Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1907-08-22
CLEANING Of STREETS
What tie Women of Kalamazoo,
Mich, Have Accomplished.
CUT COST NEARLY IN HALF.

Wemsn's Civic improvement League
Took Up Problem and Proved It
Could Be Sclved-tiow Streets Were
Fiushsd-cans Provided For Rubbish.
Writing gu Charities and Com
MONS" Caroline Bartlett Crane gives
an account of what has been done by
the W0men's Civic Improvement
league in Kalamazoo Mich, city of
$1,000 population. to prove that 1t does
not cost too much to have clean streets,
says the Philadelphia Public Ledger
"We studied the matter of street
cleaning as well as we could, and then
we asked for and received permission
from the city council to take charge of
six blocks Of the main business street
for three months. Then we introduced
the Waring system, the salient fea-
lures of which are:
"First-sweeping the pavements by
hand with push brooms and collecting the
dirt into piles.
Second. d.-Immediately taking up each
pile Of dirt and depositing It, with the
into bag suspended upon two wheeled
bag carrier. which the sweeper pushes
about with him
''Third.-Tying the bags when filled and
depositing them in convenient places In
alleys or along the street. to be removed
by wagon
Fourth. - The orderly or patrol
system. by which each man Is given
definite portion of the street to keep clean
and Is held Responsible for this portion.
"Ftfth.--A white uniform (of at least
white coat and hat or helmep ard wa
terproof outfit for rainy days.
Sixth. Flushing the streets at stated
intervals-once week-in the absence of
drenching rains
We secured carts, brooms, uniforms
for the men, and we made three neat
galvanized iron street cans, aluminium
painted and inscribed, For Waste Pa
per, Fruit Skins, etc We also succeed
ed In getting the council to pass an
antispitting ordinance. We took pho
tographs of all the filthy downtown
alleys and of the hldeous refuse dumps
which disfgured our naturally beautf-
full river banks
On the appointed day we began all
along the line at once. The nien be-
gan TO seek the pavement, and AFTER
they found ii the fire department came
out at 3 o'clock iu the morning with
some secondhand hose and flushed the
streets under the direction of the chair
man of the women's committee. DIFF
fereut ways of flushing We're tried on
successive mornings until the right
way was found flushing without nOZ.
nI<, ho nf la =
way and either bagging the storm
sewer entrances or statlonlng men
with hoes to keep the coarser dirt from
entering. OF course the best way to
flush is with patent street flushing
machine which works with compress
ed air and which can be charged with
air as we'll us water at any street
hydrant.
"Our very attractive cans We're
placed ut intervals on poles along the
streets, and boys from our Junior
league distributed thousands of little
dodgers like this:
PLEASE!
"The Nonacns rhic Improvement
league has undertaken to keep Mair
street clean. We ask ioI' to help us
Please do not throw anythinst-paper
fruit skins. peanut shells or other! litter
In the street. Put II In the waste papet
can ut the corner. And. gentlemen, pleas
do not spit on the sidewalks or in tln
gratings or anywhere but In the gutter
Now, please don't throw this III the
street!
"Our alley pictures were sent ato the
tenants or the owners. sometimes t
the health officer, with the result that
the alleys We're cleaned up like Kiagic
since.
'The experiment was an entire sue
cess. The street was clean. people
liked 1t, visitors commented on il, mer-
chants said the hSA of dust in their
stores was most noticeable. and we did
1t with no lore cost to the city than
the old dirty way-namely, $5 day.
"Then the street commissioner un-
dertook to keep the street as clean as
we did but without the Waring sys-
ten. It cost htsn $3.50 day.
The league made to the city's com
mitIee on streets and bridges an eX-
haustiye report showing the need of
really clean streets throughout the
paved district aud demonstrating the
superiority Of the Waring system and
| it's relative cheapness. We succeeded
In getting the Waring system inaugu-
| rated on three miles Of pavement"
Bonds Burned.
Webster grange of Monroe county
celebrated it's twenty-seventh an
niversary3 in May The chief feature
Of the programme was the burning OF
1ab bonds ranging from $40 to $3.50, a
total af about $1,000, These bonds
were given for the erection of their
fine grange building aud purchasing
equipments.
Expend your grange funds as eco