The sun., 1907-03-31
CLEANLINESS OF HOLLAND.
Tits rs HOW THEY SCRUB TEE
STREETS OF UTRECHT.
sights 90 Surprise me New YOrker-The
window Cleaner and tho Sidewalk
b. Bcrubber-Ldttle Water for Drinking,
ThOuEh-A queer Bathtub Adventure.

sights 90 Surprise me New Yorker-The
window Cleaner and tho Sidewalk
,e Bcrubbcr-Ldttle water for Drinking,
ThOuEh-A queer B&thtub Adventure.
UTRECHT, March 1O.-As sit in my second
noor room overlooking the Vryburg, the
great central square of the city, am oon-
fronted by a face at the window. 1t is a
mans face and It peers at me in the most
frankly interested way.
am alone, for my husband Is hustling
somewhere in Germany, but do not scream,
do not feel the slightest alarm or resent
ment, for have learned in three months
residence in Holland that such face is not
likely TO be that Of burglar or a ruffian
or a lunatic, but OF window washer whose
occupation never ceases. Not that he is
engaged at the top of a step ladder cleaning
windows every minute OF the day, but when
the already impeccable panes have been
soused and rubbed and polished there is
something else for him to scrub, be it floors,
door handles, the front Of the house, the
sidewalk or the stones of thestreet.
Scrubbng is incessant in Holland. When
this man falls down from sheer fatigue
another will take his place and scrub spots
whereon dust has had no time to gather
since the last scrubbing.
Il is a mania for dustlessness that Possesses
this country, which is 30 damp in winter that
dust cannot form, and a result is the dolly
realization of legendary Spotless Town.
This is no fanciful flight OF an irresponsible
pen. Il fills a New Workers. heart with envy
end despair TO see the way these people take
care Of their streets.
At 90 clock every night twenty-four men
assemble in front Of the hotel which is near
the corner Of the Vryburg, each in pre-
nNsterous wooden shoes and armed with
huge besom Of tough twigs with q long
handle. They stand in line at the curb and
talk and laugh uproariously like lot Of
grownup children just out Of school.
Meantime an immense barrel on wheels
drawn by horse rolls along the very middle
~ the street, pouring out generous food
~ water. Immediately behind it come two
revolving brushes, also horse drawn, that
convert the dirt into fine mud Q nd push il in
general way toward the cutters.
Then comes the second water wagon, no
mere overgrown barrel, but an immense
tank, from which water spurts in compelling
foods toward each Curb-and such foodsl
~ Sioneer barrel made an American street
s2rinkler seem like toy, and the second
water wagon equally outdoes the first in the
torrential volume OF its deluge.
All this is but preliminary, for when the
second water wagon has passed the twenty
four men get busy and the real work OF
cleaning the street begins. They form in
n '. the apex just behind the water wagon,
The arms extending TO the cuTbe, and they
operate their besoms with appalling viRor.
scraping up every minute particle of dirt
that escaped the revolving brushes and
sweeping IL into the cutters.
With every stroke at least one In the
brigade gets drenching from his neigh
hor's besom, but they are indifferent TO
AAs--its an IN the nights work, appar-