The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1913-01-04
,nd me-


1that 4keE dirty tois and safer. N
But the town must bereally cleari. \
i It isn't enough 70 have the streets
swept regularly II the sweeping is.
Iidone in shch a way that the street
|dirt is merely sprinkled over the
whole surrounding neighborhood in
stead Of being taken away and de-
stroyed. 1t would be better to leave
IT in the street. where people who wish
to can avoid it. than to force it into
The houses and the noses OF every
body. Y
i 1t isn't enough even to clean the
streets properly. What about the va
cant lots in your towp!5 Are they
grown up with weeds that hide the
filth and dtsease,bearlng yermin. or
are they kept neat and tidy and a
pleasure to look at?
1t isn't any Of. your business, you
say, what the owner of a vacant lot
does with his property
That's where you're %rong-it's
your business and the business OF
everybody else in your town. Its the
communitys business to keep Itself
clean and to insist that no individual
shall infringe on the rights OF the
community by keeping his part Of the
town dirty.
It's the communIty's business, be-
cause
Every tin can thrown on an ash
heap,
Every pile of dirt hidden from pup
lie yiew--behind a billboard,
Every alley and back yard full Of
rubbish and refuse,
Every chimney giving off unneces-
sary smoke,
Every filthy cellar and dirty stable,
Every place where dirt accumulates
and disease germs breed
Every one Of these is menace TO
the whole community.
Dirt is an ofrense TO the eyes-and
often TO the nose as well--but It is
worse than that. 1t is an offense'
against the laws OF good health and
fought to be punished more severely
than offenses against the laws OF
property are punished.
The men and women OF the com,
Emunity are certainly more important
than the houses and shops OF the COM
muuity. Yet in how mary commun'
tiles is the boy who breaks window
or the flre.bug who burns stable
punished while the offender who har-
bcrs disease breedng filth on his
premises is allowed TO so unscathed.
Clean people take pride in living
in a clean town. Only dirty people
will consent to live in a dirty town
If they can get away-and never
heard of anyone being proud Of a dirty
city.
Once all cities we're dirty. That
was when the city was merely ref
uge for those whose lives were i'll
danger outside OF It's walls. That was
when the proverb was born: God
made the country but man made the
town" IN those days the country
was mare healthy place to live in
than the town.
Today the town can be, and many
towns are more wholesome, healthy
aud desirable for human habitation
than the general run Of farms
This town can b one OF that honor
able and growing class OF clean
towns. You cant clean it up. single;
handed, but your organized citizens
can do it. almost in a minute. once
they see the supreme importance OF
clean town and its advantages III
every way over . dirty one.
They'd do it TOO, II there was some
! one to give the idea the right sort
OF a push. Your Chamber Of Com
merce tina, is working for the good OF
this town, can make it the cIeanest
place of its size in the world. They
can't do it, though, unless all the good
citizens, like yourself, do their share