Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-20
Dust, Dust. Everywhere.
To the Editor OF The Star:

To the Editor OF The Star:
] agree fully with the editorial In The
Star of the 9th as to the importance Of
clean streets. and more especially in
having them free from dust with which
disease germs are distributed and in
hailed.
AS The Star truly says, this means the
thorough Sprinklng of the streets, a
practice that seems to be unknown in
this city at present: or. il known. 1t GER
tainly is not practiced. AS result the
atmosphere is filled with dust and germs.
and whenever there Is any wind 1T not
only fills the streets. but penetrates our
dwellings, offices. ETC.. until everything is
covered with dust. There is no escape
from it anywhere in the city. and lately
the strong wind drives IL in gusts so
dense that persons on the streets have to
whatever they happen to be carrying.
in order to protect themselves from 1t as
far as possible.
The unusually dry season has undoubt-
eddy intensified the evil and the smooth
ness OF the asphalt pavements permits
the dust to he more easily driven along
and carried farther.
] do not know how il may be in other
parts of the city. but in my section, near
the Capitol. it is infinitely worse with
the hand sweepers than it was with the
old-fashioned sweeping machines and
sprinklers: for then the street was thor
oughly sprInkled and the dust wet and
laid at least once day, whereas nov
that is never done except when done by
the rain.
These hand sweepers fill an ordinary
hand sprinkler and walk along the street
giving II an occasional swing nrst one
side and then the other, and thus make
one, or at most two sprinklers full, suf-
fice for a whole square. The result is
that not more than one-tenth of the sur
face is wet. This is usually done early
In the forenoon, and in an hour or two
the street is dry even where 1t was Wet,
and the result is that the rest OF the
twenty-four hours the dust IL left free
to be waited into peoples faces, into the
cars. our houses and wherever the wind
carries it.
When / called the attention of one of
the sweepers a day or two ago to the
fact that he had not wet over a tenth of
the surface. he replied that he did not
want to wet it, because If he did their
hand machines would not take up the
dirt, but merely smear 1t over and leave
II there. Whereas If he did not wet ii
the sweeper would take up some OF it.
With a river at our doors the streets
should be thoroughly sprinkled so as to
keep down the dust.
The car companies should be compelled
to run a sprinkling car over their tracks
within the city at least twice a day, in
the morning before the mass of people
are on the streets and again at midday.
as Is done In SOME otiiei titieS, anu
call the attention of those I'm authority
to the matter.
The cars themselves are filled with
dust, covering the window stills and seats
so one can write his name in it. and of
course IL is taken up by the clothes OF
the passengers. They should be busted
out at the end of every trip. II the en-
ployes could not would not do it, il
would cost but trifie to employ char
woman or boy to do it. or. better still.
the companies should install blowing
machine at Their terminals, by which the
dust could be blown out OF the entire
car in five minutes or less. There is no
sense or reason in permitting them TO be
SO filthy.
There is not at tie present time more
important subject before the public than
that of keeping down and getting rid of
the serm-laden dCst, nor is there city
In the country that suffers more from
this modern plague than Washington.
w. G. DODGE.