The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-11
WOMAN WHO CLEANS STREETS
MRS. EMMAGENE PAUL KNOWN AS
THE COL. WEARING OF CHICAGO.

| ROSY, Vigorous Day LnbOrer. Her
Energies and Talents Benefting
Greatly the City in which She
Lives-Mrs. Paul Tells the story of
Her Career as Municipal Re
former. N..
Chicago, March 9,-Mrs. A. Emmagene
Paul. superintendent of the Second ward
street cleaning, may well be called the
Col Waring of Chicago AS the arst wo-
man in the world to engage in the work
| Of street cleaning from the practical side,
| and the only woman up to date to have
| occupied the position which she to-day
holds, there is more than novel interest
in noting Mrs Paurs evolution from a
| frail, aenemic, melancholy, reserved in
valid to the vigorous robust, capable,
fearless creature which she is to-day;
driving about the streets of Chicago from
| morning until night, or from night until
morning, as the case may be; overseeing
gangs of workmen, financiering street re-
pairs, eschewing politics in the most po-
lite manner, befriending the workingman
and his family-strong, honest courageous
and kind living exponent, in her partic-
ular sphere, of the Ruskin gospel of joy
in work, and the beauty of labor.
Twenty years ago, according TO Mrs
Paul, she was exactly the type of woman
| that constituted 4he despair of the violent
! woman suffragist. She had no theories
| as To the position or advancement of wo-
| man, was interested in no sex move
| ment, she was not even member of any
| club, and had no wish to b.; when occas-
| ionally asked to do something to help on
| the "cause Of woman" she MIGHT inf
| hand in her pocket to please a friend, but
| she really thought very little of the cause
| and as for taking any part in matters out
| side of her home. her reply always was
| My work is right here; l have all that
I can do at home"
She was not, however. without her am
| bitions but they were all concentrated in
| an only son, for whom she thought work
| ed, studied, traveled-lved. From the first
| moment of his existence. she conse 2raled
| herself TO the single great aim of making
| him the finest possible type of a human be-
| ing But just as she began to reap the
| beautiful harvest of her sowing malig-
nant dlphtheria came and before she fully
| realized that her son was i'll, he was
| gone. Then followed six years of hope
! less melancholy, combined with failure of
| vitality until she was reduced to the con
| dition of chronic nervous dyspeptic so
| aenemic 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
| CHANGED TO light upon a little editorial in
reference 10 a woman who had also suf-
fered, but who had risen above her grief
| and was making her life distinct bless
ing 10 humanity. Something in the spirit
of the article aroused Mrs Paul to a sud
den resolve and when her mother came
into the room she quietly announced 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 10
what she was going to do but believing
| that some work must be waiting for her
| in the big, crowded city. This was IN
| 1898, the spring. after the Worlds Fair,
and it 50 happened that Mrs. Paul went
| to visit a friend, who was member of
| the Municipal League, an organization
formed during the fair. for the purpose
of seeing what power women could exert
in the administration of civic affairs. The
club seemed very much alive to the gen.
orally filthy condition of the city, and to
the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. of its laws. After
listening to endless explorations and dis
cussions of the subject, Mrs. Paul one day
VenLured to say:
'Well, ladies. you talk very well, but
why don't you do Somethiug?
Eyes" was the reply but how to begin.
| II 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
| Il all ended in her being detailed 70 bring
| The attention of Mr.. Mayor to few of the
| things that the Municipal League wishel
| 10 have done. She found his honor very
| much inclined TO treat the whole matter
as a Joke; he, however, finally volunteered
TO go before the ladies and prove to them
| the utter futility of their schemes He
| occordingly went. but not finding them 80
easv 10 convince as he had imagined, he
| consented to appoint an inspector from
| among them, providing the league would
second his choice of Mrs. Paul for the Of
| flee. go - &c.. l..
Mrs PauPs inclinations; but finding that
| her refusal would stultfy any further eff
| forts Of the club, she consented to take
| he office for a month, simply to prove
| that it was not only a possible but ~
| eminently suitable position for woman
| 10 hold She had no need and no desire
| 10 add to her income, and undertook the
work with the sole aim of proving that a
| woman could do ii. She was thereupon
| commissioned to take one of the best
| wards in the city, investigate It's condi-
| lions and do whatever she chose Tor ita
| improvements with the equipment already
! appropriated. Mrs. Paul first spent sew
| eral days in study Of the situation, and
discovered-what she was later TO dis
cover in nearly every ward In the city
| that the regular inspector was given his
office as a reward for electioneerng during
political campaigns; and that, although
| drawing 81 900 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 s.n
his time The contractors were in much
the same situation; while there was a
law to the effect that the garbage cans
were to be empued three times week,
they were often left to accumulate IN
wholesome debris for six weeks or more,
and the aEeys-even adjoining fine resi-
dences-were an unmitigeted horror, an
"offense that smelt to heaven"
Mrs. Paul adds, by the way, that sup
Iosedly fastidious women have their pc
culiarities that If they can get the Of
fenslve thing off from their own premises
II concerns them very little where II goes