Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-07-23

back street reveal the mudholes in the road
way and the yawning CULTS in the wooden side
walks.
Except for a couple Of squares on the main
avenue-which Is numbered 6th-ths streets of
Homestead are just about as they were dozen
years ago. Time, assisted by rain-created
freshets and few hours Of manual labor, has
scooped out open sewers on each side Of each
highway. II any one desires to see the beauties
and smell the odors Of the surface-drainage
system this is the place TO commence investign-
ton. Stenches that are disgustingly novel
greet you almost continuously, and in many
places are SO vile that you wonder at the COM
parative freedom from zymosic diseases which
five chubby-faced, ruddy-cheeked children
played this afternoon in pool Of filth which
was thick as strong pea soup. On its surface
for nothing could sink it-were miniature
boats, with which these little ones played for
hours. And 1t really seemed to agree with
them. Occasionally q man armed with q shovel
will destroy some rotdng vegetable barrier
which partially obstructs the charlottesville
motion of q turbid stream. When the filth
cannot be carried away by the sluggish cur
rent then the man with the shovel will
throw 1t out in the street, there to tester
and corrupt and nauseate. In dry weather
the supply Of dust-desiccated put4dity-
II suftocating; when the rain comes down there
1s mud all the way from shoe tops to knees.
On 9Th avenue for short distance there Is
brick sidewalk; elsewhere tho footpaths are Of
wood, badly worn and treacherous to walk
upon. The crossing Of streets during moist
weather 10 rendered comparatively easy and
comfortable because the borough has set up
high stepping stones wherever there seemed to
be necessity for them.
NEARLY -FOUR THOUSAND PLEASANT HOMES
There are many very nice homes in this place
nearly 200 Of observation-disclosures own their resi-
dences-but most Of the good ones are in the
northern halt Of the municipality. Cutting
the town into two unequal sections runs the
Monongahels division Of the Pennsylvania rail-
road-the Pittsburg, Virginia and Charleston
and the Pittsburg, McKeesport and Yough-
iogheny. On the former is conveyed all tho
Pennsylvania Company's freight to east or west
All the tracks are ct grade and all the trains
that run through 60 o. rapidly or as slowly as
the engineers think necessary. If you want to
cross the tracks to take passenger train that
Is about to start the chances are good for the
Intervention Of freight train Of seventy-five
or hundred cars moving at the rate of ten
miles an hours. Under other circumstances
the rate would be about twenty-five or thirty
miles. There are no safety gates no watch
men.
"We would like to inaugurate few much
needed railroad reforms" Eaid one Of the bust
ness men the other evening, "but the commu-
nifty is too weak. You see, the railroad was
here before the town was built"
As In Washington, property between the
tracks and the river is much less. desirable and
very much less valuable than in the region to
the northward Of the grade crossings.
HoMEsTEAD's AMUsEMENTs
OF amusements Homestead has but few
Pittsburg is only seven miles away and there,
except on Sundays, all manner Of recgeation-
good, bad and Indifferent be had for the
price Of Admission. shooting gallery, an
Aunt Sally combination, q darby boy who allows
You to throw three base balls at his face for q
nickel, D museum Of anatomy (recently arrived)
and an occasional concert or an eisteddfod by
the Welsh residents sums up the local total.
Many pleasant people, many good people,
live here. There is scenery for the artist,
realism for the novelist and contention for. the
Carnegie Company. As o whole II is superior
to towns Of its GLASS and ss an aggregation Of
homes and home people outranks any other
town In the land
But there are flies on Homestead.
GIo. H. HARRIEs.