The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-16
ACHICAG0 WoMANS WORK.
CLEANER sTREETs GIVEN TO THE
WINDY err BIZ MRS. PAUL.
Reeerdor tho Only wonan Appreciated to such
a. once - Hew she Cnne 60 Get tho
PInce-Her methods ana the Improvement
Nho HAS E-nected-ChiIdren vyhe Help Her.

- - ~--S ~ ~
Piaee-uer methods asa the improvements
nhe HAS E~nectcd-Chiidren whe Help Her.
CHICAGO, Jan IA good record has been
made by Mrs. A. Emmareno Paul., Chicago's
chief street and alley inspector. Mrs. Paul has
tho distinction of being the only woman ever
appointed to q similar post, and she has filled
her office to the entire satisfaction Of tho chief
Of her bureau for nearly n year. Prior to her
appointment by Mayor Harrison last fall she
fulfilled similar duties for the Civic Fedora
ton. with which sho was identified for a mum.
Der Of years. She In a woman Of education
and rcdnement-in no sense q masculine wo-
man. as one might imagine from her vocation
and 1t is unquestionably due to her education
and knowledge of tho world generally that she
hos mado an unqualified success In the work
she has undertaken.
please remember" she said to a Sun cor
respondent who asked her about her work,
that i am not n club woman or q now wo-
man. i am just simply an old woman. work
ing on my own practical lines. Since my APP
pointmont by Mayor Harrison 1 have received
letters and kilograms from all parts of the
United States, from Boston to San Francisco.
and from Duluth to New Orleans. Congratu-
latory messages, volunteered advice, ex-
p~ressions Of good will, announcement, and Gu.
rlosity-all of these were motives OF the writers.
Some of the best-known women in public life. wo-
mon who have taken up important life work Of
their own, women Of the professions and club wo-
men,have written to me, and have also received
a number Of letters from men, who generally
sought to give or secure advice as to the meth
DDS used in our work here in Chicago. One
wcll-known man wrote to me from Brooklyn
and l was very glad indeed to answer his letter
at once. for his inquiry struck a keynote which
had been sounded by others. and many people
pIN III ~ Nala ~ N.--ll- "a .-{N- a. 800
have no doubt felt the same curiosity which i'm
pelled him to send his query. He said:
"'To settle a bet. will you kindly state whether
your interest in the subject Of street clean-
ing, &C., is, in your opinion. the direct out
growth Of your household experience with
the ubiquitous dirt question" ..or whether 1t is
the result of interest in municipal politics as
seen from the standpoint of a modern woman's
club. / apologize for this..trespass upon your
busy life and l most sincerely congratulate you
upon your splendid work in the interest of
good governemnt.'
"My appointment was not secured by any
woman's club. / am a very domestic woman
and always was. In my carly married life l
had no interest whatever in municipal matters.
One child, a boy, came to bless my life. / de-
cided that he wal. to be tho ono perfect man
when he grew up, and l started in to educate
him with that view. At the age Of ten years
my boy died. His death left me in absolute
apathy. 1 had no ambition. no future, as it
seemed to me, and 1 settled down in a dull,
listless way to brood in solitude over my be-
reavement.
Then I decided that my life must not be
wasted; that l must do something. l over.
heard the talk among my women friends about
what they had done and what they %purposcd to
do for the welfare of their fellow women. These
frinnna yUara mnnhnr. nf n nm r1uh nr
organization known as the Municipal Order
League. 1t soon struck me that they were
doing absolutely nothing. l said to them:
why don't you work-why don't YOU do some
thing and talk lessf They did not know what
they really intended to do. / suggested that
they go TO see Mr.. Hopkins. who was then
Mayor Of the city, and get him to tell them in
what way they could make their organization
Of benefit to their city They got q friend to in;
he would give them recognition. and ! was ap-
pointed as a representative of the league, four
health in the matter OF cleaning streets and
alleys in certain sections Of the city. Neverthe-
did not put me on his pay roll. the appoint
mcnt was merely an honorary one. but he lis
tened to my suggestions and remedied certain
defects wherever | pointed them out. The club
Then the Civic Federation was formed.
The officials asked me to read a paper before a
Honest Inspection and on that subject l gave !
fectly brcathless. Ali was new to them: they
had no idea where their money for taxes went.
or If where n Ell It would "Sa d. go in in the he future future They asked
that line of work. the idea being to compel. II
possible; an honest, inspection of the street and
should be honestly done. / caused photographs
to be made of various places and showed them
startling and it was certainly only a merciful |
providence that prevented n most dreadful cpl
ailGHs w IRON 5 sweeping o the eot city hS., There her w were re-
months. IL festered and rotted in the sun.
spots innumerablc were found under
living rooms and residences. |
the employ Of the he CIVIC Vi Federation ed Ii 12'' i took %%S in
parts of the city and knew the peculiar con-
ditions in all sections; j, knew every street,
alley and sinkhole and kept a finger on the
covered an alarming state OF affairs in the way
the inspection was done. The crooked work Of
the contractors was winked at. or absolutely
their reports, swearing that they had been work
ing twelve teams, when ! knew full well that
and knew their condition. Seeing the ncces.
sity of more rigid enforcement of contracts. 1
tho city to make fve.year contracts FOR the
street and alley, cleaning. Health Commits
sioner Kerr tried to get a law passed. He
it up; I said l would if he would let it
alone: A law was passed just before the ad-
tracts. Civic Federation officers wired to me
to know what / thought of them. tclcgraphcd
at once that l saw the word Craft in capital
letters in every line. The Federation left me
In the lurch. A mass meeting was held in tho
Council Chamber 70, protest against the spccif-
cations as prepared by the Health Department.
and they were Rnnulled.
Since my appointment ! have been enabled
TO carry out my plans for the collection of gar
bage daily, not only in the downtown, but also
in the residencc'disLricts, and for tho establish
inent of a can service. so that each family may
have its own receptacle. There has been u
great improvement in the matter OF street in
spection, and 1t may now be regarded as hon
and trustworthy. l have succeeded in get.
ting The adoption of contracts for n term OF
years, and there has been IA great improvement
IN the matter of the disposal OF garbage. This
has, all been accomplished by practical and in
work, and l do not think | am doing
any body an injustice in claiming the credit for
II. In alley cleaning, contractors are obliged
now to. live up TO their contracts pretty well.
While not what 1t should be, tie work shows u
great Improvement upon the old way. An
other thing has been the reduction In cost. The
city paid $3.50 n mile for its street and alley
Now 1t is done for $40 nj the outside
ngure, and for $500 where it is done daily.