The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1905-07-28

anu Ills llalliSci!eL VI t"S N''hl'''N"'
ed system is excellent. Ite took 4 justi-
fable pride in eScorting me through
the establishment OIL Osborne street.
While there 800 boys from i neighbor-
ing training school came trooping in,
and it was a lively sight to watch
them disport in the great swimming
pool. The water is automatically kept
at the required temperature, and in all
Of its plumbing. fittings and conven-
fences the place compares ~favorably
with those in the athletic clubs Of our
larger cities.
"You can hardly realize what this
means to the people who live in this
vicinity" said Mr.. Derbyside, his fine
face tightening as he gaZed at the hap
py throng of youngsters. There are
thousands of poor persons in Manches-
ter who have not a utensil large enough
in which to hold water sufficient to
properly wash ones face. Large fam
lilies are packed into two small rooms,
benefit of such as these we have set
aside certain days when they can have
the use of the baths for the nominal
charge of a penny. Thousands Of them
are taking advantage Of this opportu-
nifty, and as a result the death rate is
decreasing. and so is the percentage OF
crime. 1t was the anne way with the
washhouses. When we first started
them the poor women did not know
what it was to have clean clothing. 1t
flowing from the extractor very dirty,
but the women imagined their clothes
We're clean enough. BY force Of exam
pie and constant explanation this has
been overcome. They now take a pride
in doing good work. For 5 cents in
your money Il woman Il do a large
washing and ironing and be finished in
less than four hours"
School children are taught to swim.
and classes are formed and drilled in
life saving. Prizes are awarded for
proficiency, and expert swimming has
become Il of the regular courses in a
common school education. Although
Manchester's bath system is now one
of the best in the world, the plans for
the immediate future contemplate al
most double the present capacity.
The cleansing department of Man
chester is probably the largest in the
world and deserves a more extended
description than that which follows.
1t is a distinct type of municipal en-
terprlse and is a successful attempt
to reduce to a minimum the expense
and discomforts of street cleaning and
the disposal of sewage. To this end
the city has become a manufacturer on
a large scale and is the landlord of a
farming estate of 3,739 acres, or nearly
six square miles of land. The cleaning
committee includes the lord mayor as a
member and is responsible for the
sweeping and watering Of streets, pas
sages and courts and for the collection
and disposal of night soil and other
refuse from dwellings, warehouses and
institutions. The committees employ
$500 men and APO horses, with large
numbers Of vans and carts, steam tugs.
a fleet Of boats, four locomotives and
twenty railroad cars. 1t builds its vans
and carts, keeps in repair the immense
machinery plant and rolling stock used
in the department. makes and sells har-
ness, brushes, receptacles for closets,
manufactures concentrated II
mortar, soap, oils, grease, d%isinfecting
powder, dyes and many other products
which otherwise would go to waste.
The manufacturing plant in the par
of Beswick is one of the most ex-
tenslye institutions in England, and a
visit to it will well repay the munich
pal student who desires to become in
formed on the best modern methods Of
solving II Of the great problems con-
fronting cities.
Several years ago there were two
great marshes situated in the suburbs
of Manchester. One belonged to Lord
Darlington and was called Darlington
Moss. 1t was undrained and unculti-
waited. The city purchased it for $780,
Near it was another tract of 1886
acres belonging to Sir Humphrey de
Traford. This was in a de%plorable con-
dltion. 1t was occupied by tenants who
managed to exc out an existence and
pay rent for their tumbledown novels
and DOGGY land. The city purchased it
for about 100000.
On both of these estates it proceeded
to drain the land, tear down the old
and erect new ones. For a
mile and a half the estate faces the
new ship canal and will some day be
with factories. In the meantime
city has built railroads which con-
vey fertilizers from the city and carry
back the farm produce raised by the
prosperous tenants who now paw rent
the city. The largest farm on the
estate contains 400 acres, for which the
tenant pays $40 an acre. Valuable veg
etable crops are raised, and where once
was a dreary and disease breeding
marsh there are now miles Of fertile
md productive land under a high state
of cultivation. 1t is the verdict of the
highest authorities that the Manchester
system Of utilizing refuse is the most
perfect in existence.
The expense of the cleansing DEPART
nent for the last fiscal year was s67O.-
w., and this was made possible by the
act that the receipts from the manu-
'acturing plant and the farm estates
the cost by the impressive