The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-11
A FAIR STREET CLEANER
Chicago Is Proud of Its Female Su
perintendent.
The Novel work of Overseeing Gangs
of Laborers All Day Has Changed
Mother Into Vigorous ToiIer
Who Finds JOY in Her Occupation.

CHICAGO March lo.-Mrs. a. Emma
| gene Paul Superintendent Of the Second
ward street cleaning, may well be called
the Colonel Waring. Of Chicago. As the
| first woman in the world to engage in the
work of street cleaning from the practi-
! cal side and the only woman up to date
! to have occupied the position which she
/ today holds. there is more than a novel in
| tepst in noting Mrs. Paul's evolution from
| a fratI. aenemic. melancholy, reserved in
| valid to the vigorous. robust, capable
| fearless creature which she is today; drlv-
! ing about the streets Of Chicago from
morning until night, or from night until
morning, as the case may be; overseeing
gangs of workmen. inanciering street re-
pairs, eschewing politics in the most poll
tic manner. befriending the workingman
and his famiy-srong. honest. couras-
eous and kind, a living exponent. in her
particular sphere, Of the Ruskin gospel of
joy in work, and the beauty of labor.
Twenty years ago according 10 Mrs.
Paul, she was exactly the tyne of woman
that constituted the despair of the violent
woman suGragist. She had no theories as
to the position or advancement Of woman.
was interested in no sex movement" she
was not even a member OF any club, and
had no wish to be; when occasionally ask
ed to do something to help on the cause
of woman" she might put her hand in her
pocket to please a friend. but she really
thought very little of the cause. and as for
taking any active part in matters outside
OF her home, her reply always was My
work is right here; / have all that | can
do at home"
She was not. however. without her am
billions, but they we're all centred in an
only son, for whom she thought. worked,
studied. traveled-lived. From the first
moment Of his existence. she consecrated
herself to the single great aim of making
him the finest possible type of a human
being But just as she began to reap the
beautiful harvest of her sowing, malignant
diphtheria came and before she fully real
lied that her son was i'll he was gone
Then followed six years of hopeless mel
ancholy, combined with failure of vitality
until she was reduced to the condition Of
a chronic nervous dyspeptic. so acnemic
that her body seemed to have completely
lost the power to produce red blood.
One day in her usually lifeless mood she
picked up the daily paper. and her eye
reference to a woman who had also suf-
fered. but who had risen above her grief
and was making her life distinct bless
ing to humanity. Something in the spirit
Of the article aroused Mrs Paul to q sud
den resolve and when her mother came
into the room she quietly announced her
intention of going back to Chicago. To
her family the very idea was madness. but
neither illness nor influence could deter
Mrs. Paul from her purpose. and TO Chi
cagO she came with no definite plan as to
what she was going to do, but believing
that some work must be waiting for her
in the big, crowded city. This was in 1893,
the spring after the Worlds Fair. and it
so happened that Mrs. Paul went 10 visit
a friend who was a member OF the Mu
nicipal League, an organization formed
during the fair, for the purpose of seeing
what power wcmen could exert in the ad-
ministrs1ion Of civic affairs. The club
seemed very much alive to the generally
filthy condition Of the city, and to the
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Of its laws. After lis
tening TO endless explorations aud discus
sions Of the subject Mrs. Paul one day
yentured 70 say,
We'll, ladies'. you talk very well, but
why don't you do something"
Yes" was the reply. but how to be-
gin. 1t was obviously necessary to first
make terms with the mayor and none of
the ladies had any personal acquaintance
with him. As chance would have it, Mrs.
Paul had a friend who knew that official
and it all ended in her being detailed to
bring the attention of Mr. Mayor to a few
of the things that the Municipal League
wished to have done. She found his honor
very much inclined to treat the whole
matter as joke. He, however, finally
volunteered To- go before the ladies' and
prove to them the utter futility Of their
schemes. He accordingly went. but not
finding them so easy to convince as he had
imagined, he consented TO appoint an in
spector from among them. providing the
league would second his choice Of Mrs.
Paul for the office
Nothing could have been more averse
to Mrs. Pauls inclnatous, but finding
that her refusal would sultify any further
efforts of the club. she consented to take
the Office for a month. simply TO prove that
it was not only a possible, but an emil
nently suitable position for a woman to
hold. She had no need and no desire to
add to her income, and undertook the
work with the sole aim Of proving that a
woman could do IT, She was thereupOn
commissioned 10 take one Of the best
wards in the city investigate its condi-
'lbliNr anu Au -" udtfF'A 1lit tHpot ApA iNo
Improvement, with the equipment already
appropriated. Mrs. Paul first spent sew
eral days in a study OF the situation, and
disCovered-what she was later to discover
in nearly every ward in the city-that the
regular inspector was given his Office as a
reward for electioneering during political
campaigns. and that although drawing
81 coo a year salary he not only did no
work but nothing was expected OF him;
in fact in most instances he had some
other business which consumed all his
time The contractors we're in much the
same situation. While there was a law to
the effect that the garbage cans were to be
emptied three times a week they were
often left to accumulate unwholesOme de-
bris for six weeks or more, and the alleys
even adjoining fine residences-were an
unmitigated horror an Offence that smelt !
to heaven.
Mrs. Paul adds. by the way that sup
pCsedly fastidiOus women have their pc /
that if they can get the often |
sive thing OIL their own premises it
concerns them very little where it goes |
whether a litue lower down he alley or /
only into neighboHng garbage can.
Her Investigations concluded. Mrs. Paul !
looked up the contractor who. fortunately |
was an easy going. hearty freshman. He |
was infinitely amused at the novel situa- |
ton, and seeming 10 think il best to hui /
NOR the women 10 their little whims' be- |
stirred himself to secure teams and work |
men and stood good naturedly by while /
Mrs Paul "bossed the job regarding the |
whole proceeding as a little windstorm |
that would soon blow over. The new in !
spect0r systematiZed the labor Of the ward. |
exactly as she would have done her own |
house cleaning; thoroughly cleansing a /
given area then going back each day over |
Ill LhlL hHl hnan done ratnnNina any now |