The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-10-25
Women Appoint Committee to Con
fer With OFFICIALS of City In
Regard to Numbering
Thoroushfares.
|TowNE G. ACTION
Nothing Looks SO Much Like a Vii
iase al Town Without Markers
for Public Tnorouehfares.
He Says.

The Civic League held its regular
monthly meeting in the Y. w. C. A.
auditorium yesterday afternoon. Mrs.
Reid acted as secretary. Miss Nettie
Younker reported the expenses of
the first district convention held
here October / to have been $134.75.
OF this amount, the admissions to
the Grace Wilbur Trout lecture paid
$66.75, the balance was paid by a
membership tax. The following new
members were received into the
league: Mrs. A. >. Mcpherson, Mrs.
Harry Fleming, Mrs. H. Montgomery
and Mrs. r. v. Sprague.
On motion it was decided that the
Civic league join the Iowa Federation
OF Women's clubs. The federation
fee is ten cents per capita which Is
to be paid from the treasury Of the
league. The league voted to ask the
Redpath lecture bureau to make the
chautauqua dates Of Grace Wilbur
Trout the coming year, to be listed
in Iowa in so far as possible. The
corresponding secretary, Miss Caro-
line Baldwin, was instructed to write
to the Iowa manager to this effect.
This request is being made by indi-
vidual m and by clubs in Iowa In
the interest Of suffrage.
Following the suggestions In the
address Of Mr.. Towne which was
made later in the meeting, 1t was de.
cided that the chair should appoint
a committee to notify the city COM
m~issioners that the Civic league will
furnish a certain proportion Of the
markers necessary for the marking
OF the city streets. Mrs. Ayres APP
pointed Mrs. w. j.. Roberts, Mrs. j.
F.. Elder and Mrs. H. j. reeves as
the committee.
Would Mark Streets.
The speaker for the day was 0. B,
Towne, who last year at the begin
ming of the year suggested some prac.
teal activities for the club and yes.
terday spoke again On that line. He
said in part:
"Keokuk needs attention along
many lines, but I will make Just
three suggestions. First, If a strang.
er came to Keokuk to find his way
about the city, he would find the
streets nameless and he would with
difficulty, find his way. The one thing
which very certainly marks a country
village is the absence Of street mark
ers. It is an unfailing sign. We have
experimental with various kinds OF
street markers and / am convinced
that the best kind are Of sheet iron,
with the name, or number of the
street drilled into the iron. The IN
amel ones are handsomer, but they
are easily marred and broken. I set
an enamel sign up here in Keokuk to
see if the small boy would break 1t
with a rock, and he did. The iron
sign is indestructible and is the
cheapest in the long run We, at the
Industrial Association, made a city
survey on this question and find
that there are four hundred blocks
in the city which should be marked.
This need not all be lone at one
time. but if the Civic league would
make a start in the matter, I am
sure the city, and the individual citi-
zens would help in the work.
"Our investigation showed that
brackets for holding the sign a be
purchased for twenty-five cents each
and the average cost Of the plates
bearing the name of the street is
twenty cents each. You might begin
with a hundred signs placed on the
main streets and on some OF the
most travelled residence streets. |
have several times spoken in differ.
ent cities in the state Of the good
work done by the league in placing
the rubbish cans on the down town
streets.
when commercial and Industrial
secretaries have asked: How did you
get the women to do this?' I have
been proud tt tell them that the
women of the Civic league are next
TO the Industrial association, the
most active city organization in Keo-
kuk. That they boost and work in a
practical way.
Can Improve Looks.
"The second suggestion is that a
city survey might be made and the
rundown, d%ilapidated property which
is unsgihtly might be listed and thus
call the property owners attention to
something's he might change for the
welfare and slightly appearance Of the
city. Much of the neglected property
in Keokuk is owned by non-residents
and this has handicapped us some
what in his work. The third sugges-
fcor%ioued an naoe 1oN