Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-17
CLEAN UP THE WORD
Alley Crusade to Be Pushed in
Earnest.
ARREST FOR OFFENDERS
Commissioner West Lays Down the
Law to Householders.
MAKES PERSONAL INSPECTION
Police and Health Departments CO.
Operating in Vigorous Move to
Enforce Municipal Spring
Renovation.
Clean the alleys"

"Clean the alleys
The crusade with this slogan. inaugu-
rated yesterday by Commissioner Henry
L. West is going on undated today, and
many new plans have been developed to
give the city a spring overhauling.
Commissioner West today received re-
ports on the work accomplished yester-
day. expressed his qualification at the
success of the first day and made per-
sonal visits TO several sections of the
city to determine upon the new lines of
work to be undertaken.
The police department and the health
office have been enlisted in the crusade
and before night both are expected to
give much aid 10 the movement From
the health office Commissioner West
stated, he will receive list of vacant
lots, under both public and private owner
ship, which have been reported to the
health office as being unsightly and a
mar TO the beauty of the city.
This list will be forwarded TO the street
cleaning department, with instructions
that the eyesores are TO be cleaned. If
there is money and the law to allow it,
Offenders Subject to Arrest.
The crusade is also expected to involve
a few arrests by the members Of the po-
lice department. Commissioner West
stated this morning that he has found
that many householders use alleys or
private property adjoining alleys as
dumps, causing the accumula ton of all
kinds of debris. Commissioner West eX-
planned that the police regulations provide
for the arrest of persons guilty of making
dumps out of private or public property
not designated officially by the Commits
.sioners as dumps, and he will give in
structionS to the police to arrest persons
nffanCa fau Is
have been made, he thinks. the Offenders
will have been SO warned that the practice
will be stopped.
While the Commissioner was on an in
spection trip yesterday through an alley
in the northeast section of the city he
saw boy start to dump ashes in an al
ley or on a vacant lot nearby, the line not
being marked. The Commissioner saw to
receptacle in the yard of the boys fam
lily.
Commissioner est paid a visit to sons
alleys in the northwest section of the city
this morning. He found one in particu-
lar which was unSightly, and il is a
paved alley he will call the alley cleaning
contractors and the street cleaning de-
partment inspectors TO account for the
condition.
Wants All Alleys Paved.
Believing that the paving of alleys will
add greatly to the efforts to keep them
clean and sanitary. Commissioner West
will direct the crusade along the line of
increasing the number of paved alleys in
the District This question was dis
cussed by Commissioner West and c. b.
Hunt engineer of highways this morn
ing with the result that work in that d.
rection will be more vigorously pushed in
the future. Mr.. Hunt stated that the
Improvement of sidewalks and the lay
ing of sewers have been given special
attention in the past and that he had
recently directed III. \. Moss. supern
tendent of streets. to report on alley con-
ditions in general and especially those
Which need improvement.
With the cooperation of the engineer
departrnent Commissioner West expects
that considerable improvement will soon
result Mr.. West received this morning
quite a number of letters showing the in
terest of the public in the movement
toward better alley conditions. and the
statement was made that in several alleys
where there are dwelling houses these
houses are surrounded by ground which is
not even paved.
..Such conditions as these said Com
missioner West, fought certainly to be
removed. There is both law and money
available for this work, and a little en-
ergy and determination will accomplish
good results.