The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1893-03-29
.rrAnup TIE TOWN.

c0cGltlon OF A ccftdIn paoifl 4ot' anu - -c'Ss
one thcroushare Al the town papers
have had something TO say in general way
in reference TO putting the town into re-
specrable summer dress, 50 that visitors will
not nockingly say in passing aioog our
streets and through our alleys. Ebaf al eye
sore this or that property Is. or what nor-
nd stencil comes from certain aiiey-2n
alley that resks with old soiied paper, decsy-
ing vegetables and fruit, and other filthy -e-
flse swept from stores and warehouses.
Were It not for the serious side ofthe
case, the resolutions nov before Council
c.llIiag oa citizens 70 clean up, would be ss
amusing as comic alnanac-the amuse-
ment growing cut Of the fact that 80 far as
keeping borough properly in anything ike
q decent condition Is concerned our officials
have been about as useful as a half dozen
men made olt Of six rye stra~s and little
buck wheat batter wOald have been Pre-
cept without example counts for nothing
Before tackIing said resolutions. let our good
Burgess and members Of Council set proper
ty holders an example By cleaning up the
lot of which they are the custodians-
The borough lot, as il is called ION the
rear end of which Is a brick nOndescript
building noted for its iilthinessl, fronting OF
Main street, IS by all odds the dirtissi, mean
est looking. worst kept piece of property
within the town limits Can il be possible
that our Bnrgess, whose eyesight Is good,
and the holding over members Of Council,
whose vision Is not dimmed. have failed TO
notice the shameful, disgraceful appearance
of this town lo.2 II has been an eYe-sore
to every lover Of decency and cleanliness.
No self-respecling citizen does not blush
with shame in being compelled to say to a
stranger that the repulsive looking lot be
longs to the borough
Last summer its adornments were old tin
cans, broken glass jars, vestiges of crooks,
rusty old stoves. thistIes and weeds By the
many hundreds. Protests, complaints aud
anathemas finally led TO the munihcent ex-
penditure of dollar or 30 to have the tops
Of the rank growth of weeds and thistles cut
of, thus leaving the picturesque stubbles
foot long to contribute 10 the adornment OF
the accumulated rubbish.
During the past winter the sidewalk in
front Of this lot was a50u. the only one on
Main street from which snow was never
shoyeled.
A few years ago a cheap wooden fence was
put up facing Main street, bat never a drop
of paint did it see. Though pailing after
paiIing was pulled OF or fell OF, not one of
them was ever replaced. The gate has long
ceased TO swing on its cheap. himsy hinges,
and now leans quietly against the fence, va
rying its leaning position by occasionally
spreading itself fat on the sidewalk.
For the borough authorities to call on
people TO clean up their lots, that are per
fecr paradises compared with this dirty. fl
thy. indecent town property, Is the climax
ofimpudence, stupidity. presumption and
arrogance Ifthe town is too poor to take
care of the property, or the authorities too
Indifferent 20 the reputation Of the place, let
il be sold at once, or given away to some
one who would have the good name Of the
town sufficiently at heart 10 put it in some
kind Of decent shape As il IS and as it has
been. It is the most offensive, repulsiye, dis
graceful, shameful sp1t in the town. Out
upon the official balderdash talk of Gle Sning
up streets, cellars, cesspools, water courses,
a., Is long as this foul blot remains
Before wrestling With the peoples dirt,
Messrs. Burgess and Counciimen, sweep the
fifth from your official door. Even let Kim
berry continue to roll its slu gish water
along for the time being at least and do
something that Is imPeratiyeiy necessary,
and that will add 10 the good appearance
and decency Of the borough.
Apropos OF the cleansing work, the hor-
ridly filthy alley running from 4aia Cross
street past the two largest warehouses
in the town requires 8 passing no
tice. It Is no eKaggeration 70 say that this
silly Is, BY long OdGs, the flthiest one to be
found within the borough lines; that on
warn summer day II reeks with corruption,
the stencil Of which IS enough 10 breed dis
ease and death. Think Of its iocation-not
in any OF the outskirts. but right in the very
center Of the town. Decayed vegetables of
all kinds. rotten fruit. such as apples, Orang-
es and bananas, mixed up with pieces of
soiled paper, make it the hotOed Of pollu-
ton. rne filth Of the Two warehouses are
almost daily swept into il, without, so far
as is publicly known, single protest Of an
official. What more right have these ware
house proprietors 10 sweep their offals, piec-
es OF paper, broken boards aud barrels, iron
scraps, &c., into this alley, than business
men nave 10 litter our streets with nOisome
stuff from their respective stores. Offices and
groceries? A proper regard for the feelings,
comfort and health Of citizens and sojourn-
ers. is suggestive of pltting all such stuff as
named into barrels CT boxes, 10 be hauled
out somewhere and either buried or burn
ed
Will the borough authorities quietly fold
their arms and permit this mammoth and
hideous evil TO go on2 We shall see. To
content themselves by nosing around to
and some poor mans premises with buck
ct OF ashes on it, OF some widows garden
with handful Of straw scattered on il, while
wading through flth shOe-top deep il the
most travelled section of town, will 10 long
er be tolerated by an outraged community.
A tn-rp