The evening times., 1898-09-02
The Ethics of Expectora.ion.

The perritwinkler of the Evening
Star. which brings every good and per
feet gift to the people of Washington,
and which. if they are only good. will
make them the most envied Of all
dweIlers in large cities. has new
problem tC confront him-one that is
showed right up against his spectacles.
so To speak 1t is the habit which
many people have-those principally
who do not read the Star which in
wolves the use of the word many
of splitting on the sidewalks and pave
ments.
Warnings to prevent this desperate
offense in street cars are conspicuously
noticeable of late. Passengers are told
that the police or the board of health,
as we'll as several other functionaries.
have decided that ii is injurious TO
health for anybody-whether he has
paid his fare or MOTTO expeCtorate
in a street car" and he is requested 10
abstain therefrom. at whatever peril
to himself, under penalty of heavy
fines. Which explains the otherwise un-
intelligible action of one perpiexed
step forward. so that he might spit on
him, as, he said, he seemed to be for
hidden to spit anywhere and every
where else.
Of course we have nothing at this
moment to do or say about street cars.
The perritwinkler of the Star has them
all regulated to the finest point. 1t is
street splitting we are referring 10. a
topic that has been suggested by let
ter to the Commissioners from an at
torney of this city by the name Of
Thomas NJ. Fields. Mr.. Fields doesn't
want the sidewalks soiled by injudi-
cious or copious eXpectorations, espe-
cisIly when there is no snow or ice
about. But we will let him speak for
himself by quoting a paragraph of his
letter:
Permit me to suggest that your excellent po-
lice regulations be so amended as to prohibit ex-
pectorating On the paved sidewalks of the city
and county, at least during such times as the
sidewalks are clear of snow and ice. This sugges-
! tion carries its own arguments with it. | cannot
conceive of any good reason against it.
Why Mr. Fields should not have ad-
dressed the Star man at once without
the bother Of troubling the Commits
sioners, we cannot explain. He may be
a newcomer or he may not believe the
Star-when il says it carefully and con-
tinually looks after the peoples inter-
ests-but, whatever his reason. he has
made a mistake The Star. to express
the whole truth concisely, is his exact
hairpin. II can clear up the whole sub
ject of eXpectoration in one luminous
article. 1t can easily devise a univer-
sal cuspidor to be attached to the per-
son. and, possibly, made ornamental.
| CHow would a miniature star, con-
structed in proper form. and plainly,
but not luridly. designated as The Eve
ming Cuspidor, do for a starter?) And
vet we must sympathize with Mr..
Fields. If a thing like unconsidered
expectoration bothers him, he must
find living a dreary piece of business.
Nowhere can he place his pedals upon
an "unspat' cubic foot of ground. At
least. not in Washington.
| We are not so sure. however, that
/ Mr. Fields is not a myth. His
sentence, 1.-The suggestion carries its
| own arguments with it," sounds very
much like an extract from street car
| editorial in the Evening Star. May ii
| not be that that sly dog of an editor
has written this thing to the Commits