City Council Desires to Make New Ulm Clean and Law-

Abiding Community.

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SPRINKLING PETITIONS BROADWAY AND STATE

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Council Opens Bids for

Sprinkling Equipment and

Listens to Calcium Sodium

Representative.

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The members of the city council desire in every way to curtail the illicit traffic in hard liquor in New UIm. A resolution was there-fore presented and adopted at the special meeting Thursday evening,which it is hoped will eradicate this objectionable evil.

The purport of the resolution is that should it be proven that hard liquor is handled in any soft drink establishment within the city, operating under a soft drink license, this license will be revoked and another will not be granted by the council for a period of one year from the date of revocation. According to the present status should the city officials become convinced that the proprietor or any person connected with any soft drink parlor in New Ulm are guilty of handling illicit booze, the soft drink license will be revoked and none granted to any person desiring to operate a soft drink parlor in the building for a period of one year.

Vogel Offers Resolution.

The resolution was offered for pas-sage by Councilor J. H. Vogel and his action should be applauded by every citizen of New Ulm, who desires that this city should be a law-abiding community.

It is evident that property owners,who operate soft drink parlors in their own buildings, or who lease them to other parties for that purpose, will now take a keener interest in seeing that their premises are free from any illicit booze traffic.

Getting Nowhere.

The members of the council found they were getting nowhere under the old program. Police officers furnished evidence of law violations,federal and district courts convicted and sentenced violators, yet the licenses were continued in force. In some cases a transfer was made to other parties and the traffic went on as usual.

Mayor Emil Mueller promises that the law will be en-forced. The members of the city council are backing him up, and it is anticipated that the traffic in moon and hard stuff will be cut to a minimum in New Ulm.

Open Bids for Apparatus.

The council called for bids for sprinkling apparatus, to be opened at the meeting Thursday evening. There were seven bids filed, specifying auto and horse-drawn sprinkling equipment of various kinds.

Bids were filed by J. P. Graff, the Austin-Western Road Machinery Co.,Frank Kretsch, General Motors Truck Co., Garford Motor Truck Co., the Galion Iron Works and the International Truck Co.

There was not a wide range of prices on the auto sprinkler equipment. From figures submitted it is evident that sprinkling equipment mounted upon a motor truck would cost the city from $5,000 to $7,500,according to what class truck and equipment is purchased. Bids for horse-drawn equipment were filed also. A 600-gallon equipment would cost from $792 to $1,350, also according to the class of equipment purchased.

Would Run Into Money.

Whether motor-driven or horse-drawn sprinklers would be purchased,the cost would run into money,for it is expected two auto sprinklers would be required, and if the horse-drawn sprinklers were selected, the number would be at least five or six.

The matter was laid over until a future meeting.

Calcium Chloride.

During the agitation for sprinkling, several parties have made an investigation of the application of Solvay calcium chloride upon streets for the purpose of keeping the dust down.

Under ordinary conditions, two applications are required per year. A calcium chloride treated highway is ideal at all times for horses, automobiles and the pedestrian, it is said. The road is free from discoloration and glare, and is thoroughly in keeping with beautiful surroundings. Advertising matter asserts that it is cheaper than sprinkling, besides it eliminates the nuisance and maintains the road in better condition.

The manufacturers state it is clean, odorless, harmless-it will not burn nor stain the skin, clothing or other substances with which it may come in contact. In practice, cal-cium chloride treated surfaces absorb the moisture during the night, drying out somewhat during the day, where exposed to the sun. As this process is continuous, a dustless, slightly damp, smooth road is maintained at all times. Like salt, calcium chloride kills or prevents the growth of grass and weeds.

Other Cities Use It.

A representative of Semet-Solvay Co., of Syracuse, N. Y., manufacturers, was at the meeting and ex-plained the properties of calcium chloride. He informed the council that Windom had treated its streets with this preparation this spring and that this is the second year that Springfield has made use of this dust layer. Officials of the nearby city are loud in their praise of the results obtained.

Satisfied With Chloride.

In a letter received by Dr. J. H. Vogel from John R. Schmid of Springfield the latter states that that village covered 18 blocks last fall with one application. This season they already put on one application and will put on another later.

Quoting Mr. Schmid the letter states, “In regard to calcium chloride,would say that we think this preparation is very satisfactory for street purposes, just as economical as water, and far more satisfactory.”

As to Cost.

The cost of water sprinkling is estimated at between $7 and $8 per lot per season, while calcium chloride will be a trifle more, but it is estimated that it will not be over $10 per lot per season. The first application will be a pound and a half to a square yard and the second a pound per square yard.

The cost of the calcium chloride is $33.20 per ton. The application is cheap. The cost of applying the dust-layer in Springfield is said to have been but $15 for 18 blocks. The concern from which the chloride is purchased will furnish a contrivance for applying it.

Many of the iron range towns are using it as a dust layer, and the state highway department has let a con-tract for 1,700 tons to be used this year.

Petitions Presented.

Petitions signed by a majority of the property owners of Broadway and State streets were presented to the council, asking that these thorough-fares be sprinkled for the purpose of laying the dust. The petitions contained no recommendations’ as to whether water or calcium chloride is to be used. This matter is left to the best judgment of the council.

Ask for Washington Street.

W. S. Vercoe, A. H. Stork and several other property owners on South Washington street were present and asked that arrangements be made to sprinkle that street. They were in-formed that they must have a petition prepared and secure the signatures of property owners.

Another Meeting.

The matter of dust-laying on the streets of the city will be taken up again at a future meeting of the council and it is evident from the interest manifested in the proposition that arrangements will be made for the activity during the present sea-son.

Water Sprinklers

Held Unsatisfactory.

It is said that the members of the city council are convinced that water sprinklers will be unsatisfactory. The cost of motorized equipment and of the water, and the damage that would be caused to streets by the heavy trucks are points held against water sprinkling by members of the council. Horse-drawn sprinklers are also looked upon with disfavor.

Desire Same Rate.

Owing to the fact that Broadway is somewhat wider than other streets in Now Ulm, and sprinkling will there-fore cost more, several of the property owners upon this street, who re-side in the north end of the city,were present at the meeting and asked the council to equalize the cost in some way.

Brown County Journal,

June 20, 1924

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