The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1909-04-21
A BIG AGGREGATE

There is time honored custom that
yITevails in practically every race and
Err every tribe and community of the
civilized world which dictates that
vwsen company visits your house. the
west table cover shall be spread and
ranat the members shall wear their
Es~Sst clothes, or at least that all shall
spruce" up enough to make them
selves presentable.
The basis for this custom is family
pride although no doubt courtesy and
txospitability enter into the situation
60 some extent. 1t is the same pride
and the same feeling which prompts
respectable people to rake their lawns
and keep the grass green insofar as
fSnances will allow; to level off the
ssYeenward between the front walk and
nsae street and SOW grass seed; to keep
aae walks clean in snowy weather and
yto maintain the household premises
<@pick and span in accordance with
good taste and cleanliness and thrift.
Nome, Alaska, has the reputation
ssf using more paint on the houses
ensch year than any other city of
Uncle Sans domain of similar size.
eFhe explanation lies in the fact that a
large portion of that citys popula-
zion is transient and that the visitors
arrive with the first boats in the spring
and remain through the summer
months. The citizens realize that it is
rIp to them to make a good showing
and accordingly. every householder
gets a bucket of paint and a brush and
treats his domicile to new coat. The
;e. tr tIa
good derived lies not only in the good
impression conveyed brit in the civic
pride that is inculcated.
AS far as observing the general
cleaning up program as laid down by
the health department this year. North
Yakima has done very well. But there
is still great deal of room for i'm
proven ent. For instance, q great
many homes might be improved in ap-
pearance by a coat of paint This 10
Il season when hundreds of visitors
are expected. A great deal of money
Ii being expended to get them here:
we have sent out invitations and will
welcome them cordially, why not wash
our faces and change our clothes and
make the reception appear genuine :?
ut would be well worth while, would
IL not?
Moreover we are just a little care
less about the appearance of things
generally. at least it might be said that
civic pride in North Yakima is not
so great as to be in immediate dan
ger of bursting our boilers. For in
stance. a very prominent physician
pas seen throwing waste paper on the
walk yesterday when he could have
thrown it into a waste paper recep-
tacle with just as much ease. Another
prominent gentleman was seen to
walk out of the postoffice and tear a
letter to bits and scatter it on the
street when it would have been fully
as easy to deposit the scraps in a re-
ceptacle handy-by placed thee to a.
receive such bits of waste. Many other
instances might be mentioned in which
similar OffenseS were committed by
people whoknow better but who seem
TO have never pondered the effect OF
such acts when considered from the
point of view of the sum total Why
would 1t not be a grand idea for each
one who places a value on pride to
constitute himself a committee of one
10 observe these little things that will
eventually result in a city of match
sess beauty? Here Is case whers
little things make big aggregate.