Smyrna times., 1888-02-29

Man Who Has Been There-Hoyv the
Streets Are Kept Clean-A Pointer in
Sanitation.
Ihere IS probably no country or people
ABOUT whom so many popular misrepre-
sensations exist as the Chinese. This
singular state of things is due to two
chiet causes. In the first place. most
newspaper writers on the subject write
nrst impressions from very s,lDerfciaI
data, and without understanding the sinh
1ects upon which they write Then again.
the Chinese themselves in this country
are not disposed to lose sleep, whether
they are understood or not. Then many
DOCKS nave been written by people with
political or other kinds of axes to grind
ana nave given only such facts and inter
probation of facts as tended to accomDlisb
Thelr purposes. There are many Incl
dents and customs in the flowerv king
dom which have been ignored in both
books and newspaper articles.
STREET CLEANING PROBLEM.
am asked how the Chinese keep their
cities clean. 1t may be that aldermen
might get hint as to the best solution of
tne street cleaning problem from the prac-
tees of the "hathen" The conditions ara
comparison misleading. In the first place
the principal source of dirt in American
cities is absent from Chinese cities. [
refer to horses, here so numerous and
such prolific sources of ''dirt. " There ara
no horses seen on Chinese streets drawing
carts or other vehicles. What few horses
are seen are ridden by officials or soldiers.
Inc government owns all horses. Freight
Is transported by men, either upon their
shoulders or on WheelbarrOws. The streets
are not over six to ten feet wide and the
sidewalk is in the middle of these narrow
lanes. The stores and shops are open to
the street line on either side, and each
shopkeeper cleans the street to the center
In front of his shop. This is ali the pro-
vision for street sweeping No garbage is
thrown into the streets, and lash barrels,i
are unknown; hence the chief sources of
dirt in our cities are unknown. There are
no underground sewers and no need for
them Residences are provided with other
means OF dispOsing of filth than either
dumping or draining into rivers.
Every residence, however humble, is
provided with earthen jars, or large stone
ware vaults, into which all otherwise I'M
disable refuse is cast, and the contents of
these family jars" unlike our s'famiIv
II. DeO-
pie fertilize in agriculture to such an ex.
tent as the Chinese. This creates a ready
market for what we cast in sewers and
pollute our waterways. A common street
sign posted over large earthen vessels
sunk in the streets do not warn the ''Pub
lic'' to commit 'No nuisance" but re.
spectfully invite the public to ''Pauss
here" These peculiar and odoriferous
institutions are owned by men who make
1t their life business to deal in the com
modify which the aforesaid public de-
pOsits in the receptacles. This is sold at
so much a measure" to farmers. who
carry it to their homes, often many miles
away, where it is put into earthen tanks
or watts to ferment (reader hold your
nOse) until it is required to fertilize grow
ing cabbages and other truck" This is
one of the characteristic institutions of
China, and the good results from it arc
apparent in the yields of food plants.
! Every COW herder carries a basket into
which he or she gathers up the 'frag-
ments" which are used as the city sewer
age for fertilizing purposes.