Bismarck daily tribune., 1903-04-27
IMPROVES THE TOWN
HOW AN ORGANiz ATiON is CLEANING
THE MOUND CITY.

The St. Louis Civic improvement
Leagues Crusade For Municipal
Cleanliness-What the Association
Has Accomplished.
The work of the Civic Improvement
league of st. Louis to improve and
beautify that city is attracting great
deal of attention, and village improve
ment societies in many parts of the
country are adopting some of the
leagues methods to good advantage
Those who are interested in town i'm
provement may get some valuable sug
gestions from the following article pub
lished in the st. Louis Dispatch,
in which the secretary of the league
tells what the organization has accom-
plished:
The Civic Improvement league Of st.
Louis is not quite one year old. and
yet its membership is 1,20O. The fees
are 81 year. That keeps up the eX-
penses. Headquarters are necessary,
and there is the cost of literature, cor
respondence and lectures.
The league has already demonstrated
the possibilities of st. Louis. 1t is not
expected to make it second Paris in
moment, but it is seen that very much
eau be done in very few years toward
its Identification and it's sanitation.
The wholesale cleaning of alleys and
the much better cleaning of streets are
due in part to the work of the league,
which has received the strongest posi-
street commissioner.
The Civic improvement league would
not have been created in vain If it had
accomplished nothing save the intro
duction of Fairgrounds for the chill
dren of the tenement house districts.
Three such Fairgrounds were opened
last year, one near the Ashley building,
at Ashley and Collins streets, another
at Eighth and Rutger streets and a
third at Tenth. between Carr and Bid
die streets.
Sand piles. swings and shower baths
were provided, and the childrens play
ground committee in charge of public
furnished us watchers. The main thing
was to teach the children games. They
knew how to fight. but they knew little
about play.
Children who bathed soon demanded
that they be given baths at home.
Clean children are likely to breed clean
homes and clean parents. With clean
<s,r nd nj hn, nc
we shall have clean city. not bad
result from SO small an investment as
II embodied in the three Fairgrounds.
We are getting great many letters
from Missouri and Arkansas, where in
terest in the experiments In st. Louis
IL most intense. The cities and towns
of Missouri are beginning to see that
there is something in civic improve
ment of interest to them, and they are
asking that literature be sent them.
The sanitary committee OF the
league is doing a vast amount Of valu-
BILE work. The sanitary committee ID
interested in the work being done for a
proper billboard ordinance. The one
now q law L. q makeshift. BillbOarda
are the most insanitary things imag
Unable when not In accord with proper
regulations: garbage is dumped behind
them. They are also menace to the
lire department when they are SO long
and SO low that firemen can neither gel
around them nor under them.
We are urging upon the city the ap
pointment Of lady sanitary inspectors
Assistant Health Commissioner Fran
els says he is In favor Of such inspect
ors. Other cities and towns have them
and results are good.
The Third ward mothers COMMITTEES
n working hand in hand with the Civil
Improvement league. Miss Ida Peve!
Of the Social Settlement ut 1920 UOrtl
Broadway IL leading the work tn
COMMITTEES IL doing 1t Is made no o