The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1918-01-24
THURSDAY, JANUARY "a, 1913.
Watch Your Step.

Have you paid your tribute Of pain
and suffering to the inefficient admin
istration that permits the continuance
of corduroy sidewalks in Kenosha yet?
IF you haven't WATCH YOUR STEP.
1t is important for there are miles
of sidewalks in town today that are I'M
safe and menace to the life and limb
of every man and woman in the city.
They are not all located out in the
suburban districts in front Of vacant
lots but lot of them are within a few
inches of what happens to be called
the business district of the city. These
corduroy walks are of course to a great
extent the examples of lack of civic
pride and forgetfulness Of civic duty
but the fact that they are does not
make the fall you are going to get on
them any less of a menace to your life.
The city has not clean hands in urg-
ing the private property owners to
clean their walks. The walks in the
city park are d disgrace to city
the size Of Kenosha OF course the ar
gument may be made that the men who
could be employed have been hauling
coal or hauling snow off the streets but
it is a lot more important to have the
sidewalks cleared so that man or wo-
man may walk in safety than to have
sroW cleared from streets so that auto
mobiles can get up to stores.
twisted ankles and shoulders, barked
shins and bruised hips are pretty nearly
always the cause of damage suits
against the city. There is an old pro-
vision in the law which provides that
the man seeking damages must be able
to show that there has been neglect on
the part Of the city-that snow and ice
walks for long period of time. This
year this will be no defense for the
city There are hundreds of places in
the city where these piles of snow and
ice have been on the sidewalk for
weeks They have been utterly neglect
ed by the city officials and these men
are Just as much to blame as the prop
erty owners. IF the man will not
clean his walk the city has established
a remedy by ordinance. Of course the
city must go into court with clean
honds and it must be able to show that
ii has done its part. 1t has failed ut
torly, Perhaps it has failed because
the conditions Of the present series of
storms have been different from condi-
tions which have been thrown about
other storms. However, the time that
has passed since the last snow fell must
have left time for the city to at least
get the walks safe. No one is demand
ing that the city clean walks to their
full width-this is going to be highly
necessary to prevent floods when the
snow starts melting - but the city
should see to it that at least safe
path is made on every sidewalk in the
city.
Idle Mondays will leave lot of men
out of employment in Kenosha. The
city can make money by employing
these men by the hundreds if neces-
sary just to make the sidewalks safe.
The fact that the city occasionally
uses a snowplow and opens paths after
storm does not relieve the property
owner of his duty to the public. 1t
does not relieve the city of the liability
that it has to compensate people for in
juries which are TO be received as a
result of the continued negligence of its
officials. The first duty that the street
men owe to the people is to give them
reasonably safe sidewalks to get from
Dne part of the city to the other. Clean
Ing snow from the roads can wait.