq) 74, oe for the it with granite b! etal for use in making It on streets. the smootn aspnoaitum. Proportion of stone to asphalt paveuent years from suly, 157 Lue "preséat fscai ity formerty expe- whole street. contractors ts f vais should receive at- without fail, and I have sub- Of $20,000 for this purpose. PAVING IN THE CITY OF PARIS, In regard to the general subject of pave- mente, I submit the foll$wing report, made at the request of the U. 8. Minister to Franca by the chief engineer of the streets of Paria. It embodies the experience of considered the best pat ‘The report was - accom: Bi Jard, 6s sgainst $1.92 for ear and $1.85 this year. TEE ASPHALT PAVEMENTS N\ Srecifications and other documents too long to be published here. ie Teport 18 a8 follows: “OFFICE OF THE PREFECT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NE. THE 821 Ponts et Chaussees, Service of the Public High- ways, Report ‘of the Engineer in Chief. ‘The care of the streets in Paris, an important branch of the direction of public works, is en- trusted to en; TS Of the Ponts .. Chaussers, who have their orders a force of superin- tendents and overseers selected by competition. ‘The duty of this force is to prepare and super- intend the construction and maintenance of the Preps eane ughtiice pipes and tree planting, an e : New works are executed by contracts pub- licly awarded; works of maintenance are en- trusted in part to road laborers OE, 1d. and auxiliary workmen paid directly city, and for the rest to contractors. Appended to this report are lens of estimates and specifications of different contracts for main- tenance and for materials now in operation, which will Cee aye means nw a studying in de- tail the working of the se1 E The total length of the streets in Paris ts 557 Milles (596.5 kilometres). ‘This length ts divided as follows, according to tne nature of the road covering : Stone pavement . Macadam. Asphalt... TOA. eee cess nce ecseeteocscsedl Stone Parement.—The most part paved with blocks of sandstone grit (grés), which come elther from the suburbs of Paris or from more distant quarries. These blocks, whose shape 1s that of cubes or of paral- lelopipidons, are ed by special contrac- tors. They are of different dimensions, accard- ing to the grade and the nature of the traflic, and are placed on a bed of sand eight inches in thickness. The square metre ‘ee new pave- ment of stone blocks costs ween sixteen and twenty francs (2.58 to $3.23 per square yard.) Its average durability is about thirty years, and the annual cost -of main- tenance 1s 0.65 francs, (103¢ per square yard.) ‘There still exist in Paris certain streets paved with Belgian trap; this kind of road-covering, which becomes extremely slippery by wear, now abandoned. It is no longer employed ex- cept _in the gutters for an average width of two feet from the curb of the sidewalk. ‘The stone pavements in Paris represent 14 per cent of the whole surface of the carriageways. Macadam.—The macadamized streets are di- vided, according to the construction and the traffic which they must bear, into three cate- gortes, viz: 1, Streets of rorphyry, com) of a founda- tion of pebbles, eight inches thick, and a bed of broken porphyry (vorphyre) six ‘Inches thick. The use of these materials 1s limited to streets of great traffic. 2. Streets of millstone, com- posed of a foundation as above, and a bed of compact millstone (7euliere) of six inches; im- ited to streets of average traffic. 3. Streets of pebbies, composed of a single bed of pebbies (cailion) or tilnt stone, (siler pyromaque) of lourteen inches in thickness, employed on streets but little frequented or having a traffic of light carriages, The first cost is as follows: Streets ot por adres e “© __& pebble. $isg se ‘The Macadam whic! presents 22 per cent of the whole surface of the carrilageways has been considerably diminished in the last ten years in consequence of the difficulty of matatenance and of the expense resultt mit. Its use is Tow restricted to pleasure drives, and to certain streets and boulevards of exceptional import- ance; but in all cases the Macadam never occu. ples more than a central zone borderea by gut- vers or faclpgs paved in stone whose width varies from 16 2 feet. The annual matn- tenance varies greatly according to the locality and exceeds $1.93 per square yard on certain Streets which have exceptio! y heavy trafic, and on which it 1s necessary to execute two neral repairs each year, each one consisting pares @ new coat from 5 to 6 inches thick, ‘he average annual cost of maintenance is 37 cents per square yard. Asphalt.—The asphalted streets represent about 4 per cent of the whole surface; they are made of a foundation of concrete of hydraulic lime 4 inches thick, anda layer of compressed asphalt 1 6-1v inches; the price per &q. yd. 18 $2.17. In streets much frequented the concrete of hydraulic lime is replaced to advantage by con- crete of cement, increasing the foundation to 6 inches and the thickness of asphalt to 2 4 10 is) which increases the price per sq. yd. to All ys work is given to a contractor, the lowest bidder, who is the proprietor of the mines of Lobsann (Aisace); he is required, be- sides, for the sum of 22 cents per sq. yd., to maintain the asphalted streets in good order, and to replace each year 1-15 of the whole sur- ace. Asphalt powder compressed while hot is used for the coecring. ot the carriage-ways, and melted bitumen (bitume coute) for the flagging cf sidewalks. These mate! are prepared for use, in works belonging to the contractors, under the supervision of agents of the city. The use in Paris Of compressed asphalt, dates from isce; It gained in a few years a rapid devel- opment, UOt since 1871, for reasons of economy, and also as the result of more exact under- standing of the conditions of such work, its use has been sensibly diminished and appears des- ined to remain restricted. In fact, asphalt becomes excessively slippery n Umes of damp fogs and fine rain; 1¢ must be proreribed on streets having a grade greater ‘nan 1-100, and on those which, although on casy grades, have heavy traffic, such as through streets, the approaches of railroad stations, canals, docks, warehouses, &, Also, on narrow end garep streets lt cannot be maintained, and it ts prudent to employ it only on those streets elready provided with all the underground ac- cessorics, 80 that the profile of the street may not have to be modified tor the construction of public or private sewers, drain pipes or gas pipes, which it 1s well to put under the side- Walks. Finally, it 1s very diflicuit to make the necessary repairs to it during the wiater in caze of frosts or continuous rains’ In short, the rule which prevails In Paris is to employ asphalt only in those localities where the absence of noise is particularly desired, such as the national palaces, ministries, public offices, em- bassies, religious edifices, hospitals, theaters, colleges, lyccums, schools, &c. It makes a street, aimost uoiseless, producing nefther mud nor dust; Its Inconventence 1s that It easily becomas slippery, requires minute care to keep It clean, trequenut flushing with water, and a force always ready to sand the dangerous places; it 1s much dreaded by horsemen and by pleasure carTiages, Melted bitumen prepared as stipulated tn the Specification to the contracis 1s used only for Sidewalks; it ts laid on a foundation of concrete four inches thick, and {t costs 93 cents per square yard. In the same way a3 for the com- pressed asphalt, the contractors undertake, for the sum of .U5 cents per square yard, the main- tenance of the sidewalks, and must relay each year one fifteenth of the whole surface. This kind of covering, on which repairs can always be ao very quickly, gives general satistac- -$1.34 per sq. yard ip co LIPROVEMENT OF STREETS, During the past year the following streets were brought to grade, sidewalks. curb aad gut- ters laid, and the carriageways gravelled, viz: South Capitol, from B to M.... North Capliol, trom K to Boundary... 10/935.40 M north, from N.Y. ave, to 1st st. eat. 5,243.05 Virginia ave. s.¢., from 8d to 4tn st ¥ 1,040.50 C street 5.w., from 9th to 1334 st. 3,324.10 10th st. s.w., from B to Md. ave. 1,687.74 N. H. ave. n.w., from Q to T st. 10/116.71 Dumbarton st., G.T., from Congress to” Washingto: 2,399.98 Beall st., G.’ » 413.29 $55,581.11 The total leugth of the above improvements Was 2%; miles, In addition tothe above, New Jersey avenue, between Canal and M streets s. €., @ length of about one-quarter mile, was cut Cown to grade and macadamized during the Work of filiing the old canal last winter, and 24 street, Gecrgetowa, between Fayette aud War- Ten, & length of one-sixth of a mile, waa brought to grade with the earth excavated from Dum- barton street, and the gutters and sidewalks were relaid by the superintendent of repairs. ‘The total length of streets opened and improved during the year was therefore 34 milea All of this work has been done entirely at the ccst of the District, there bei no special ascessments On property-owners for imoroving the streets in front of their property. The general funds being, however, quite insumM- clent to make all the improvements desired, a considerable amount of work bas been done partly at the expense of the perscns benefitted and at the Expense of the District, under what is known as the permit system. ‘Under this system the District pays for all the mate- rials used, (curb, flagging, cobbis Uta and the e persons, benerlited pay for the labor. ‘The District also lays out, free of cost, the line of the street, and furnishes the » A de- Dosit ts required when the material 1s issued, as a guarantee that 10 will be;properly used; this Qeposit is returned after the work has’ been Snspected and found satisfactory. UWader system, during the fiscal year, 2 1-10 of streets were improved—i. e., the curbs, lpr and were laid, airiag: 1081 feet of curb, 11,031 feet of gutter fag, 3,677 square yards of cobbie stones and near! pai icks. Nearly 60,000 bricks were ,000 paving bri also furnished for the repair of old side and about 3,500 square yards of alleys were fife demand or maar pe eae oat iv unde? the oe Deen still more but the average cost of improving them on new lines and new grades would b? not much less than $20,000 a mile with gravelled roadway and $10,000 additional for a standard vement. The total cost would therefore b2 ,000 for gravel or $1,090,000 for pavements. Estimates for a portion of this work amount- ing to about 000 and submitted for such jon as may be ht proper. The greater part of this work is wholly secondary In import- ‘ance to the necessity for replacing the wood Rees in the center of the city whose ex- Nee is not only a nuisance to the people re- siding along pee einert os content o ae city at large by im, Vel. It shoul remembered that Washington {s one of the most thinly built up cities in existence for the length of its streets and the area within its Imits. It has 164 _ of streets pees or pari ved in an area o} square mailes and ane population of 160,000, whose total Tevenues, including that contributed by the general government, amount only to $3,250,000 per annum. [A table here shows the relative area, ponatation, &e. of principal cities as follows: ndon, With a Population of 8,700,000, having 32,000 acres and 1,1S4 miles of paved streets, averaging 115 people per acre and ply jerk mile of paved Street. Paris, with 1,988,806, 19.279 acres, 557 miles paved streets, averaging 103 per acre and 8,570 per mile and revenue $34 per each Inhab- Mant or $121,364.45 per mile of street. New ‘York, 1,150,000, 14,000 acres, 330 miles, averaging S2 per acre, 3,435 per mile, $26.09 per inhabitaat or $90,909.09 per mile. Washington, 160,000, 6,11] acres, 102 miles, averaging oo per acre, 1,563 per alle set 80 per inbaditant $32,156.30 per inile.] From this it 1s evident that Wasbington has comparatively a very small population and Small revenue to the amount of the streets to be kept up. While this lack of density has great advantages for sanitary reasons, and in a Measure adds to the beauty of the city, yet it renders the proper care of the streets exirem*ly aifticult under any reasonable rate of taxation, With the current revenues, on the present basis, and without special assessments for oo abbot it will therefore be many years before the outlying streets can be paved or even improved with graveled roadways. - STREEY BWEEPISG. The streets are swept by contract, according to schedule prepared in the engineer's office. During the past year the contract was held by L. P. Wright, at the rate of $33,000 per annum, for an amount not less than ninety-two millions otyarde. The work was satisfactorily performed with machines, In May last, cae is were in- yited for doing this work for the period of three years trom July ist, 1550, subject to annual ap- propriations by Congress. Tae specifications re- quired the work to done according te sched- ule furnished by the Engineer Commissioner, and to be paid for at & fixed rate for each thon- sand yards actually swept, the total amount to be about one hundred and ten militons of yards per annum. The lowest bidder was H. L. Cran- Tord, at 233; cents per thousand yards, and the contract was awarded to him at thatrate. For one hundred and ten millions of yards per an- num, the cost will be $26, ‘The new contrac- tor, therefore, performs 20 per cent more work and saves the District about $7,000a year. Tue ew Contractor was required to’ execute an in- demnity bond holding the District harmless from any suits growing out of auy patent rights in street sweeping machines. The work under the new contractor is progressing favorably and satisfactorily. The frequency of sweeping de- enés on the amount of trafic on the street. Jnder the present schedule the two million and a hajf square yards of paved streets are swept as follows: Daily, about 4 per cent; twice per week, 6 per cent; once per week, 50 per cent; aud once in two weeks, 40 percent. Itis found, by experience, that bad weather prevents sweep- ing on about rorty days {n the year. As previ- ously stated, the contractor is paid only for the umount actually swept. ALLEY CLEANING. The alleys are cleaned also by contract. The number cf paved alleys 13 303, and of graded, but not paved, about 200. They are of very dit- ferent sizes, but average about 1,200 square yards. These alleys are all swept and cleaned once in every week during the elght months from April to November, and once in two weeks during the four months from December to March. Owing to the small width of the ma- jority of them, it {s not practicable to use ma- chines, and the sweeping is all done by hand. ‘The alleys are thoroughly sprinkled, however, before Sweeping, in order to avoid crea‘ing a dust during the operation. The lowest bidder for the current year was R. Carns, at $4.275 per annum, to whom the work was awarded. Dur- ing the past year the alleys were swept once in @ Week during six months, and oncein two weeks during the remaining six months, The cost of the work was $4,160.43 for the year. STREET LIGHTING, There are at present on the streets of Wash- ington 3,631 street lamps, and 1a Georgetown 887 lamps lighted at the expense of the District. ‘The contract with the Washington company fs 225.70 per annum, and with the Georgetown compaby $32 per annum for each lamp, to burn 2.200 hours per annum with a six foot burner. ‘These compantes also light, extingutsh, clean and repair the lamps, as part of their contract, without extra expense. During the past year 80 new lamps were erected. Ou Pennsyivanta avenue the lamps are placed at intervals of every 100 feet of curb; oa other streets the in- tervals vary up to 250 feet, About tive miles iinproved streets have no lamps atall. Du the past year the street signs of the new patter were placed on the corner eae, throughout tae city. These consist of alight tron frame, rec- tangular In shape, resting on the frame of ths lamps, anc enclosing on éach side a piece of glass 16 inches long and 3% inches high. On Unese glasses the names and numbers ot- the streets Were cut by the sand blast, ‘The adyan- tage of this arrangement lies in the fact that the signs are independent of the lam s proper, and are not liable to be broken in cleaning the panes. 1,223 signs were placed on the lamps at 4 Cost Of $2,140.25, CURRENT WORK OF REPAIRS OF STREETS AND ALLEYS. In addition to the 102 milesof paved streets there are 83 miles of gravelled streets In the city, the cleaning and repair of which is con- ducted by day’s labor, as well as the miscellan- cous repairs On the streets, alleys and sewers of every character not specifically provided for. Allof this work Is placed under the immediate charge of the very efficient superintendent of tepairs, Dr. E.M. Chapin, who has under his direction a force of overseers and workm>n which. varies according the amount of work to be done, but averages during the summor months 10 overseers, 50 laborers of various grades and 40 carts. The amount and charac- ter of this work done during the past year is shown in detail. It includes 30,000 yards of cob- ble stone pavument laid or relaid on roadways, gutters and alleys; 14,000 feet of gutter stone relaid; over 5,000 feet of curbing; 15 Largs basins constructed and 125 repaired; crop basins constructed under hydrants; 3.00) Teet of sewer laid; about 99,000 yards of road- Ways gravelled; 1,000 yards of new k pave- ment lald and 12,000 relaid, &c. besides cleaning sewers, traps, gutters and unpaved streets. In the estitaates for next year tue re- pairs to streets and sewers are separately esti- mated in order that the appropriations may provide more specifically for this class of work COUNTY. ROADS. 5 ‘The county roads within the District azgre- gate a length of about 104 miles, of which about 8 miles are of macadam and nearly all the rest of gravel. About elghtor ten mules of road, which are but little uented and are remote from any ladies road material, have no covering oe the loamy earth througa which they are built. ‘he Tunlaw road, of which tnention was nade tn the last annual report, Was completed in February, at a total cost of $6,511.03. Its length 13 6,675 feat, or 1.26 mile. No new roads were commenced duriug the la: year. The 7th street road, which form: t main inlet tothe city from the north, is com- Posed of a central strip of macadam and two ae, gravel, each strip being 16 feet wide. crown of the road was rather too flat, and from lack of repairs for several years, the surface bad worn into holes” and ruts of a yi jous_—_charaster. During the summer of isi9 the gatters were lowered, in order to give the road a proper crown, and under the appropriation of $15,00) made for that purpose at the las n Congress, {hovough and Systematic repairs were commenced at the beginning of tha present, and {0 has now progressoe 1 tistacees aaa Ow prog In & Very sailatactory road to its original The co is now in first-class condition” Te road every but the trafic is ext Lest, and tt will Tequire constant piston ant ates . Nearly all the roads are 1 traveling condition, and those in the immediate victnity of the city. which are much used tor eee pia ok kept in the best ordor thas, 1 Seis ta adhe Dr m = yo SOR mown. which bad Tenew the recoramendation made last year that this be condemned as a free road and the char- ate the company be paid for. Ic 13 not SURVEY OF TA" DISTRICT, The trigonometrical survey of the District Under the appropriation of $5,000 made for that purpose is now progressing rapidiy. The work is done by the officers of the coast survey, the District paying only the current expenses . of the work, exclusive of the salaries. The main irlan.utatioa is now stations’ havi ve been observed. Tu: ‘tles Will Degin Work a8 S00. lete, and carry tt field work of the complete, all of the observed; of the secor Stations out of 150 ha ‘nical topograp! as the triangulat Tapldly a8 possi triangulation points, which are about half a mnlle apart, should be permanently marked in stone for future reference, By the end of the fiscal year tt ts expected that two, or perhaps three, sheets of the final | Map will be completed on a scale of 400 feet to | the inch, and showing the contour -of the ground at vertical intervals of five feet. An estimate of $5,000 ts submitted for continuing When these maps are completed ft will be possible to mark the lines of the public roads a3 now required by law, and whatis of more tm- | portance, it witl afford study of the subject of extending the streets | and avenues to the District line on one general g streets to be laid out manner now seen in the When this plan of subur- ban streets 1s matured 1t should be submitted proval in order that ic may | WwW, and that ail subsequent subdivisions of property into building lots and ‘Streets Should be required to conform to it. TELEGRAPH LINES. There are now in this city 41 miles of tele- graph lines consisting of 1266 poles carrying about 326 miles of wire, in addition to telephone and fire alarm wires carried over the top3 of | houses and estimated to amoun’ to 100 miles of wire. They belong to7 different companies, viz.: the Western Union, Atlantic and Pacific, Amer- ican Union. Rapid, Capital Telephone, Amor- | a and the Fire Alarm, vernment and connecting the Capitol and arsenal ce of constant and weil founded com- Plaint, principally on account of their unsightiy ‘There has also been some trouble arising from the trees which interrupt the working Of the wires when the latter come in contact with the wet leaves. As yet this has Dot been very great, but five years hence tue majority of the vast number of young trees on | our streets will have attaimed suca a helght | that the wires cannot with safety be placed on poles above them. The difficulty willthen be- | come a serious one and the trees 1 | have to suffer or else the wires take another iz y poles are allowed to Stand it 1s not possible to limit the number of them, :or to do so would sertously eripple the business of the community, prevent the exten- sion of telegraph facilities, and Mmit th duction of prices brought about by the compett- compantes. Nor {s it possible to place the poles on unfrequented streets for the main st, of necessity, be in the very center of the city; the branch lines connect the dlt- ferent parts of the business portion of the city, aud the telephone lines are used by the resi- dents of the handsomest streets. Every evil resulting from the telegraph poles will Increase very greatly in the next few years. but one remedy which will have any permanent value, and that is to compel the removai, within ot every pole, and to cause the underground. I, therefore, recommend that the matter be taken seriously in hand, and that Coagress be urged to pass the following bill, cr one of a similar nature, at the coming session, viz: » Sco, 1, ‘That on anil after the the data for a proper pan instead of allowin; the disconnected suburbs of the city. to Congress for a have the force of jean District ide a few miles route. So lon; Be it enacted, etc, Ist day of Janhar; ot be or individual to e1 construct, or main’ limits of the city of after provided. jexray ‘ashington, exce And all telegraph poles now exist- thin said Mimits shall be removed on or before ate at the expense of the owners thereof, in- i damage caused to the erection or removal. 2, Hrom and after the! st day of January te main lines of all telegraph companies sba Baltimore and cluding the repai streets or payementa by thi them which lies Ohio and Baltimore and Potomac B. R. Com and the Commissioners of the District of C shall desiznate the route along which cach line shall be carried, under the pavements of the carriage- s of the public streets. wayR or sidewall corporations or in: that the companie: ing such underground wires shall reimburse the Commissioners of the District of expense incurred in re} turbed by the companies ied further, tat the w. y boxes’at convenient intervals or otherwit not be necessary to remove the pavement {ter for the purpose of repairil J i. 3. Where limes of wire belonging to different nies ehall be laid alou a b shail be laid. shal the pavements dis. 8 pursose, and P hall be r appurtenances in ye Dsed in common, not be lawful to lay or construct more Tr other appurtenances for tel- me street. ‘he terms of such than one set of pipes o: cecnpation and use shall be fixed by the v of sg, OF fi ipreme Court of the ith the maia offices of the different comps the wires of telephone companies may be carried tops of houses with the consent of th owners thereof; otherwise they shall be laid wuder- ground in the manner previously provided for. ‘The use of underground telegraph lines ts no It was attended with cer- tain defects and failures when first used in 1852 Aud 1553 on the long Mnes connecting London with Liverpool and Manchester: but these have since teen overcome and for the last 15 years it has been in successful operation tn ull great cities in Europe, and als between distant cities. The aetalls of the methods of laying and gears such lines are untried experiment. in many instances ually deseribed In Cut- cher raph interests. 2 seen in London, and other great cities, and there are to: nd miles of under- g) d lines in successtul operation in Europe, a3 will appear from the following statement, complied from authentic information, viz: In London 110 miles of line; other cities fa Eag- land, 120; Paris, 119; other citle3 In France, publications devote: No telegraph pol more than a thousa Brussels, 33; Antwerp, 2; Amster various cites in Switzer! between Ber- alle, 400; between Liverpool aud Maa- chester, 36. Total, 1,016 miles. fi These underground lnes carry from 1 to 150 average about 30 wires, There are, therefore, considerably over 30,000 taties of wire undergroundin Europe, in operation at the No doubt, thereto: he perfect feasibility of the syste: that the expense Is greater that In the system of carrying the wires on poles, buf 1t Is a ques- tion whether the streets shail be any longer disfigured on account of this expense. tem, which has proved most successful ia Euro- pean cities, consists in carrying a number of . inslated with gutta percha, in iron pipes, laid about two feet below the sur- face. The Western Union company 1s now lay- ing an experimental line between Ni and Newark, on what is known as “Broo! patent.” ‘This conelsts of a cable composed of a ae ot ane en core wires: erally copper) led through an pipe 8 Whether this method will prove more satisfactory than the method now a Europe remains to be , aN nNderground Hne carrying 125 wires has been in operation in New York be- tween the main office ot the Western Union Telegraph company and their branch offices ta Pearl street and Hanover syuare. A similar line has been in operation rounds in this city 8 ing to prevent its extension to all the lines of t the cost. This might equitably to the different companies by remitting the taxes on thelr stock for a certain number of years. ‘here would be no objection to allowing the poles to remain along the two entering the city, 80 long as there roads remat Pi underground lines should connect the raliroad depots with the main offices, the signal office, government buildings and Georgetown, and two horth and south lines along 6th and 14th streets, e Fiver, would also bh of main under- about ten miles, wires each an With paraiine oil. So extensively ut seen. Since 18 in the Capitol There is noth- the city, exce) dary be needed. The ground lines would thus With about forty wires on each line. branch lines, as well Glog ones — oo a e may be necessary, and might be the tops of houses if the owners ive their consent; otherwise they Should also a. All lines should be laid the parkings of the Streets; the pavements would then have to be eubonty, at me cron tions of insulation, tubes, or simply in the bottom of the tren and all other purely technical questions, be left entirely to the roviso that the wires, should leave of streets. The ques- of laying in companies, with the es should have les at intervals of about ve wires: "8, per mile, viz; atin} Rempving 30 poles, at $1.00... ‘Total: for pipes and labor... Insulated wires, 211,00 feet, at Deduct 211, (12,920 Ibs.) galvan- ized tron wire available for use else- where, at 8 cents... sewers, as 50 miles of underground Hne are laid ju Paris, the wires are pleced In seven conduc- ‘Or Cabies, and enciowed In lead tudes, which are attached to the sewers by fron staples. The cost of the cables and lead sheathing is $130 per mile for ¢ach co: dictor, and of atiachments per malic for each cable. Jf the same prices prevailed here as in Paris the cost of laying 40 Wies would be as follows, per mile, viz: In » #, In the sewers, $5,740, The s wers of Paris offer exceptional facilities for carry ing wires, whitch do not existin tue Severs Of Washington, But the cost of laying toe wires in small tron pipes, which would be the mort feasible system in this city. is seen by the above to be a little less than two-thirds of the detailed e-timate previousiy given. There is therefore but little doubt, as 1 have prev.ously Said, that the cost of laying a line of 40 miles ‘would not exceed $5,000 a mile. For the 10 miles of trunk Ines necessary for the present tele- graph business of the city, the total cost would | Therefore be $80,000. This expense is to be | divided among several companies, and {t might | be partially reduced by remitting for a term of yrars the taxes due on the property of tLe companies. It is, however, a question whether the streets and trees shall be sacrificed t2 tue telegraph lines, and no question of cost caught to allow that question to be decided against the streets. By a reference to a stausuical map accompany- ing this report, it wiil be seen that we have 120 Miles of shade trees, containing over 50.000 irecs, Of 22 different varieties. In faci, all the is, except those devoted exclusively to purposes, like 7th street. are covered with young trees, the successful growth of Which, under the care of the present. parking commission, has been truly remarkable, Ten, or even fivé years hence, the beauty of these long lines of trees will be world-famous, for no otber city in the world has anything to com- aie with them on ts streets. ‘To allow the beauty of the streets to be destroyed by un- tightly poles and wires, or to allow the trees to be injured for the benefit of the telegrap bual- ness, ought certainly not to be permitted. The Work of removing the poles shouid therefore be undertaken at once. 1 submit herewith the reporisof the surveyor, svpertptendent of lamps, and parking comnts: sicu; also certain appendices coutainiug tabular statements of contracts, &c. i _4i30 submit a series of twelve statis*ical maps of the city, showing (1) the valuation of property, (2) establisbed grades, (3) character of pavements, (4) lines of trees, (5) location of gas amps, (6) lines of water mains, (7) lines of fewers, (s) location of school houses, () location of fire alarm. boxes and stations, (10) lines 12) Schedule of street sweeping. ‘Thess maps are on a uniform seale, and cach subject is e plained by means of different colors. Very respecttully, F.V.G 4 RBENE, Ist Lieut, Engineers. LETTER FROM BOSTON. BAY STATE POLITICS—HOT FIGHT IN THE CON- GRESSIONAL DISTRICTS—THE GHOSTLY GRBEN- BACKERS—STILL BUNT IN MAINS—BOSTON BABY SHOW—ODDS AND ENDS. (Correspondence of The Star. Bostox, October 23, 1850, ere is a lively fight in the congressional districts in this state, and both parties have their hands full in at least three of them—the third and fourth in the city, and the sixth dis- trict, (Dr. Loring’s district.) in which the dem- ocrats have nominated Mr. E. Moody Boynton, formerly, If not now, a greenbacker of the most rabid type, and a talker from base. A political opponent says of him that it would be an awful outrage upon the people to send a man to Wash- ington who would talk the American Congress to Ceath before the close of one sitting. Men- bers would be forced to show up minature cof- ‘ns and the “this man was talked to death” Molto too often. But Boynton’s friends say the ‘Sixto district Is alive for him, and that there are jome two thousand, or more, democratic ma- ority in the district. Morse is golagto have a beavy pull in his district. The opposition to Lim In bis own party seems to be crystalizing into very material strength and bitterness. Somes of the outspoken ones declare that beyond bee with the party on the organization ot the House, they woulaa’t count on Morse. It is not denied that some of the democratic opposl- Ucn are inclined to vote for Hayes, the republi- cap candidate, as they have not called an inde- pensent convention and run an isdependent cemocratic candidate. It will require a very solid application of the disaffection, however, to defeat Morse. About eighteen hundred of his truly solid majority would have to vote the straight republican ticket. It ts very evident, however, it there will be scratching of the most industrious sort, and the rosuit cannot be told until next Tuesday evening. The once very positive greenback party of this state is, although it hasa ticket tn the bal almost forgotten in the pres@nt situation. ‘The people don’t give many thoughts to It, and Ube papers don’t it. Of recent years the means of the greenbackers, once a year, at Faneuil Hall, where they were wont to nomin- ate Butler, gave vent to an enthusiasta that re- verberat from one end of the state to the t combinations of hard money in other parties never succeeded in keeping IUdown. Its fate is sealed now, though, and its leaders, many of them, joining new loves and accepting new hom: forget the virtues of the paper dollar, considered as paper or metal, and are willing to be crowned with the laurels of other organiza Uons and eschew the creeds they only a few | 1MX0 mecons ago preached so religiously. Arrangements are being made for the biggest kind of a republican torchlight procession io Uhis city on Monday evening next, on the ver eve of the election. The democrats have bee discounting the republicans in enterprises of this character, but the blue biood of the Gar- enliven the town on Monday night with kero- Sene lamps and martial strains. Who can tell how much influence the display will have upon the voting on the morrow? The opinion of maby War horses lo the political camps is that | torchlight processions are a waste of lucre. It | tight be employed to better advantage. ‘The Boston Press Club will have its annual dinner at Young’s Hotel on the Saturday fol- | lowing election day, as the usual custom has | been, These annual dinners are boons to the weary Ones who have their first rest and first opportunity for enjoyment after the severe work of the political campaigns. The newpaper men Work as hard as the politicians, and when the work Is over and the suspense 13 ended. | field men is up and boiling, and they propose to | | harmony at the festive board takes the place of | ali the asperities of tne past weeks, and there is sincoth sailing on a gastronomic ocean, and it’s agreat pity such annual dinners can’t take place three tines per annum. The man who presides at the Press Ciub dinner wiil, for the nonce, be a Digger man tnan the Middlesex clr Mr. Henry Bacon, the well-known patater, will soon visit Boston, being now en route to this country from his home in Paris, Mr. Bacon is One Of the foreiga contributors to the Boston Transcrip!, and writes of arts and artists in pated manner. Heis a brother of Mr. Elwin con, a very old Boston journalist, and mana- ging editor of the Advertiser. ‘There ts a still huat going on in the state of Maine. Politicians on both side3 in that state are prone to the cenviction that much more han people suspect depends upon the way Maine will go. It may decide the contest. Many Stranger things have happened within late years, and 1t would not be the concentration of all that ts wise to put little value upon the result ta the State of Maine. Among the other attractions thatenliven this great city just now ts that of a grand baby exhibition—not that alithe babies are grand- children in any sense. The physicians, who are hot of the legitimate school, endorse it, and | around this country, is considered good exe ABOUT THE BICYCLE. ITS RISE AND PROGRESS IN AMERICA—ITS SPREAD IN WASHINGTON—THR VARISTIES AND PacU~ LIARITIES OF THR “ MACHINE "—DIPFERENT MODES OF WORKING THE RICYCLE—NOW TO MOUNT THE CRITTER—OUR WASHINGTON 8t CYLISTS—HOW, WHEN AND WHERE THRY G)— THE BICYCLE LEAGUR OFTAMERICA TO MEET LN WASHINGTON IN MAY § There are between eighty and one hundred Dicycles in Washington. Eighteen months ago | you could count them on your fingers, and have several digits left over to make a Memorandum of the result. The increase in the number of Wheels has been gradual but steady. The b- cycle came here from Boston; and the “Clty of Culchaw” got in from England. It has gradu- ally spread over a large portion of the country 1 is strongest collectively in New England,wi b Beston as headquarters; tndividaaily as to clites, Philadelphia leads. She has over three hundred wheels and riders The national in- terest in the sport ts sufficient to sustain two apers devoted entirely toll One Is publis? 4 Boston, and ts known as the # Wortt; the other comes from the press in New York, and is called The Wheel, THE MACRINES— the rider always calls his steed a “machine,”’ or a “bikie"—are mostly ttaported from Eng- A firm in Boston has been maki ¢ for some time and a New York facwry to turn them out. The home-made affair 18 Hol $0 good as Uke { hot the improvements aud cran ish makers put on. There 13 dul nonce in the price, owing to the 42 per duti-s that have to be paid on the tmporiet wheel. The SF Je-piated and tony n (hres or four bieveles the city exactly alike, but sul the general make up dors not differ $0 as W sigrest Te points to the general eye. The principal diter- ecce between this or that bicycle consists in the kind of rubber that is used on the wheels, In some it 18a continuous circle imbedded In steel. In others the continuous rubber ts sup- Planted by balls { that elaste material fitted s0 closely and compactly that there ts no jump- ing, but perfectly smooth riding. Itis claimed for the balled bicycle Unat i produces less fric- tion in locomotion. ANOTHER KIND OF MACHINE that may be seen 13 that in which the foot ¢ municating the propelling force does not ¢ scribe the circle, but moves wack and forward in eliiptical curve. There 1s but one of this kind In the city. The speed of the other class cannot be attained on It, but 1 ts betéer for hill climbing and 1s less apt to give you a header. The diameter of the big wheel depends upon the length of the legs of the rider. Tt_ ave between 46 and 56 Inches. The out 2 mount consists of a litre leather satchel just Dack of the saddle, in which is a wrench and of. Its possible, however, to pack on a good dinner and a change of under-clothing, by care- fully doing up the load. HOW 10 MASTER THE FISRY UNTAMED STEED. A bluycle is much easier to master than one Would think. The first thought in getting on one ts Of quick calculation. ‘The calculation ‘s to solve the problem of which way one wil! fall. The solution is atumble, being a combi- nation of every conceivable ‘way of getting down with a vitn and bruises. Oue soon masters the thing. The captain of the Capital Bicycle Club of this city says thatin half an bour he Can teach any one to ride. At the end of that m- Ume novices can get along ou the streets, and «© keep a going. They will not be flotshed wheel- men though, kes time and pattence to become “ty” The enjoyment f the exercise is keen and not weari- some, Your true wheelman would not ex- cbange for a good saddie horse. It 1s not tiresome. The My 4 Of the body is on the wv saddie instead of the knees as tn walking. Forty miles a day can be made without fatigue except a slight tiring tn the knees the first two nights of the trip. This explains the Jong trips made by wheelmen over the country. A man With a good pair of lungs gets winded Ifthe runs a bundred yards at the top of his speed. ‘The bicycle strider will make a quarterof a mile at his best bent before his wind begins to fall. The Epglish papers speak of a characteristic ‘yele back”—a hump-shouldered, chest-con- tracted tort of appearance—resulting from the use of the wheel. There ts nothing of the kind tn the United States The style of riding 38 different in the two countries. In England the gay flyer grasps the handles or uller, if the thing were a boat, overhanded; the back of his hands are uppermost, and his arms making the hypotenuse of a right angled triupgle causes him fo stoop, In the American style the handles are grasped with the palens uppermost; the elbows are by the side. The fore arm making the base of the right-angied triangle conduces to an expansion of the chest insicad Of a contraction. The summer is the mor: favorable season for the sport, bat ia Washington tt holds on during the winter ow- ing to the mild climate. WHEN THE WEEELMAN WHEEL. ‘The most popular hours during the summer are between six and eigut In the evening. In those hours the average spio is between twelve and fourteen miles, a3 the feeling maybe. This city Is pecullarly fitted for the sport. ‘Tne chiet advantage 18 in the sre Moth, Con- crete gives the Washington wheeler a bird-like advantage not possessed by bis leas fav located brethren. ‘They can gi i have to work. But even the 8: Goes not absorb the atten lover of the He goes ever + Whee, A jaunt to Upper Marl gh 1s a favor ay. The especialy of a t bridge are frequently and) Cabin visited. Great Falis 1s made in about two and a-half hoars and Cabin John’s bridge consumes one hour and ten minutes of life. Iiil and country roads are gone Over with enjoyment and Dui little incon- Venience, Meridian Hill is not regarded as any- thing at all. The steep iveiine just beyoud Piney Branch ts overcome with but little alti culty, while Good Hope Hill, the topmost of any cise. The going down the hill is the most dan- gerous of all riding. It may cause aman to lake a header. The striking of a stone may cause the whole arrangement to resolve ttseif into an astronomical oUservation. TRE BICYCLE CLUBS OF WASHTNUTON. There are two regularly organized bicycle + clubs in thecity. The leading one ts the “Cap- ital Bieycle Ciud.” It gave dariag the summer an afternoon of most interesting racing et Iowa circle, 103 members are in demand for agricul- tural falrs In the country adjacent. They get thelr expenses paid and the winners io the races receive medals. This club numbers 2> riders. Their uniform ts white stockings, blue pan’s, blue shirts and blue coats trimmed with cord of a lighter biue. ‘The other club Is “Tue Arlington.” They poll about 16 members and untform in light pants and blue shirts with a gilt fancy “A” on the bosom. This club has given mo races apd have attended no fairs. Those outside of the two clubs who “revolve,” are KROWN a3 UNatlached riders. The clubs go out under the direction of thelr cap- tains and sub-captains. e captalas pick the youte and ride ahead and notify the others ot vad country. There are drills consisting of va- rious manuevers. The drill should be at the bugle sound, though no one tn elther club ts snfiidently proficient on that tustrameat to uulive it The Capital club expects s torn out a regular Levy on the bugle. J. M. Borden, of the Capital club, said to THe Star Teporier: “We have nothing to complain of as to our treatment. Horses dont get frigutened atus. We carry a lightat nighi tn order that folks may know that we afe around, as we inake no noise. In addition, we have whistles to use as Occasion may require. The only sec- tor of the city where we have met with treat- rt people who love other people’s’ babies, that 1s, generally speaking, people who have n0 babies of their own, are the chief patrons. Of all hum- bugs of the world a baby show is the saddest. ‘The hall where they are exhibited presents the rather unpleasant suggestion of a foundiing asylum. me! oa atl - big Sh makes on entering the ow o! many babies on exhibition Vast majority, from one cause or another, feel very uncomfortable. This has a effect upon the au- dience (2). The babies are on exhibition day and oe — if they don’t like the gaslight and the unwholesome here they can—die. That's the long and short oft The babies need a Bergh. & The funniest man in all the town He thought himself, did Mr. Brown. ‘While at the club ene nicht he saw A new silk tile upon the floor, And winking to the crowd so slick, je gave gen! é nd then another, just to show wit from heads can flow. All caught the humor of his fun— ment other than the very best 1s near the Ioter. Section of 14th street and Maryland aveny ‘The street rats there gather along In lines, at im the dark spit at us and throw stones. We @& avoid the neigaborhood as much as possible."¢ TEE ADVANTAGES OF WASHINGTON for bicycle sport are recognized the who'e United States over. Asa result it bas been de~ cided to hold the meeting of the League of Ameri- can Wheelmen bere in May next. This league is devoted to the promotion of bicycling. Any one who wheels can become a member by pay: ing the initiation fee, At the moeting. tu May, there will be over three hundred riders and machines in attendance. The parade will be a great feature of the meetin; He Wut Pay Ir “Uurmarery.”—A gentle- man who bas a bill against Gilhooly bas been that distinguished Galvestonian for ry ‘ow, Mr. Gilbooly. I want you to tell me when you ‘that Dil” “Didn't I tell you I was going to pay it uiti- train on the Memphis and Charleston rail- erie a Wear ate, ‘He proved to be a luoa- Greek soldiers tn Athans, i i i 4 » .