Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1916-04-05
CITY BEAUTIFUL
MOVEMENT ON
Meeting of Citizens at City Hall Last
Thursday Evening, Called by
Mayor Baker, Enthusi-
astic Over Idea.
WILL BE
APPOINTED SOON
The Back Alleys, Yards, Streets, Etc.
Will Come i'm for a General
Cleaning Up. Time to Get
Ready Now.

A very enthusiastic meeting was
held at the city hall last THURSDAY
evening, called by Mayor Baker, for
the purpose OF starting a City Beau
tiful Campaign in Decorah. The
mayor gave some interesting facts
about how the city of Davenport
started the movement, and the eff
fects it had there. 1t is a fine idea
and if everybody in the city gets to-
gether on the idea, Decorah will be
a spotless town in few weeks. The
mayor will appoint committees to
look after different features of the
movement, and the idea is to give
prizes to. the families who succeed in
showing the best work in the cam
paign. Slides will be shown at the
moving picture theatres, showing the
effect of the work.
Another meeting will be called
and everybody who can possibly do
so should attend, and get good
idea of what is expected.
The bane of public officials is the
citizen who lacks even a semblance
of interest in the community or civic
welfare. And strange as 1t may seem
in a democracy, absence of this in
terest seems to be pretty generally
prevalent in the average American
community, fact that is acknowl-
edged by many leaders in public life
and civic advance. A citizen woulI
have "the city, whatever that name
may signify when the great body OF
citizens is eliminated, keep the
streets and alleys clean, preserve
the public and individual health,
eliminate all nuisances, make every
thing in town spick and span and
satisfactory-Twhile the citizen sits
back and looks On or carelessly does
his worst to counteract the efforts of
public servants to achieve the end ne
demands.
The "Clean Up and Paint Up
campaign, according to thousands of
city and town officials, is a most pc
tent combatant of slothfuI citizenry.
First, the campaign arouses the de-
sire in men, women and children for
homes and towns beautiful and sanl-
tary. Second, it impresses upon all
the fact that cleanliness, thrift and
civic pride are essentials by which
they will be able to satisfy that de.
sire. Third, the campaign gives all
something to do with their hands and
feet and heads for the civic good.
And fourth, its educational, influence
remains steadily the year round and
year after year, automatically elm
mating many nuisances caused form
erly by carelessness or thoughtless-
ness.
If you knew that you could start
la movement in yorktown that would
make Your Hometown Better
Hometown, would you start it? Ger
tainly' If you knew that the move
ment would beautify yourtcwn, make
for better sanitation, enhance prop
erty values, aid in fire prevention,
reduce fire insurance premiums.
cause flower beds and shrubbery to
replace rubbish, and educate the
children as we'll as "grown-ups"
along the lines of cleanliness, thrift
and civic pride-would you become
Enthusiastic. in your undertaking.
Certainly!
| Here is your opportunity.
Some man, or woman. in nearly 81.
900 towns and cities started the ball
rolling for a local "Clean Up AMI
Paint Up" campaign last year. Some
already were civic leaders, some de-
veloped that leadership through their
campaign activity, others merely
started things and let others play the
leading role. Thousands of these
|'starters" are now reporting that tho
campaigns regenerated their towns.
| Some town campaigns have prac-
tically refurbished an entire county
the spirit is contagious. Ohe of these
campaigns for homes and town beau
tiful is on in Dscorah now.
The man who can get out Of a
trunk after being put in there with
legs and arms tied. is qualified to
dress in a Pullman birth.
|
| Churches are members Of the vol
unteer fire department-they save