Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-05-09
DESIRE TO LIVE IN
A CLEAN PLACE
When Town Has Grown Up it Should
Keep Itself Clean Without
Annual Call for Bath
But YEAR AFTER YEAR
THE SAME CALL COMES
DR. Niemark, Health Officer of Charles
City Has Following to Say on
the Subject.

The following taken from the
Charles City Intelligencer is by
City Health officer DR.. Niemack, of
that place, and it is very much to
the point:
You will agree with me, that the
call for a 'clean-up-week' belongs to
that same age of childhood, when
the weekly Saturday bath was the
small boys terror. To tell full
grown man that he must take
bath and get clean, really is an in
suit. And to call to a full grown,
self-respecting city to cleanup, hon
estly. is an insult to the citizens. The
town has grown up-It should keep
itself clean without his annual call
for the bath.
That that call is needed, If we de-
sire to live il clean place. is
shame. Annually we are sending mis-
siolaries out to Armenia and other
places to try to teach those poor
People" that the Christian gospel
means cleanliness all through; and
then our own health officer must give
US a lecture on a subject in which
we pretend TO be past masters.
Honestly. l hate to be bound by my
Office to tell such things and do all
this fault finding. Much rather l
should like to be the good fellow.
could easily put lot of the almigh-
Ity American dollars into the pockets
of my fellow physicians, by neglect
ling this call or not duly emphasizing
lit. Maybe you know that dirt and
lbad habits are making work for doc
itors.
l have seen in one house few
igsars ago all the children very sick.
IAN the mothers care did not pre-
vent it, for the landlord had not pro-
vided fly screens, and the neighDor-
hood kept big pile Of rotting rub
bish and garbage nearby. That doc
bill of S4O0 real
ly was not at all necessary Don't
YOU agree with me, that a city Is
committing a crime by putting such
expenses upon one poor family aid
then still robbing them of their
child?
Dirt means disease and cOntagion.
One mans offal is poison for his
neighbor. The old Jewish legisla-
tor, Moses. understood all this and
the Old Testament is full Of it. But
in our town of churches" every
good soul is so busy with the enjoy
able business of preventing ones
neighbor from having a good time,
that there is not much time left In
which to look after the cleanliness or
ones own premises. 1t is a very
one-sided kind of religion at the best,
compared with the regulations OF the
Old Testament.
have lived in this town more than
Twenty years and in that time nave
seen the ministers devote great
deal of time, when in the pulpit, TO
the subject of base ball, bicycle rid
ling. Sunday movies, liquor and other
things. which belong to the domain
of magistrate and police. Shall ever
live to see the day when they Will
give a few minutes in the pulpit to
the Christian duty of keeping back
alleys clean all the year round, and
of destroying every dirt, whatever
and wherever they find it? VIII one
of us live to see that blessed day?
This is just now a patriotic time;
everyone displays the national col
ors. So let us prove the love OF our
country" by beginning right here
at home a fight of determination
against the autocracy Of dirt and d.
sease. After that we shall be better
Ipatriots and better citizens. We shall
mot be forced to brag about it, eth
Ter, for the stranger within our doors
will see and recognize it and will go
home and do likewise. And now no
more tnlk. let us get up and do.