The San Francisco call., 1908-03-22
SPREAD FEAST IN
SANITARY STREET
Produce Men Hold Banquet in
What Once Was City's
Dirtiest District
Merchants Show What Can Be
Done Toward Cleanliness
in Five Weeks

A banquet held in the street is the
best description for the feast of fruit
spread amid flowers and green wreaths
by the merchants and produce dealers
of the wholesale district bounded by
Clay, Front, Pacific and East streets
for 900 people yesterday afternoon.
Five weeks ago that district was
known as the dirtiest in the city. Then
came the order from the federal COM
mittee to clean up. The merchants
determined to make a good job of it..
Not only that, they determined to prove
that If they could clean up their dis
trict, every district In the city was ca
pable OF being cleaned.
So they went at 1t. Yesterdays ban
quet was eaten off tables on a street
so clean that, as the mayor said In
his speech, "he had never seen anything
cleaner, not even in Holland, where
they scrub the streets with soap and
water The tables were decorated
with fruit center pieces with small
baskets of fruit at every place. Can
opies of white cloth were overhead and
a brass band added the charm of mar
tial music.
c. A. Everett introduced the speak
ers. Mayor Taylor rose amid great
\AicCt anu
1t thrills me to be here today. 1t
thrills me because ! see in these clean
streets an indication that this city s
having an awakening. When / think
of the day that San Francisco can
stand before the world not only with
all the filth taken from her streets but
from the civic government as we'll 1
thrill still more"
Dr. Blue was loudly cheered when he
mounted a chair and said that he ap-
preciated to the full the work done by
the merchants in cleaning up one Of
the worst places in the city, and that
he wanted to thank all present for the
efficient aid given him in his santa
tion work DIR. Rucker. in his turn, de-
clared that while the men We're all
right, no one had said anything about
the women. and that he proposed to
state that they were the backbone OF
the whole thing.
"You know" he said, that If a
woman tells a man TO do thing he
might as well do it gracefully. He's
got to do it anyhow.
He was handed a dozen lemons by
his comrades as he stepped down from
the chair. -
Gustave Brenner, director of the mer-
chants association. hotly denounced the
whisper that graft was at the bot
tom of the work of sanitation.
shame on the man." he said, that
would make such an accusation in a
matter like this. / have no patience
with any one who could charge the
20 representative citizens of the citi-
zens' committee with graft AS for
DR.. Blue, look at his manly face and
honest blue eye, and tell me If you
can think such a thing
Roars of applause greeted Police
Captain Michael Joseph Conboy as he
mounted the speakers chair in some
embarrassment
II tried to scare the rats down hero"
he finally shouted but I'm here to do
some rough and tumble lighting; not
to talk"
Mrs. A. w. Scott. the only woman
cheers and tiger for the mayor. DR..
Blue and the citizens committee, which
were given with will. the women of
the California and Forum clubs joining
in heartily.
The committee which had the street
cleaning in charge comprised r. K.
Malcolm, E. Davis and G. S. Wetmore.
chairman. who said that the good work
would go on in his district for four
months longer. The mayor said that
DIR. Blue ought to be seen waving dead
rat, and DIR. Blue responded that since
his staff and inspectors had killed more
than 100000 he was satisfied with that
The band played Home. Sweet
Home" and thn hundreds of curious
people lining the sidewalks dispersed.