The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1917-04-28
CLEAN UP'AN
ANCIENT
IDEA
Hercules Cleaned the Augean
Stables by Using River as
Broom, Long, Long Ago.
Nowadays Health and Beauty Demand
Sanitation in Home and Town
More Than 5000 Communities
Are Busy This Year.
BY HAROLD G. HLopeErT.

aP ehoAt AS VI RkSAASAttAS
origin. Ask the school children and
they will tell o that In Greek
mythology they read of a cleanup
day" that for colossal endeavor and
results probably beats any ~renovating
Job of the rapid-fire sort undertaken
since. 1t is not a pretty story. bur
here 1t is: Augeas, the king of Ellis.
was not strong on sanitation.
For decades he had permitted filth TO
accumulate. He didn't care much about
his people or his health, but he had a
little herd of some 5000 oxen of which
he was considerably proud. For 80
years the stable which housed the herd
had not been cleaned, when suddenly
old Augeas awoke. He wanted the
stable cleaned.
The job was so stupendous that or
binary mortals could make no head
way against the piles of refuse, until
Hercules, who had never before been
famed as a sanitarian, stepped up and
said he would clean it up. Two rivers.
the Alpheus and the Peneus, flowed
near by. Hercules changed the course
of the rivers until they flowed through
the Augean stables, and in a day the
cleanup" task was accomplished.
Hercules Emulated.
Since that day Cleanup" has had its
place in the worlds %vernacular. With
the spring the desire to refurbish
comes subeonsciously into the hearts
of men and women, and communities.
But without direction and sustained eff
fort the expression of that desire, in
the form of the ordinary cleanup
day" or ''week," has resulted in such
a superficial sally against filth that
the more experienced and earnest civic
workers have for long held such days
In d~isrepute.
Hercules was of the gods. If he
wanted to Cleanup in a day the
heavens backed him and he did 1t.
Since that day men and women, mere
mortals, have sought to emulate the
original cleanup" expert in speed,
and they have failed. Communities for
years have conducted cleanup days
of the ~annual-bath order, only to find
that the next day there was filth 'be-
hind the ears and ''between the toes"
And a week later conditions generally
were as bad as ever.
1t remained for Allen w. Clark, pub
Usher of a st. Louis trade paper, to
turn the "spring cleanup" interests
into permanent and constructive chan
nels. Years ago Mr.. Clark made up
his mind that this could be done; that
real campaigns, working toward def
mite ideals and accomplishing real re-
suits, could be organized everywhere
to take the place of the old hit-or-miss
cleanup methods.
In May, 1912, he founded a "clean-
up" and 'paint-up" organization. He
hoped that a thorough-going movement,
national in its scope and practical in
It's principles, might take the place
of the annual bath" idea as ex-
pressed in the old-time cleanup day"
or week"
Movement Growing.
For four years the scope of this move
ment has been rapidly extended until
this ear it is cooperating with more
than 5000 local communities in the
organization and direction of real
cleanup and paint-up" campaigns, not
"days'' or "weeks."
Continuous campaigns for homes and
home towns beautiful, sanitary and
safe, conducted by permanent commit
tees, and involving the cooperation of
city and town officials, clubwomen,
commercial organizations, the school
children, fire prevention interests, all
business men and property owners and
the press, and the goal aimed at by all
of the cleanup" propaganda. And
this solid success is being achieved in
thousands of cities and towns through
out the country today. In fact, requests
for Cleanup" assistance have come
from South America, the Philippines,
Australia, India, Canada, England and
France. The slogan, "Clean up and
paint up" has indeed become the bat
tie cry of earnest and practical civic
workers round the world.
Such magazines as Outlook, Pictorial
Review, Every Week, Associated Sun
day Magazine, the American City, Kan
sas municipalities, Journal of Michi-
gan Municipalities have printed ex-
tensive editorials and feature articles
on the practical value of the work.
nnD0DTIINIITv rnD D0V cAnIlr