The record-union., 1897-08-16


this, II is common for householders to
gather yard rubbish. convey it to the
street and there burn it. Whenever this
is done the ash and incombustible debris
is always allowed to remain.
Is this exaggeration? Not one whit.
Within a month one of the oldest and
wealthiest of our citizens permitted his
servants to dump his lawn cuttings into
the street, and he does this monthly,
while his next door neighbor uses the
grade of a chief highway as the dump
for his yard refuse. These two instances
are typical Of hundreds. Onnearly all cur
residence streets the cutters are more
or less filled with dead vegetation and
clogged with leaves and refuse while
corner manholes and drain gates are
choked with rank grass or hardened
mud and become the catch-aIl of paper
refuse, garden trimmings, etc.
1t is exceedingly and disgraeefully
common for householders to dump
house rubbish into the street, and we
are yet to hear of an instance of arrest
and punishment for this rank offense.
Animal droppings are never removed
from the street surfaces except upon
upper grade streets. On all others
they remain, and become part of the
street soil, or in dried form, are blown
into the air to be breathed into human
lungs.
Paper. hoops. cans, glass, manure,
vegetables, discarded boxes, decayed
raiment, rotting vegetation, fallen fol-
iage, litter our residence streets clog
our cutters. and present an unsfghtly
appearance to the eye of the stranger.
| The effect of this untidiness upon our
households, and the tastes of their
membership, it is unnecessary to reca-
pitulate.
Now all this may be corrected, and
if it may it follows that it should be.
If the people of the town referred to
can keep clean their town, the task will
not be greater in Sacramento for its
larger area and population. Block by
| block it will cost no more of effort in
| Sacramento than in other places; in
deed, it will call for less output of en-
ergy here, since propotioned to the use
of our streets, our population along
them is far denser.
Here the cost of cleaning the street
surfaces OF animal droppings would be
| greater, because Of the character of
| the soil, the greater use of horses. ana
the much larger commerce upon the
ton. But aside from that single con-
/ sderation every residence block in
| Sacramento can be kept perfectly neat
without one dollar of municipal eX
ment of the laws we now have; and
| the addition of regulation requiring
each householder to keep the cutters
and alleys on his or her frontage clear
| of rubbish and offense. Where prop
erty is open and unsettled the aecu-
mutation is very small, and such as it
! is it should be removed at stated pc
riods at municipal cost.
Such regulation and law enforcement
would work no hardship whatever,
since each householder would be awake
to hfs own interest. and the saving of
labor, by preventing unlawful deposit
by any one along his frontage on street
or alley. Indeed, so simple and effective
is this order of city cleanliness, that it
is amazing it has not been everywhere
adopted That it may be easily ap-
piled and enforced in Sacramento, IS
saying what we all know to be true II
by municipal authorities the idea is not
made reality, then that should be done
here which was carried out at several
cities of the East a few years ago, and
| which was outlined in the Record
Union at the time; namely, form
block associations by appeal to pride
and neighborly spirit, to conserve front
age cleanliness. In one central Western
city two of these block associations
We're formed, each member agreeing to
devote at least ten minutes out of every
third day to cleaning IN front of his
premises if necessary. The result was
that these two blocks were so conspic-
uous inside of month, by their i'm
proved appearance, that the next two
on either side were soon matches for
them; then blocks beyond these swung
into line, until the block associations
embraced the whole city, and the place
| became and is to-day, noted for its
neatness, cleanliness and improved san
itary conditions.
In that city the cost of removal of
! sweepings to the block was at first
ment being about cents per family
per week. But when the reform had
broadened somewhat, public opinion
drove the city to the duty of collecting
and disposing of these gatherings, at
general cost. There is not city in
California more easily cleaned, more
easily kept clean or at less cost, than
Sacramento, if We once resolve upon it.
and insist upon the enforcement of the
laws against littering the streets and
alleys.
It is but just to state that there is at
present going on IN this city very Wig
orous campaign against weeds in front
of residence property, and the police
are active in the enforcement of the
law A general clean up of the weeds