The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1911-11-18

were dirty; she photographed num-
ber of the worst yards: then she |
organized Civic Improvement league |
and had a lantern exhibition of the |
back yards AS the pictures, ape
peared. the people squirmed in their |
seats; every owner of yard shown |
resolved instantly that no one should |
ever recognize that yard as his, and |
as n result Kalamazoo had such a |
cleaning, that in .wenty-four hours, |
the lantern slides were hopelessly |
out OF date. Other cities began to
ask, "can you come and help usY'
SO she visited the cities in many
states, pointing out changes that
should be made.
In Kentucky, several of the cities
heard of her arrival, and hurriedly
tried to clean up. But she detected
their efforts. 1--WE gave Mrs. Crane
the glad hand" said Henderson.
Ky, paper. land she said our hand
was dirty" But the best people of
Kentucky were in earnest, and after
her visit organized civic leagues to
inaugurate the reforms she suggest
ed
Rochester an Awakened City.
Mrs. Joseph Bowen of Chicago and
Mrs. Frederic Schoff of Philadelphia
have led each of these cities in the
reform work for the children. In the
city of Rochester the new civic spirit
has progressed faster and farther
than in any other / can name. There
the men and women work together
Rochester leads the country In It's
preventive municipal work. Typhoid
Is unknown; its fight for pure milk
is known the world over. Its school
room clinics are the talk of the med
ical world: the mothers are instructed
in the care of themselves and chill
dren: If children are anemic or tu-
bercular. the work of lighting the
white plague begins In one of the
central school buildings a physician,
u nurse and n dentist are in regu-
lar attendance. If these workers ma
anything wrong with the child, the
parents are notified. When the par
ents are poor, treatment Is free. III
|tubercular child, its home environment
is investigated and rcmedied, IL pos
sible. If the disease has made little
progress, the child is placed in an
open-air school.
The city Fairgrounds and schools
of physical culture are famous wher-
I ever these subjects have been as
cussed. There is factory school Tor
boys. and a domestic science school
for girls. starting with the seventh
grade. To help the boys decide what
trade they would like to follow, tney
are taken In groups on tours OF IN
spection of the factories and shops on
every Saturday. The girls who must
| work in factory or store, not only
| learns something of the trade at which
she will work. but is given 40 lessons
| in cooking, sewing and domestic arts
| The school buildings are used as
social centers, and are open as clup
rooms in the evening to any mem
Der of a family over IA, who Is en-
Moved during the day. Athletics de-
hates. music. and even minstrel per-
formances play an active part. Each
social center has a civic club to dis
ouss the common needs ,of the city
When n civic crisis arises, the Roch-
ester woman is eager to help. In the
civic life of Rochester. there is n hint
for every woman OF something she
can do in her own town.
What Has Been Eject on Women?
But what bearing has all this work
for civic reform had on woman her-
self? on her home life? her attitude
her ideals?
| Directly or indirectly, all that al
fects the general welfare, affects the
Individual home. The campaign fol
pure food and milk, clean markets
and streets. the determination of di-
sease- breeding mosquitoes and fies
the war upon tuberculosis, the elm
nation of the sweat-shop, with It's
danger of contagion-all these bea'
directly upon the home and the wo'
man who is helping in these move
ments Is home-making in a very rea
sense.
AS a speaker at the recent State
Federation meeting aptly defined II
Z "Civics is only good public house
: keeping"
: All progress in civic welfare con
{ duces to this end; for everything tina
renders community safer and
better place in which to live, has IL
influence upon the individual hom'
and it's inmates.
! The Juvenile courts and child-labo
} laws, which help in the making o
better boys and girls In the tenemeh
. districts, also help in the making o
better children in the residence dis
( tricts; for moral disease Is as con
= tagious as physical, and inhnitel
Q more difficult to restrict within flxe
I bounds There is nothing more tru
y of our modern civilization, than tina
Q mo man liveth for himself" Live
/ are interviewer at every point an
r the individual is to work for the com
a mon welfare.
: What About Marion?
But what work are we doing !
Q Marion? Or perhaps you think ther
I Is nothing we can do along the line
d Of pure foods, clean streets, etc.
: Women's clubs ana societies haV
until recently, discussed almost ever
: topic under the sun except the grea
e vital one OF pure food. The unawal
Q ened housewife thinks OF adulterate
d food Cor medicated garbage. as ID
q Reed styles it, as something Vagu
d and far off. which DR.. Wiley and SON
l. of the legislators in Washington al
n hghting, and which has nothing
a do with her table. and her pantry, an
II the corner grocery where she trade