The Detroit times., 1911-05-24
TO MAKE DETROIT
SP0ILEss TOWN
+. d. Hovey Parades Alleys, Thanked
BY Policeman, and breaches
Clean Up" Doctrine.

who Is that busy little chap, any
way?" inquired an aproned individual
who stood In the back door OF q
Woodward-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 u
pleading, exhorting and In general
acting like aman who possessed or al
least. assumed, good deal or author
lily.
The man was Frank ID. Hovey, pri
vate citizen, VINO has appointed him
self a committee of one TO see that
Detroit is cleaned up and kept clean
Although he is only an ordinary Cit
zen and taxpayer, like the rest OF US
he IL 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 a Times man, who drop
ped around to watch developments.
II think II Is time we cleaned up, and
have started out, as citizen, to
see to that Job. am going to have
these alleys cleaned II IL costs me my
life. Why, out here in a 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 II that
it's collected this afternoon. VIII
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 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 inflammable 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 l can
see excelsior in one Of them from
where stand. Suppose some mis-
chievous youngster should throw q
match In there! 1t would start a fire
that would sweep the whole block.
Nothing In the world could stop It.
THE worst place we've struck yet
was back of the Majestic building
There was platform piled full OF
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 whistle this morning
And they've got to keep II that way
too. Just give me 10 days and III
have this town SO clean you won't
know II. 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 on
his way, with Sergt. Wilde and Pa
trolman Mark Baker following close
at his heels.