The record-union., 1899-12-23
TWO OLD LESSONS.
How One Citizen Astonished Tive
others-Some Rejection,

Ot0eTe-Somo He0oCt1001.
Some two weeks ago certain good
citizen, good as the community esti-
mates goodness; law abiding except in
one thing, had his yard fronting on a
principal street cleaned up and the rub
bish and tree trimmings were by his
order promptly dumped into the street,
and there it has since remained An
other citizen the other day called upon
him, saying:
You and I are old friends and like
one another. But you ought to be In
Jail, and I am on the way down to
swear to complaint for q warrant
for your arrest"
If bombshell had exploded under
the nose of the good citizen without
killing him he would not have been
more astonished.
What have I done?"
Done? You have piled rubbish in
the street as high as your head, and
ing violated not only a wise law, but
the sense of decency you should wish
your children to have, 1 think your
place is in Jail. Will you go down and
give bail or must send an officer?"
''See here, is this joke? I have
done no more than others do. The
churches throw out their rubbish in the
street. The city officers do it. The po-
lice don't object. Everybody does this
thing. Even the vegetable peddlers
strip their vegetables and cast the
refuse into the cutters"
''Oh, cowardly neighbor! and you, at
ter all your praying and preaching and
taxpaying and roaring for reform, plead
the baby act! For shame! Come on
to JAIL
But, hold on! put it there for the
street cleaner when he comes along to
take it up
For shame upon your ignorance!
How much do you pay in city taxes?"
"Over $500 annually"
And yet you do not know that you
do not pay a solitary cent for any street
cleaner to come along except upon the
business Streets"
'All right. Never thought of that
I'll clean up at once, and see that no
more filth is put into the street from
any of my properties, if you will let
me off this once"
Bless your soul, I never intended to
have you arrested. Can't afford to have
neighbours quarrel with you and that
is what makes towards of both of us.
But / want you to think of the effect of
your example in this matter"
Passing along few blocks further
the same man-and this citizen, by the
way, is one of those who is taking part
in the proposed Women's Lawn I'm
provement Club movement, which has
ri oy Nil ~
across a prominent member of a phil
anthropic society, in all general re-
spects a model good citizen; who had
his trees trimmed and the pile Of broad
leaved palms put into the street, where
the obstruction has remained for near
a fortnight
At him he went in the same way, and
asked him If with all his splendid ef-
forts to prevent cruelty he did not think
that something was also due to his
neighbors in the way of keeping the
front of his premises free from such
Instructions, and if for his offending he
did not think he ought to go to the
lookup and do penance
The reply was, as in the first case one
OF surprise and then of confession. and
then of agreement to reform and at
once, and there was added thu same ex-
cuse that the cleaner would come along
and cart the rubbish away. He had
in mind also the man who gets a
monthly stipend for removing back
yard rubbish. These scavengers, how
ever, do nothing gratuitously; If it is
left to them to do street cleaning, they
must be paid, and properly, too the
extra fee of cost.
These two instances are self convey
ers OF lessons the people of this city
should take to heart, and lead to the
resolution once and for all Of the ques-
ton, whether the streets are to become
and remain the dumping places for rub
bish and filth, or to be made and kept
clearly highways for the use Of all the
people and without offenses in the eyes
OF strangers or the children of our
homes.