Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-05-26
FEDERATION OF
Hf.E nfr vas zi- &c
WOMEN'S CLUBS
STATEWIDE CLEANUP, PAlNT-UP
CAMPAlGN-COMMUNITIES
WILL BENEFIT.
"CLEAN UP BY MAY DAY"
Louise kerper of the CiVics Commit.
tee of the Federation, Stimulates to
Activity the Members of the Four
Hundred and Fifty-One Organize
tlons Which Compose II.

ACTIVITY Lne mSHpeFS OF kne = our
Hundred and Fifty-one Organize.
tlons Which Compose It.
"Clean Up by May Day" is the mes
sage of the Civics Committee of the
Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs
to the club women throughout the
state. Let May Day, 1916, be cele-
brated in every community by civic
regeneration and new civic spirit
stimulated by community cooperation
for community betterment during the
month of April. Every community
will be greatly benefited by such
course.
If the women of Ohio will cooperate
in the general movement the cam
paign will not only be vigorous, but
itation, better homes, cleaner streets,
finer gardens, Fairgrounds and parks,
less fire loss and lower fire insurance
rates. The -women's clubs of Ohio
have undertaken to do their share in
this matter In fact they are leading
In the movement.
When the housewife dons her apron
and prepares to clean the house the
mere male citizen usually takes to the
street. If he does take to the street
this spring he will find that the house
wife has been before him and that
cleanup activities are being prose
cuted Just as vigorously there as in
the house. If he goes to his club he
will find the same condition. If he
goes to his Office he will find the jani-
tor service augmented and that a
rapid elimination Of accum dlated dust
and dirt is going on. Hurriedly pass
ing into the street as he once more
starts to dodge a general cleanup,
he will find activity on every side
which betokens a people aroused and
g determination to make things clean
and keep them so. Battered buildings,
known for years as fire-traps, will. be
razed, old houses and buildings will be
repainted, repairs will be carried on
everywhere, and on vacant lots where
weeds, well nourished by tin cans and
refuse, formerly grew to forest height,
he will find school boys and girls bus
lily planting flowers and trees.
And yet if the plans of the Civics
Committee of Ohio Federation of
Women's Clubs are carried out, all
this will be done without confusion and
without placing too great tax upon
the city's facilities for handling dirt.
1t is proposed to stretch the campaign
this year over the entire month Of
April, and when this is done to follow
up the work and keep these places
clean and beautiful. The man who
this spring observes unwonted activ-
ity in the way of cleaning and paint
ing, will be amazed at the marvellous
contrast with former conditions, and
he will never witness the same thing
again. This campaign will be con-
tinuous. In future years there will be
spring clean-ups, but none which will
produce the accumulation of rubbish
shown by the campaign in 1915. In
Cincinnati, where two systematic cam
paigns have been held, the results
achieved by the second campaign were
not nearly so important as those OF
the first. The work was we'll done in
The first place, and active committees
aided by the municipal officers kept
things pretty clean throughout the
year.
We need more attention to the
cleanliness, order and beauty of our
environment Likewise we need to
realize that our surroundings are to
a very large extent what we ourselves
make them.
Is it not worth while to make Ohio
state of beautiful towns and vii
lagos? The influence on the character
of our youth will be unreasonable.
Between the looks of the community
and the calibre of the people Of the
community there is a close relation.
Self-respect is indicated by order and
cleanliness.
Well-kept homes, pretty lawns
lowers, clean vacant lots, clean and
well-kept public buildings, streets,
free from litter; these things indi
cate a high degree of self-respect
Dilapidated fences, unkept gardens,
Uttered streets, dingy store fronts, old
useless out buildings-do not these
things indicate the opposite? It costs
nothing except little efforts to keep
things in order. Dirt Is not heritage
of poverty. Even the poorest person
can be clean if he wants to. Flowers
are always possible. A dirty yard is
never excusable.
A community will be as neat and
orderly as it's people desire it to be
no more, no less. Responsibility for
the appearance of a neighborhood is
vested in the people of that neighbor-
hood. 1t will be slightly or ugly as they
permit it to be.
/ Who can measure the effect of sur
/ rcundings upon the formation Of
character7 Which child has a better
chance-the one who is allowed to
grow up in the presence Of untidiness,
ugliness, disorder and carelessness /;
who is allowed to be Indifferent to
such conditions, or the one who sees
about him order, cleanliness and care.
fulness, and who is taught to main
tain these conditions? We are In
euenced by our surroundings, but OH
the OLner nand IA truth orIen over.
looked we influence our surroundings
We can not fairly blame our surround
ings for our measure of self-respect
or for our lack of it. On the other
hand If we face the truth we must
blame ourselves for the character oi
our surroundings.
i A community is very like an indi
vidual. The community by becoming
more and more used to disorder and
ugliness becomes more and more salts
fed with disorder and ugliness or else
by eliminating such conditions ii
growing more and more determined tc
) keep them eliminated. Let Ohio this
year have a general cleanup cam
paign during the month of April
Everybody is requested to help. AL
should cooperate with Chambers o.
Commerce. fire health and noIico do