The morning journal-courier., 1908-03-28
A GREAT CIVIC WORK.

ports at the annual meeting Thursday night. Indeed, with the telling of what has been accomplished, and the fore telling of what the societies will ac- in the future well in mind | one cannot do aught but invoke bless 1 ings on the head of him who first con ceived the idea of this organization Of organizations. which, in a few months growth, has shown itself a great force in New Haven and the very essence of civic patriotism.
 Necessarily the greatest amount of interest will center about the report of the civic committee, which was made by Prof. Bailey, of Yale This is the committee which does things. although it must be said that there are other committees equally as important for the successful fulfllment of the mis- sion of the societies, even if less spec taeular Prof. Railey's report was a thorough one. Furthermore it was a conclusive one. Facts were not told of, they were brought to the audience by means of excellent lantern slides. It was a case of when the mountain would not come to Mahomet Mahomet went to the mountain. But while making semi-religious references, is it not so that we are given to being like the Pharisee of old in matters civic, namely, giving thanks that our New Haven has no such slums, no such tenements as have New York and oth- CT large cities? If city like New Ha- ven. which has every direction of the compass but one to broaden out in. has it's tenement-house districts, 1t is to be douhly regretted in that there Is no reason for it whatever. The Journal Courier foretoid that there would be some food for thought for the city off cials in the talk of Prof. Bailey. There was, plenty of 1t. and enough to take some time to properly digest.
 Tn the opinion If the civic committee the most important work which can be done by it for some time is to endeavor to improve the living condition of the tenemert-dwalers of the city. Accord ingly it's annual report was made upon that subject. The report should be read In full It tells a story of crowded
 unsanitary, ill-drained, ill-ventilated tenements. One street told of has ono garbage can to I'll persons and toilet accommodations that are entirely in adequate and unhealthy It told a story of poorly constructed fire escapes. so Uttered ID with an accumulation of things that it would take some time to make them available in case of fire; of wooden tenements. five stories high, regular fire-traps, without any fire es- capes; of loathsome back yards, at 1 least two of which were in back of bakeries with the danger of infection from the piles of garbage and filth draining toward them very certain.
 The professor had his recommenda- tions. In no uncertain language he called upon the city officials to do away with all tenement house privies. al least in those streets where sewers have been laid. He urged that the garbage be ordered kept in cans and that it be collected regularly and of- 1 ten; that the yards be ordered cleaned up and kept so; that the tumble-down l shacks be torn down, burned, or done away with in the best available way: that the keeping of goats within the i city limits be forbidden, except, per l haps, where a license is obtained, as is 'now the case with chickens; and that there be regular inspections of. and regulations for, the keeping of lodging l houses. It will be readily seen that the departments of not few of the city officials have been approached and that these gentlemen may easily find much food for thought in these sug- 1 gestions.
 Rev. Artemas J. Haynes report for the program committee was significant in one respect, namely in that he re- commended tie minimum number of
 mass meetings held under the auspices of the Associated Civic societies. He showed, and rightly so, how the civic
 effectiveness of the mass meeting is seriously lessened by it's misuse or 1 overuse. It Is the old story that ! Familiarity breeds contempt" MT Haynes said the attendance at the
 Woolsey hall meetings had been small, much less than had been hoped for
 He urged that these large meetings be
 saved for discussions of extremely vi-
 tai subjects As for the work of the
 coming year with the societies, the re-
 port of the president, Prof. Kent
 coupled with the suggestions made by
 Prof. Bailey, may give some idea Prof
 Kent spoke of the societies activity to.
 ward more general use of the public
 school buildings for clubs and public
 lectures. He said:
 The securing of suitable conta.
 gious hospital. and of an incineratine
 plant for the disposal of garbage and