Helena weekly herald., 1884-06-12
Helena, Montana Thursday, June II, 1884
Clean Streets.

In recent article having application to
a town in New Jersey, Mrs. Elizabeth
Cady Stanton says:
I'VE turn to the women and children to
look after village improvements. As their
surroundings have much to do in forming
the moral character of the people, the con-
dition of the streets and rear premises be-
comes a question of vital importance. But
to make the lessons effective there must
be some organization, some watchtul, omni-
present eye, that may enable us, when a
paper or orange peel is caught on the fly
to say thou art the boy or thou art the
man.
SIN the meantime we ask every mother,
wife, sister, daughter, to charge the men
and boys Of their respective households as
they leave home in the morning, to throw
nothing on the streets. Train them at
home to take plate when they eat nuts
and oranges, and leave the skins and shells
thereon. If you allow your children to
throw things about the house, and in your
own yards and gardens, they will carry
such manners into the streets and
into the cars when travelling. The
filth found in our cars is a national
disgrace. We have the most beautiful
railroad carriages in the world, with every
possible comfort and convenience, but the
worst manners of any civilized people.
We eat all the time, munching first one
thing and then another, and deliberately
throw all the refuse on the floor. After
which some generous tobacco expectOratOr
comes in and makes Shiny mess of the
whole compound, and the further west
you 90 the more elegant the cars and the
more plentiful the tobacco juice. You
may travel all over Europe and you see no
such filth in the cars on the streets as we
tolerate here. In the third-class cars
where the poorest people travel, no one
throws even paper on the floor. They
are all kept perfectly clean, so that any
one who wishes to travel economically can
ride in them with comfort, while in our
country we are often compelled to 60 into
palace car to get decent seat. We are
now in the second century of our national
life and can no longer plead youth for ouI
pad manners We have more wealth and
general intelligence than any other nation
hence we cannot plead poverty or ignOr.
ance for our carelessness as TO the de,
cencieS of life.
I'VE travel more than any other people
on the face of the globe, hence we have
abundant opportunities for contrasting
ourselves with other nations and inpTov-
ing by their example 1t rests. with oul
women to train the present generation o.
boys and girls into more refined tastes and
habits If they would use their influence
here we could have our streets and cars a.
sweet and clean as our parlors, and our boy:
and girls taught to eat at their regular
meals and never to be seen munching ou
of season in public places. 1t would bt
very easy to dispose of the papers in the
streets if each man would collect his OWL
in pile and put match to them, and
the boys would be only too happy to serve
us in that direction. Perhaps it would bt
a good idea to organize a police OF boys tt
collect in piles and burn everything tha
should not be seen in the streets. Divid
ing the town into districts and making al
officer of the most reliable boy in each dis
trict, paying him small sum, there is M
doubt that much could be accomplished in
improving the character of our boys as wei
as the streets. Let the women and chill
dren come together and organize som'
plans for village improvements that shal
make Johnstown beacon light in hi!
county"