The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-05-23
TO MAKE DETROIT
SP0TLESS TOWN
F. D. Hovey Parades Alleys, Flanked
BY Policeman, and breaches
Cleanup" Doctrine.

who Is that busy little chap. any
way?" inquired an aproned individual
who stood In the back door of a
Wood ward-ave. establishment. north
OF John R-st., Tuesday morning, and
watched the busy little chap" flank
ed by a couple OF husky policemen,
as he fitted about from rubbish box
to rubbish box and garbage can TO
garbage can, pointing, gesticulating,
pleading. exhorting and In general
acting like aman who possessed or at
least, assumed, a good deal OF author
ity.
The man was Frank ID. Hovey, pri-
vate citizen, VINO has appointed him.
self committee OF one to see that
Detroit Is cleaned up and kept clean.
Although he is only an ordinary citi-
zen and taxpayer, Ike the rest OF us,
he Is possessed OF an unusual degree
of enthusiasm that Is as infectious as
smallpox, and the departments OF pub
lie works and police seem TO have
caught some of the germs, for they
are cooperating with him right
heartily.
For 200 years Detroit has been
the dirtiest city In the world" said
Mr.. Hovey to Times man, who drop
ped around to watch developments.
II think IL is time we cleaned up, and
have started out, as citizen, TO
see to that Job. / am going to have
these alleys cleaned IL II costs me my
life. Why, out here In little town
Here, my man, what's all this rub
bish doing here? You'll have to sweep
that up in pile and I'll see to 1t that
it's collected this afternoon. Will
You do that? Good boy. That's the
way. As | was saying, out here In a
little town on the Michigan Central,
where used to live, We used to clean
up every Friday and We had a town
that would put Detroit to shame for
cleanliness"
''I'll tell you what, they've got to
Say, what's this box doing here?
You can't keep an open box like that
in the alley. That's got TO go. The
teams will be around this afternoon
to take II away. can't stand for
anything like that in this or any other
alley"
Mr.. Hovey's eagle eye lit on a
series of burlap bags nailed to the
fence, filled with waste paper and
other infiammable material, and he
went right up In the air.
where's the man who put those
papers there? I'd just like to get
hold of him. He'll have to find some
other place. Why, when there's a
high wind those papers will blow all
over creation.
Look up there on top Of that roof.
See those boxes piled up, and / can
see excelsior in one OF them from
where I stand. Suppose some mis-
chievous youngster should throw O
match In thereiL II would start a fire
that would sweep the whole block.
Nothing in the world could stop 1t.
The worst place we've struck yet
was back of the Majestic building.
There was a platform piled full or
rubbish and filth of all sort, and the
filth on the ground underneath was
at least an inch thick. But It's all
as clean as a whistle this morning
And they've got to keep II that way,
too. Just give me 10 days and I'll
have this town so clean you won't
know IL. Then we're going to change
the slogan from 'Detroit-where life
is worth living, TO 'Detroit-the
cleaniest city in the world.
And still fitting, gesticulating,
pointing. exhorting and pleading, the
self-appointed city scavenger went OH
his way, with Sergt Wilde and Pa
trolman Mark Baker following close
at his heels.