The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-03-01
DEATH IN
THE CLOUDS
Of Foul Dust and Dried Sputa
That Defile
The Splendid Streets of Topeka
Day After Day.
CLEAN THE STREETS
And Stop the Dust Nuisance,
For it Can
Be Stopped and Topeka is Old
Enough to Reform.
CLEAN THE STREETS

Topeka stood the dirt and dust to-
day just as Topeka has always stood it,
because she thinks she can't help it.
Topeka people swallowed and breathed
bushels of alley filth, horse refuse, the
dried spittingS of thousands of people
on the pavementS and sidewalks and
never murmured, or if it did murmur
it was at Providence for bringing up
such high winds. But it isn't Provi-
dence that makes the dust and filth; it
is man; and it is a negligent people and
negligent city authorities who permit it
to blow about and do incalculable DAM
age to health and property. 1t is neg
Iigence primarily on the part of the
people themselves, in not providing
means of stopping the dust nuisance;
and secondarily on the part of the city
government in not getting their minds
to work on the problem and finding
remedy.
The street commissioner ought not to
rest content until he has evolved some
plan to absolutely stop these Saharan
sandstOrms on the paved streets, or
has persuaded somebody else to evolve
some plan. If there are not enough
men on his force to keep down the dust,
let him make a loud noise about it,
until some attention is paid by those in
charge of the city treasury to his COM
plants. The columns of the Journal
are open to Street Commissioner Ram
sey to say everything he deems it neces-
sary to say in order to secure the prop
er apparatus for stopping the dust, and
the Journal will back him up in all de-
mands for such apparatus.
If we were street commissioner and
were not permitted to have enough
money to keep the streets clean, we
would resign, and we would let every
body know the reason why, too.
There is no sense in the people of To-
peka enduring the dust horror another
week longer. We have stood it for
twenty or thirty years, because the city
was new and it's resources not large,
but there is nl6ntV of
town to keep the streets clean and there
is excuse for having them in the
filthy condition they are.
Four people died yesterday in Topeka
from consumption. Consumption in
millions of germs is carried in the
clouds of dust that sweep up and down
the streets. Still we say there isn't
money enough to keep the streets clean.
There isn't money though to save the
lives of our own people.
If the contra ct with. the water company
won't allow US to wash the streets let
negotiations be opened with the water
company to permit the use of water for
that purpose In the state of the Iiti-
cation between the city and the water
company it ought to be easy to obtain
concessions from the company which
has shown one or two CLEANS of an in
tention to be fair.
The waterworks will belong to the
city IN three or four years and then
we can wash the streets whenever we
please, but until that time, we should
adopt the best measures we can.
one of the greatest plaques in life in
topeka and one of our greatest draw
backs in the eyes of visitors is the wind
and the dust, particularly the dust
There are fully four months in this eli
mate in which we have high winds In
the spring come the cold winds and in
! the fall the hot ones. Kansas would be
Elysian indeed, if it We're not for the
winds, and unaccOmpanied by dirt, they
are not altogether disagreeabIe. On
the dirt roads the dust is not serious
compared to what it is on asphalt or
brick pavement. There it becomes a
Veritable torture.
We ought to have a street department
that ought to pursue every grain and
particle of dirt on the paved streets as
if it were a tarantula. There should
be nothing sleepy and easy-going about
the street department. It should be
infused with the idea that it won't have
dust and dirt on the main thorough
fares. We should like to see the street
department key itself up to concert
pitch and get the streets absolutely
clean for once; and whatever the cost
when the people of Topeka see the re-
suit, they will endorse it.
The fact is, they don't know what
they miss Like the black slaves. they
don't understand freedom because thew
never had it. Topeka people don't I'M
derstand the luxury of clean streets be
cause they never had them. once LET
them enjoy that boon and they win
never go back to their foul dust clouds
again