The Dickinson press., 1915-05-01
C|v|CS CLASS OBSERVES
CONDITIONS IN CITY WARDS
Continued from page y
Third Ward

The ward 1 live in begins on Sims
street and extends east as far as Sec
ond Avenue East, it runs as far south
as the railroad and as far north as
the town goes. 1t is about the same
other wards are larger.
In comparison with some of the
other wards I think that it is better
kept in some ways and a great deal
worse in others. The streets of this
ward and the sidewalks are in good
condition but the alleys and crossings
in many places are not evenly graded
and it is very bad for automobiles.
They make a sharp cut at the edge of
the sidewalk. This is why the auto
mobiles break so many springs. The
water, in the spring, also helps to
make bad crossings, but it is mostly
the way in which they are construct
ed. They do not make a gradual
slope but a very sharp cut. The al
legs are pretty well kept up but in
ern part of the ward, the alleys are
practically blocked with large heaps
of ashes and large manure piles. In
other places the people have become
Industrious and have had their ashes
and piles hauled away. This
makes the alley have a heater ap-
pearance. An alley filled with ashes,
garbage and other unhealthful things
seems to reflect the kind of people
who live in the houses bordering on
the alley.
In many places the fences were in
excellent condition. No loose pickets
or rails lying about or the fence look
inging as if it were about to fall into
the street. But in other places there
are no fences and this looked a great
deal better than a fence that was not
in good condition; in still other plac-
es there were parts of fences with
boards scattered about and the fenc-
es looked as if they were in the last
stages of life.
The condition Of the buildings as a
whole was not up to standard, al
though in some places there were well
kept barns and sheds and the resi-
dences themselves looked to be in a
fine condition. In other places there
were old barns with the windows all
knocked out and looked as if they had
never received a coat of paint.
These conditions make it e a
wretched place in which to live. In
several places there were wagons
scattered about the yard, and in most
places in the alleys or in the street.
The vacant lots were not very good.
Only one out of about ten or twelve
looked fairly decent. Most of them
were crisscrossed with roads. High
weeds and grass were all over them,
In one place there had been an at
tempt to grade the block but instead
the dirt was in irregular mounds all
over, which were covered with tall
weeds, and in one corner a pile of
lumber was scattered about.
Most of the people seem to take a
great interest in keeping the front Of
the yards clean. For in most it,
stances the trees and grasses were in
fine condition. The lawns were well
kept. The trees were trimmed
nicely and many were of a fairly good
height.
On the whole there are many i'm
provements that could be made. The
people ought to have ash cans, which
when. they became full should be
4 emptied. The alleys should have q
neat appearance. The crossings
should be made better. Fences should
be kept in good condition, or else
should be removed. Plant more trees
and keep lawns in good condition al