Omaha daily bee., 1907-05-08
How WOMEN CLEAN STREETS
Ne Stupid Sweeping When They Take
Hand in Municipal Housekeeping.
wARlEe SYSTEM CHEAPEST AND BEST
Perfectly fEaniHed Campaign OF
Cleanliness at Kalamazoo That
Taught Men Citizens
Valuable Lesson.

A Chicago paper recently printed an in
dignant editorial on Stupid Street Sweep
ing" in which was described the preva-
lent custom Of sweeping the dirt Of the
dry, unsprinkled pavement into piles, which
are permitted TO stand uncollected until
half redistributed by passing wheels or
caught up by the wind and blown into the
faces Of passers-by or into the adjacent
stores and houses. The woman who would
sweep her house in any such fashion. said
the editorial, might justly be suspected Of
feeble-mindedness Why are not the most
ordinary rules Of common sense in this
matter more frequently put into practice
on our streets just as well as in our
honest
The street is an extension Of the home.
and II the street is unclean the dirt and
dust and the smoke-polluted air invade the
home and make the heaviest burdens Of
the housekeeper. while the germ-infested
atmosphere brings disease to the family
( So long as the street with its filth and
dust iuvades the home the mistress Of the
home may reasonably undertake TO civ
ilize the street.
The practical results Of woman's interest
in municipal housekeeping are many. Mrs
Eleanor Kinnicutt was the forerunner to
a certain extent Of Colonel Waring in New
York and is said TO have suggested some
OF the features Of his now world-famous
system. Mrs. Kinnicutt invented and
patented the bag carrier for hand
sweepings, which is such an essential
part Of the Waring system. Miss Emily
Parpart was co-inventor Of the Layman-
Parpart combination machine sprinkler and
sweeper. Women have been the prime
movers in that department Of civic i'm
movement which hae 40 xvgfb clas ,grr-
up and keeping clean.
Here is a brief account Of what was
done by the women's Civic Improvement
league In one town of 5000, Kalamazoo,
Mich. in order 10 show the people, first,
how nice Il would be to have clean streets,
and. second. that clean streets need not
be an expensive luxury:
We studied UP the matter Of street clean
/ ing, and then we asked for and received
permission from the city council to take
charge Of the cleaning of six blocks OF the
main business street OF the city for
period Of three months. Then we intro
duced the Waring system, the salient fea-
lures of which are;
/. Sweeping the pavements by hand with
piles. ''-' ''''O
? Immediately taking up each pile Of dirt
and deposting It, with the help of a small
hand-broom and shovel, into a bag sus-
pended upon a two-wheeled bag carrier,
which the sweeper pushes about with him.
iting them in convenient places in alleys
or along the street, 10 be removed by
4 The orderly or patrol" system by
which each man is given a definite portion
Of the street TO keep clean and is held
responsible for this portion.
8. A white uniform COR at least white coat
and hat or helmeD and waterproof outfit
for rainy days.
walls, once week in the absence Of dreuch-
ing rains.
On the appointed day, we began all
along the line at once The men with
their white uniforms began to seek the
pavement and after they had found IL, the
fire department CALAMITY came out at
O'Clock in the morning with some second
hand hose and flushed the streets under
the direction of the chairman OF the
women's committee. Different ways Of
flushing were tried on successive morn
ings until the right way was found;
Flushing without nozzle from the middle
OF the street each way, and either bagging
the storm sewer entrances or stationing
men with hoes to keep the coarser dirt
from entering or the streets were kept
respectfully clean all the time, not enough
dirt would enter the sewers 10 do any
harm) Flushing is perfectly practical and,
in any city blessed with an abundant water
supply. water is the cheapest agent OF
cleanliness II taken al night, in time for
the wells to I'LL again before the days de-
mands, the water usually can be perfe ny
well spared. Ordinary street sweepers can
carry a hydrant key and do the work.
being instructed to instantly close the
hydrant in case Of an alarm Of fire.
The experiment was an entire success:
the street was clean. people liked it. wish
tors commented on It, merchants said the