Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-28

The season of spring is here. when
nature calls upon her creatures to
spruce up and don their Easter cloth
ing. 1t is altogether fitting. therefore,
that man should do his best to keep
apace with nature by giving the mani
mate objects under his care the same
attention that tho great mother be-
should paint our houses and fences.
scrub dirty masonry. polish tarnished
metal work and clear our yards ana
empty lots of refuse, so that the glori-
Gus raiment of natures trees and birds
and flowers may not be scandalized by
unsightly works of man.
Nor is it only for sentimental reasons
that we should bestir ourselves to this
activity. Even he who has no esthetic
sense whatever will find an infinite
money into cleaning and painting up.
The most Indifferent person knows that
dirt and rubbish promote disease. ana
that cleanliness Is the first principle
are acquainted with the antiseptic
properties of paint. Yet 1t is true that
many a mischief-potent microbe per-
ishes where the paint or whitewash
brush is freely used. But 1t is In the
cleaning up Of backwards and rubbish
piles that the greatest hygienic work
Is done, for there the very incubators
of disease are shattered and the larvae
of that deadly and pernicious pest, the
house fly. will be destroyed by thou
that an efficient clean-up--paint-u up
campaign will actually result in the
saving of many human lives. The real
ization of this truth alone should be
incentive enough to spur every man to
action.
Economically. the campaign has fur
Their beneficial results. Painters. deco
rators, carpenters, unskilled laborers
are all employed, which means in turn
better trade for supply houses and a
stimulus to business generally. Fur
thermore. as it gives more work to a
class of artisans for whom the demand
Is always unsteady, it brings added
comfort to the homes of these men and
happiness to their wives and little chill
dren.' Every one. no matter how hard
hearted and destitute of altruistic feel
ings he may be, has yet a spark Of
kindness somewhere In his heart. and
derives keen joy in bringing sunshine
to the hearts of others.
And yet the clean up-paint-up move
ment Is by no means only a philan-
thropic idea The trouble and expenses
incurred are balanced by positive value
received. In the first place, our citi-
Lcll Will receive HIS pIopOTtloHdtc
share of the economic stimulus given
to the community. If he is an owner
of houses he will be much more likely
to get tenants and retain the ones he
has. Long before n-up-paint-u up
campaigns were thought of the magic
of the paint brush was known to prop
erty owners.
The fact that he does not own the
house in which he lives should not pre-
vent an occupant from cleaning up. He
lives there. and his happiness and con-
tentment will be measured by the con-
dftions with which he surrounds him
self. He is not precluded by necessity
of being a renter from any of the nat
ural joys that are associated with the
clean, the healthful and the beautiful.
AS to the man who owns his home
there is no question. He is the gamer
in every way by participating in the
movement.
Lastly, there Is the great force of
civic pride. which, in some respects, is
the strongest of all the influences in
favor of cleaning and painting up. As
individuals and families we have our
own private or group interests upper
most in mind. but as a city we are the
custodians Of a greater trust. in that
we have the pride and glory of a
mighty nation to uphold. Let no man
forget that he is citizen of Wash
ington, the capital of the United States
of America, and that it is his duty to
help that city maintain it's reputation
as the cleanest and most beautiful city
in the world.