The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1903-07-02
CLEANING THE TOWN
HOW AN ARMY OF SCHOOL CHILDREN
SWEPT ST. LOUIS.


spotless Town-Work of the I'm
prOvement League.
That the rising generation can rem
der valuable aid in cleaning and beau
tifying town was proved recently in
st. Louis, where an army Of school
children began an onslaught on King
Dirt that lasted two days and resulted
in condition that has been the dream
Of residents Of the city for genera
ton. With pick, shovel and rake the
children went after the Streets alleys
and cutters and in a short time trans
formed the appearance of their dis
tricts. Piles Of rubbish could be seer
in every direction, and the street clean
ing department had to work overtime
to remove them. It is estimated that
$4,000 school children took part in the
work and 10000 grown people assisted
in collecting and moving the filth
Today st. Louis is the real spotless
town, and every st. Louisan points
with pride" at the condition of his
municipal household. Everywhere tho
eye reaches, bright, clean sidewalks,
immaculate streets and unobstructed
cutters gladden. the heart and swell
the pride Of the native. The task done
in those two days is striking exam
pie of the efficiency of reorganization
and is the result of long effort at edu-
cation on the part of the Civic I'm
provement league, says the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch. -s1ssaglFsss3aksfs
A course Of study was established in
the public schools of st. Louis, and as
text book a pamphlet entitled keep
Our City Clean was adopted Among
the most important paragraphs of the
book are these:
Civic pride in assisting to keep COM
mon property clean. Care of the
streets and alleys. Do not burn shaw
ings, leaves or old rubbish in any
street or alley.
Duty of considering the comfort and
health of other people. Care Of side
walks and street crossings. Avoid
throwing around parts of fruit or vege-
table matter that may cause people to
slip Of fall. Cleanliness in regard to
cutters and sidewalks. Children can
do much to keep them clear of papers,
dirt and filth. Be particularly careful
of the sidewalk and gutter in front of
your house and Of the alley in the rear.
Be careful to keep the weeds from
growing too high in your garden and
yard and as far as possible on the ad-
Joining lots. AS rule, they should
not be over one foot tall.
Proper care Of garbage in recep-
tacles. Avoid throwing 1t around in
vacant lots or in streets, alleys or gut
ters.
The bodies Of dead animals, such as
dogs, cats, chickens ETC., should never
be thrown into the streets, alleys or in
vacant lots. In case of any dead ami
NAL found there notice should be
promptly given to the police officer, SO
that it may quickly be removed.
For months the children were taught
civic pride in the schools, and when it
was proposed to have them cooperate
with their elders in making ST. Louis
beautiful their enthusiasm knew no
bounds, and the junior league became
a great factor at once. Fifty thousand
blanks for membership were sent out.
They were returned by the thousands
Every school district in the city has it's
improvement organization. On every
block there lives a man, woman or
child who has the welfare Of the city
at heart and is pledged to make and
keep the home locality as fair TO look
upon as possible.
The work was done under the super
vision Of members of the big league,
persons over eighteen years of age,
many of whom were teachers in the
public schools.
In speaking of the work of the school
children recently the secretary of the
Civic Improvement league said:
eve are accomplishing a great
work. We have purified that Fourth
ulSlI1Cl, Leaf that III 1LSGlI IS worthy
of highest commentator.
From away down in Carondelet
comes a report that the Michigan ave-
nue. and Iron street territory is as clean
as a new pin. This is largely due to
the efforts Of Miss Kate O'Halloran,
who has charge of the junior leaguers
down there. She organized Pickup
clubs some time ago. The members
are pledged to pick up any rubbish
they may find on the sidewalk or
street In that way the district was
tplerably well gone over before the
general cleaning. These clubs have
been SO successful under her manage
ment that they are being organized
over the city and will prove the great
est amount Of help to the general au-
thorities.
'sNow we have block clubs, members
Of the league pledged to work on their
own blocks. These are found in every
section of the city, guarantee system
lied line Of effort and make confusion
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