The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1909-05-17
HORRIBLE STATE
OF ITS AFFAIRS
About Lexington Told by Mrs,
Caroline Bartlett Crane.
She Says the City workhouse Is the
Worst Place She Ever Saw
In Her Life.
MEN AND WOMEN ARE HEnpED

portrait 10 Sir Peter Lely, the dis
tinguished English portrait painter.
Doubtless Mrs. Caroline Bartlett
Crane. the noted woman apostle OF
civic and sanitation reform had this
incident IN mind when in her address
before a mass meeting at the opera
house, she touched up" Lexington
scars and all'' IN manner that
stirred her audience and "stung'
more than one public Official whom
she strongly Intimated were response
BILE for the rotten conditions she
found in some OF the institutions
which she had Investigated in her Of
fetal rounds.
She frangiy admitted that she was
ain love with Lexington" and said
mat as the Queen OF the Blue Grass.
u had many charms TO admire and
commend. but at the same time II
had its defects and shortcomings and
she proposed to point these out and
suggest remedies therefor. And she
did not mince words in describing
these evils. calling a spade a spade.
when the subject demanded H.
The unsatisfactory mode OF flush
ing the streets, the screenless oondi-
tion OF the market house, affording
a germ soil for files. the unsanitary
condition OF the slaughter houses.
the carelessness and Ignorance OF
some dairymen In handling milk. the
deplorable moral and sanitary sur
foundings OF the inmates in the
work house. county jail and county
inflrmary. and the fIlth. squalor and
misery or The tenement districts OF
the city all came In fer a vigorous
roast at the hands OF the speaker,
who showed that she had covered
a tremendous amount OF ground in a
few days.
Referring TO the miserable tene-
ment districts. sometimes called "the
slums." she said she had been in the
east side district OF New York and
the worst quarters In Chicago. but
the "slums" Of Lexington we're as
bad as these. II not worse. She had
her audience with her all the time,
and was enthusiastically applauded
when she would score particularly
strong point against existing evils.
Her criticisms we're well founded and
severely just IN many instances and
Il Is hoped that her exposure OF these
evils opened the eyes OF the officials
and citizens OF Lexington to the
realization that intelligent, agrees
Give action II needed TO stamp out
many OF the evils she enumerated
Mrs. Crane was introduced by
Mayor John skain and spoke for
nearly two hours. While the aud
lence was not as large as was ex-
pectcd. Il was a representative one
and the building was Comfortably
filled.
DIR. J. c. carrick, president OF the
board OF health. DIT. ~ r. Simons,
city health officer. Dr. George p.
sprague. president OF the civic
league. and others occupied seats on
the platform With Mayor skain dur
Ing the lecture.
Mrs. Crane who has spent the last
three days in Lexington studying It's
social and sanitary problems, told the
people OF certain condition in Lex
ington which many good people
never dared to believe existed.
The speaker compimented Lexlng-
ton as being one of the first cities Of
lis size In the country but at the
same time showed some defects
which made her hearers at times APP
plaud and at others, listen as II
dumbfounded.
She began BY correcting a state
ment in a local paper which quoted
her az saying that the further south
a person went the worse were the
sanitary conditions. she said that the
further south a person went the
more urgent we're the sanitary needs
because OF the climate.
One thing she said that needs at
tention Is the brick streets which are
being butchered by the street railway
company and by allowing private cor
poratlons to tear up the streets and
sidewalks and replacing them at Will.
The repsirs should be made by The
city and the corporations should be
charged for the work. In cleaning
the streets the dirt is allowed TO lie
in piles for a longer period than two
hours and necessarily becomes scat
tered The wagons should take II up
when swept from the streets, she
said. Moreover the city ordinance
called for uniformed street cleaners
none OF which are found here. These
uniforms develop pride among the
laborers. she thinks and invites In
spectlon. The city should furnish
the street cleaner a rubber suit so
that he may be able to sweep the
streets while II Is raining as that Il
the best time OF all 70 get the dirt
and filth off OF paved streets.
The pickup man" for paper Is a
good thing but cans for refuse should
be placed along the streets and chill
drep should be taught from youth not
TO throw paper upon the streets. The
cans should be put up In an attrac-
tive manner and the law strictly en-