Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-07-19

TEE EVENING SrkR viii be sent BY mail 10
any address in the United States or Canada
for such period as may be desired, at the
rate Of nfsy cents per month - But al
such ovIsws u'ss, b scconspanisd BY ns money,
o. 10 pow essaes 10 svst. as no aecosu,is are
tYs ~s-A .s.'s, ssa&rwac.s -
There vSs time when the people Of Wash
fngton ''roiased with pride" 10 their streets as
being the eleanesi Of any city in the country.
But that time has long since gone by, and APP
parsntly heyond hope Of recall or imitation.
II the prepondersnce Of human testimony be
worth anything our thoroughfares have never
been, since they were first paved, in q more
filthy and discreditable condition than now,
and never was the work Of pretending to sweep
them 80 badly done. Practically, the money
paid for that service, as at present performed,
Is largely thrown away, since little more than
half the loose dirt on the street surface is re-
moved at a time, while many streets are left
untouched for long periods.
The unsatisfactory condition so generally
complained Of is partly due to the fact that the
machines employed are inadequate for efficient
service, as sweepers, and partly to the fact that
the men employed to follow them do not do
their work properly. The so-called removal Of
the dirt that is swept together is undertaken at
night when the men engaged in that duty can
not see to do it properly, even were they ever
30 well disposed, and, for want Of vigilant over
sight, it is generally done in the most careless
and sloyenly manner possible. The result is
that a certain percentage of the sweepings thus
left by both sweepers and collectors is again
scattered over the streets, sidewalks and lawns
by the next breeze that blows, and the rest is
carried into the sewers by the first following
shower. The evils thus arising are very serious.
From this cause the sewerage system of the
city is greatly damaged. Not only is the ex-
pense of keeping sewers clear greatly in
creased, but the health Of the city is imperiled
by the lodgment therein of the offensive and
dangerous substances which the underground
conduits are intended to carry away in the
quickest and most effectual manner possible.
There is nothing of comparatively minor
character to which the District authorities can
devote little sharp attention to better effect
than this matter of clean streets. 1t is one
which directly touches the comfort and health
Of every person in Washington, and if the new
Commissioners will take the subject in hand
and see that the streets and alleys are kept as
clean as they once were they will deserve and
receive the enthusiastic applause of the whole
community, and, we think we may promise,
good many bouquets from the ladies'
There are two circumstances which give color
to the suspicion that the latest whitechapel
murder was not committed by the same person
who has made himself infamous in the past by
such crimes. In the first place the body of the
victim, though badly gashed, is all together,
whereas it was the practice of the original muir
derer to carry of part, apparently as
CHASTITY trophy. In the second place the police |
are said to have been warned by a mysterious
letter bearing the signature, Jack, the Rip
per-" received the day before this crime
that the murderous work was about
to be resumed. These circumstances seem to
point to the latest offender as some bravo who
has been stimulated by what he has read or
heard Of the Whitechapel mystery to add to its
bloody horrors and enjoy the resulting popu-
lar sensation If these evidences are not con-
sidered of sufficient weight, it might be worth |
while for the detectives to set a watch upon the
sailors who infest the Whitechapel dens in great
numbers when ashore; for the lapse of several |
months between the last two outbreaks would |
have afforded time for a cruise of some length. |
and an examination of the government books |
showing what vessels have been out of port and |
returned within that period might help to |
narrow down the scope Of this inquiry in one
direction at least.
The New York World has discovered that IL |
was the first newspaper to suggest a worlds
fair in honor Of the landing of Columbus in |
America. If that is cited as a reason why New
York should furnish a site for the fair it is a |
A
wrote his Spectator papers the idea of a tele- |
graph was preached in England, but it re-
manned for Morse to perfect the plan, get the |
credit and reap the profits, after all The idea |
of worlds fair may have been first proposed |
in New York or in Boston, in Chicago or in |
Philadelphia, but it was in Washington that the |
program was fully laid out and the work done |
which has given the project its best impetus.
The civil service commission continue to pour |
hot shot into the ranks Of ofice-hoders who are |
found deficient in honesty and discipline, and
the people at large are waking up to the idea |
that there is really something in the reform.
after all. There is everything, of course, in its
administration. Whoever expects to accom- |
plish great revolution in his own generation
by going to work in tmid fashion is like the |
Indian who was advised to ease his rheumatism
by sleeping, like white man, on feathers. He
got two quilts from the tail of chicken, laid
them on board, and slept on them all night. |
In the morning he was ready to scalp the party
who suggested feathers to him. The failure
OF reforms is not due, generally, to their in
herent faults, but to the miserable half-hearted
way in which the attempt is made to prosecute
them
The statement by the Illinois candidate for
the speakership that there will be no extra
session Of Congress proves nothing except that
there is one Cannon not fred with enthusiasm
for an early meeting
The probable death Of Prof Hogan while at
tempting to navigate the Campbell ai--ship
recalls the disappearance, eight or nine years
ago, Of Prof. Donaldson and the reporter who
accompanied him in his flight through the sky.
The fate Of both men is a mystery to this day.
AL that is positively known Of them is that
they went up in the presence of a throng of
friends and sight-seers and we're watched as
they foated of in q certain direction. Then
night came on and ell traces of their course
were obliterated. 1t is almost too much to