Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-04-13
ROUNDING UP HOGS
Enforcing the Anti-E1pectorating
Ordinance in New York.
OFFENDERS ARE HEAVILY FINED
Work of Board of Health Police
men in Citizens Clothes.
REFORM ALL ALONG THE LINE

Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
NEW YORK, April l., 1901.
New York-the worst-mannered city OH
the globe of its SIZE or even its approx
mate size-is undertaking a laudable Off
cial censorship over the public conduct OF
a large element of its citiZenry-namely,
the Doors. Last week $50 sanitary police
men in plain clothes were sent out by the
board of health to begin a systematic en-
forcement oS the anti-eXpectorating ordi-
nance. This ordinance has recently been made
quite properly severe, with fine OF $500
or years imprisonment or both. Placards
embodying this information were spread all
around, and it was quite reasonably
thought that the warning notice would
have the desired effect. But it did nothing
of the sort.
So, a couple of weeks ago, the authorities
decided to put the law into actual effect.
The $50 sanitary cops were sent out all
over the town. They have made arrests by
the dozen and, while none of the prisoners
has been given the limit of the law, they
have all been handled without gloves by the
magistrates. Numbers of them have been
fined $50, and sent down" until their
friends scraped together the money for
their release. Others have been fined small
sums None has got off scot free. In
addition to their legal punishments. they
have all been held up to public disgust and
eXecration by name, and properly and
justly denounced by the magistrates. Many
of them have kicked and protested, but
without avail. The magistrates have fatty
told them that they deserved no sympathy
whatsoever, and they have one and all
EXPRESSED the satisfaction they felt in be
ing enabled by the terms of the ordinance
to infiict salutary punishment upon the
offenders.
Of .l,. r;ef,.- u,
able enthusiasm, heSitated not to remark
that he had vastly more respect for a
common drunk and dlSorderly, or even a
we'll hammered porch climber, than he could
possibly entertain for a blackguard who
walked through the Norld a perpetual of
Tense and pest to everybody with whom he
came into contact.
The sanitary cops have spared none of
the offenders, no matter what his position
in life. The Italian !arOrer has been lined
up in court right alongside of the business
man, and the magistrates have shown no
Partially whatever in doing out punish
ments. 1t is safe to say that no man who
has been once eXcoriated by a New York
magistrate for offease of this nature
will ever take another chance on being run
in.
Along other Lines.
Reformation Of public manners in this
town to details other than public expec-
toration is now being demanded from
many sources The 1oors of cars and ferry
houses and ferry boats are now compare
lively cleanly. But the newspapers are
hlled with complaints with respect of other
sorts of public hogs. The hog who car
ries an extinct cigar-a cigar that has
been lighted and permitted to go out-iut0
a car. is the object of an especially viru-
lent attack all along tie line. The acrid
vicious, overwhelming aroma of his stag
nant bit of punk is the occasion for the
aversion with which this species of hog
is regarded There are protests from many
points Of the compass against the chaps
who light their cigarettes in the Hobbies on
their way out of the theater and puff the
offensive smoke in Tie faces of women
who are SO wedged in that they cant
escape. There are hoWlS against the COM
PLEASANT lOafer who crosses his legs in the
car and wipes his muddy broganS on wo-
mems skirts and men S trousers. There
are Shrieks against the selfish, tack headed
mothers who permit their young ones to
wipe their shoes on the raiment of men and
women sitting next TO them on street cars,
without dreaming of calling the kids down
There are walls against the brigand who
in a street car, suddenly discovers that he
has passed his getting-off place, and who
tears down the aisle on the feet of seated
and standing passengers without mercy
There is, in fact, general call for the
rounding up of the hogs. If the hogs read
the newspapers, and have any vestiges of
shame left, this universal agitation against
them is liable to induce a percentage Of
them to mend their manners.
Having Fun with the Cop.
The sanitary policemen who went out
last week had a good many humorous ex-
periences. One of them boarded an up
town 9Th avenue train at Chambers street
about o'clock the other afternoon. He
found a place in a croSSWSe seat facing
the rear. He sat down and gaZed about
him with an air of expectancy. Nearly all
of the passengers in the car We're men.
Next to the window, in the crosswise seat
right opposite, was snappy-eyed smooth
shaver, well-groomed young chap, who
captured the policemanS attention right
off; for the latter had scarcely taken his
seat before the well-groomed young chap
furnished numerous indications that he
was about to violate the ordinance. The
sanitary policeman leaned forward in his
seat, and he made the preliminary move
toward reaching out his right hand to
touch the young man on the knee-With the
probable intention Of pointing to the
printed ordinance tackled at the end of the
car-when the young man pulled out a
snowy handkerchief put it to momentary
employ, and went on reading his paper If
the sanitary policeman had been uncom-
monty shrewd he might have seen a sort
of grin lowering around the corners of the
young mans mouth.
At Blocker street the well-groomed
young chap was seized with what appeared
to be a coughing spell of some violence
and when he glanced about the aisle and
at the mating beneath his feet the SAM
tary policeman leaned forward again. for
this time it looked like a certainty that
the young man was going to commit the
S,yO0-fine- and one-year S-impriSonment mis-
demeanor In fact, he all but committed
the misdemeanor-but he didn't. At the
very instant that the policeman was again
reaching out his right hand to tap him on