Rain Turns Early Seattle's Front Street to Mud

The heavy rains have done their work. Front street is once again a mud-hole, the whole track of which was thrown up by the feet of the heavy team-work in the unfinished portion of the street, which has been saturated with the heavy rain. It would be impossible to continue operations there now, for our streets have long required a change in their mode of working, and we trust that the work along the upper portions of this city will be managed better in the future.

Third Street is progressing rapidly, but the roads are left in a high, sandy hill where the wet weather does not interfere with the work. The work there will be completed in a short time. The portion of Front street that was graded, had its surface washed away by the water, which runs down the center of the street in torrents during a storm. From this and other similar cases, it appears that there is a great defect in our system of sewers. Many portions of our most important streets are literal quagmires. In fact, on some of them there appears to have been no provision made for drainage other than a mud puddle. A few loads of dirt are hauled in the spring and the obnoxious streets patched up, only for the rains to wash them away in the winter, while the level streets are up-trodden after the same fashion, and, instead of putting a good base to turn off the water, are left in a condition that is a terror to the teamsters in winter. This seems to be the way that much of our street work has been done heretofore, the chief object appearing to be to get through with it as cheaply and penuriously as possible. This penny-wise and pound-foolish policy should end. It is much better to do such work thoroughly and permanently, and next season we hope for a great improvement over the old order of things.