The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-04-21
AN UNCLEAN PEOPLE.
THE GREAT MASS or HUMANITY
LACKS CLEANLINESS.

Several Useful and Beneficial Ways In
which One Writer Would Spend Sl, ,OoO,-
900, Providing She Had Them-Careless-
ness Of Nice Folks.
There is no immediate danger of my
filing millionaire's grave, and yet
stranger things have happened. Either
you or may fall heir to coloSSal for
tune. don't lose sleep over the pros
pect myself, nor need you, my dear, but
In this world of ups and downs who can
tell what day may bring forth?
Shall | tell you q few of the things
propose to do with my possible millions?
In the first place, | shall build bath
houses and stock them with soap, per-
fumes and towels for humanity at large.
Next to saving the soul comes the care
of the body. and most people are fully
as needless of the one as the other. In
deed to my manner of thinking sancti-
fed soul In an unwholesome body would
be hardly worth the keeping
declare unto you, and If do not
speak the truth come forth and dispute
me, ye who can, that the masses of man
kind know less about cleanliness than
animals do. Watch the old cat sitting
in the sun or by the corner of the kitchen
fire washing her face and cleaning her
paws. She enters into the thing with O
complete understanding that cleanliness
makes her more welcome fireside COM
panion. as well as healthier cat and q
more self respecting member Of society.
A bird delights in its morning bath more
ostentatiously than in its breakfast
have seen horses at the seashore who rev.
eled in q "dip" far more than any human
ever did. A dog will not enter your pres
ence If there Is any soil upon his person
which his own limited ingenuity can re-
move, and the most beatific experience
Of pampered poodle is its perfumed
bath and careful shampoo.
Now, take the case of humans. There
is not day of my life that business
dealings do not force me into companion
ship with people who are both unwhole-
some and repulsive by reason of lack Of
personal cleanliness. | ride with them,
| walk by their side, sit next them
They dress well, their clothes are of ex-
pensive material and carefully made,
but they bear about with them an aroma
of stale cuticle and closed pores. From
weeks end to weeks end these men and
women do no more than dip their hands
in little water and rub off their faces
with inadequate wash cloths. If the
natural smoke of Chicago settles upon
such portions of their anatomy as are
exposed, they dab it off with hard water
and cheap soap, or they counteract it
with filthy powder rags. They go for
weeks at time without change OF un-
derwear to save laundry bills, and they
sleep in the same fannels that they wear
by day.
"A good, thorough bath is as unknown
to them as Gods grace to lost soul, and
for my part would rather encounter a
thug with aclub. You can dodge club,
but you can't escape an odor. Ride for
an hour in one of our cars. either cable,
horse or steam; could anything be worse,
without it was stock transit? And yet
all these unwashed and unwholesome
4 people pride themselves, and often most
justly, of being good citizens, well edu-
Gated and circumspect. They would re
sent the idea of being classed outside the
circle of gentlemen and ladies'" They
never sneeze in your presence without
begging pardon, nor commit any breach
of the proprieties without the keenest
anguish of remorse for the misdeed.
Their crime against society, then, is not
an active one. It is merely the result OF
neglected education. Their parents
believed in making them obedient, nc
doubt, and polite and well behaved.
They had them taught to dance and play
the piano and speak French, but they
forgot to teach them cleanliness.
The poor and uncsred for we expect to
take as we find them, and by means o.
PRAYER faith and good works raise them