Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-01-25
p,, rMoGEN B. OAKLEY

rrsor the January SHOWS fall and citl-
~. dounder along sidewalks which the
.soyel has not touched, they eXclaim
snnSrIl,,. "Whv is there no law to compel
.senle 10 clean the snow off their side
walks?'
rhore Is such n law on September 49,
,mi the City Councils enacted an or
siropce declaring it to be n nuisance and
.hareforo prohibited "to permit snow to
snS,sin more than six working hours
stsr the same may cease to fall, on any
e.yed footway or gutter of the city; in
,sont of, or adjoining any church, public
tn,ldinp. house, store, shop. stable, or
s.nement of any kind or the adjoining
( steward thereof; or vacant lots, and the
oen,,pier, or owner of such premises IL
moccupied, shall he liable for the penalty
s tsreinfarter prescribed for such offense";
I md the penalty prescribed is fine of s.,
( n be recovered before the Magistrate
whose office is located nearest the place
where such offenscs occur.
This sounds very WELL particularly the
nbrase which declares that owners of
vacant lots and unoccupied houses, as
rell MS actual occupiers 'shall be liable"
for the prescribed penalty. The important
question is, who is to say the "shall'' and
impose the penalty?
Snow ON the sidewalk is a simple nuis-
ance and comes under the control of the
polIce department, which is authorized"
by act Of Legislature to abate such nuis-
ances, but we must not forget that "au-
thorized" means in legal phraseology
merely permission and not obligation.
If, thereore, an occupier allows the snow
10 lie on his sidewalk more than six
hours, he may be compelled to clean it off
or he may not; 1t all depends upon the
mental attitude of the Superintendent OF
Police. OF course, a citizen who has
Stumbled through the snow to his great
discomfort may demand the arrest of the
owner of the blockaded sidewalk, but
such a course engenders bad feelings
among neighbors, and people, as a rule,
would rather get wet and succumb to
bronchitis and pneumonia than arouse
nelghborhood animositles.
The only remedy for this really absurd
state Of municipal inefEiciency is for citi-
zens to band together and elect Council
men who Will enact ordinances that mean
what they say and which some depart
ment of the Government is under bonds
10 enforce.
But in the meantime there is no reason
why snow and the ice which follows
should lie on the sidewalks Whatever
nay be their mental darkness in regard
TO waste papers and rubbish, all oc-
NuplOlo anu All ONHtIS OIL utlOcCuDleu
houses and vacant lots know perfectly
well that snow and ice are dangerous for
themselves as we'll as for their neighbors
and that 1t is their bounden duty to keep
their pavements clean and safe.
Preparedness is on every tongue.
Every man, we are told, may have to be
soldier. But every man is now, at this
present moment, n citizen. Why not pre-
pafedness for actual civic duty as well as
Tor possible military duty? Why not inn
press upon our citizens that shoveling
snow and ice from pavements is a part
OF national preparedness? Could there be |
any better preparation for some possible |
luture service in the trenches? And would !
not beautiful, healthful city arouse more !
loyalty than one which is unsanitary and |
unsightly?
Would not Philadelphia clean be better
worth lighting for than Philadelphia