The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-08-30
Or. GuiIford Sumner Of Iowa State
Board Of Health, Tells In BulIe-
tin, How the Work
Began.
SHOULD BE EVERY DAY
Work Should be Carried on All the
Time and At All
Seasons Of
the Year.

That Cleanup Day" should be
every day of the year, and that keep
ing clean should in time supersede
the spasmodical cleaning, seems to
be the intent and purpose of the Sec
rotary of the Iowa state board of
health. who has the following in the
last issue of the bulletin:
A short time ago / was walking
along the stree. in the city of Des
Moines, and stopped in front of
business house that was engaged in
decorating and beautifying homes.
stepped inside and said to the pro-
prietor, why do you not secure 2
beautiful little building for the con
Ter of that show window, place a
pie &c of looking glass in front OF it
to represent water and some green
excelsior over the floor of the win
dow, and in every way make a dis
play of beautiful home and attrac-
tive door yard? After you have done
this you might say that this home
was painted and decorated and this
yard made beautiful by your firm"
suggested also to him that he have
painted on little card and placed
in the window the following:
Little beds of flowers,
LItLlo CduS OIL paint
Make homes attractive
Out of them that amt"
was very much surprised in few
days when l passed this place of bust
ness again to notice that the firm had
followed my suggestions, even to hay-
ing the little poem beautifully painted
on cardboard, with this addition at
the bottom of the poem: Words and
NV Dy nm
tary, Iowa State Board Of Health"
This gave me an idea and 1 ac-
cordingly issued the following procla-
nation:
"The Iowa state board of health
designates that, beginning with Mon
day, May A, 1914, every city, town
and hamlet in the state begin to
clean up the alleys, back yards and
front yards, to make sanitary and at
tractive the store fronts and resi-
dence fronts with a fresh coat OF
paint, to start sodding and planting
and parking. and to make general
cleaning in order to prevent diseases.
We know and believe that the people
of Iowa will join us, and this can be
made an annual event of immense
value in arousing civic consciousness
in practical sanitation and conserra-
ton, in actual business activity in
the community, and in labor and ad-
vertising and sales incident to focus
ing the public interest on these i'm
portant and seasonable matters.
MANY people spend hundreds OF
dollars on the furnishings of their
homes and only an occasional caller
comes to admire them. A much
smaller amount spent in a good coat
of fresh paint to the exterior, gen.
eral cleaning up Of the premises and
a few flowers would give pleasure to
thousands of passers-by and their
friends as well.
will your paper assist us in this
campaign by helping in the publicity
and in urging your advertisers 20
feature the idea and the various goods
appropriate to it?
every school boy and school girl
should come to the aid of their par
ents in cleaning out the back yard
and the alley, that they may lock
beautiful, clean and sanitary, as we'll
as the front yard and the street.
'Tt is earnestly hoped that this proc
,amation will be needed and that
general painting and cleanup VIII
follow"
You will find this proclamation
covers the entire field, and while 1t
specifies particular day, yet there
is an intimation, and In fact there IS
an invitation, to make the cleanup
process continuous throughout the
year.
GUILFORD n. SUMNER, M. d.,
Secy-Exec. Office, State Dept. OF
Health, Des Moines, Iowa.