Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1918-04-03
MAYOR HOOK
TO OUR CITIZENS
Tells How There Can be COnserva-
ton of City Funds by Indivi-
dual Help.
WAR GARDENS ARE
SUGGESTED By HIM
Another Suggestion is to Keep Your
Chickens Penned Up. Clean up
Cutters i'm Front of
Premises.

The following notice was issued
to the citizens of DEBORAH this NOR
ming by Mayor e. j. Hook and many
good suggestions are offered in it
and they should be adhered to:
To the citizens of DEBORAH:
AS the season gives evidence of
being earlier than usual the neces-
sity for cleaning up also arises
earlier. While the street commits
sioner and crew of men will soon
be engaged in cleaning out the gut
tiers, side bitches and culverts to re-
move distractions to the flow of
water, still they will be unable to do
this work over the entire city in
few days. If rains come soon, the
water will overflow the streets and
sidewalks in many places because
rubbish has been raked off the lawns
or boulevards and thrown into the
waterways at the sides of the street,
or because leaves and grass have ac-
cumulated in these waterways since
last fall. In order that these wat
erways may be opened at the earli-
est possible moment, and thus pre-
vent damage to streets from over
flows and washouts, / am making
this request of all citizens-namely
That you assist us by cleaning out
the gutter, or waterways in front of
your premises, and placing the
refuse removed upon the higher
ground where it can be collected by
the men who are working on the
streets with the street commissioner.
You may think that this work is
the duty of the city, and so 1t is,
but who constitute the city but you
and me and all of us together? III
each person will join in and help
as suggested, and afterward refrain
from depositing anything in the wat
erways at the sides of the street,
great deal of the money that must
be expended in having such work
done by the city men and teams
can be used to drag, grade and 9th
erwise improve the streets. All mo-
ney expended cleaning out cutters
and culverts is expenditure for tenn
porary benefit only, and must be
continually repeated, if rubbish is
thrown into the waterways again
land again.
War Gardens.
Much is being now said by the
newspapers and magazines in regard
to war gardens and / want to
urge every one in DEBORAH who pos
sibly can do SO to procure place
for raising garden. Last year a
wonderful response was made by our
citizens to the urgent call for rails
ing food. Without much noise or
advertising about it DEBORAH people
went about raising all foodstuffs
possible in the city and lots which in
peace times had been vacant.
Do not permit lot, or piece of
ground to lie idle if it will grow
food stuffs. We in the United States
of this generation, have been blessed
with such an abundance of things,
not only of necessaries but even OF
luxuries, that we cannot bring our
selves to realize that we in the
heart of the most productive portion
of the world could possibly come to
want the necessaries, and let us
hope we may never come to that
but millions of people who are daily
without sufficient food are now, and
have been for three and a half years
| fighting for the perpetuation of our
liberty and the protection of women
and children, and we must furnish
food to them, as well as raising
enough to supply our own needs.
| Someone has said "the quickest
way to do thing is just to go and
tice regarding war gardens, and
raising poultry and pigs.
l am asking the city council to
provide for the mayor 10 suspend
such ordnance provisions as hinder
war work, during the period of the
war, and insofar as this policy is
consistent with health and sanitary
conditions | will exercise the privil-
eye thus allowed by the council.
In order that the gardens which
our citizens will make extraordinary
efforts to raise shall properly grow
the poultry which you and | try to
raise must be kept confined witnm
enclosures. Much complaint comes
to me .about chickens trespassing
upon gardens, walks and lawns
Keep only so many chickens as you
can keep within your enclosures, and
CO-OpcIdIc WELL youi
lin getting full benefit from all wal
work efforts. To summarize lei
me suggest:
Clean up the cutters in front
of your premises and open the cul'
vert under your walk, as matter
lof helping to reduce city expenses.
r. 2-Use every available space fol
hardening.
| 3-Keep poultry and pig where
you can, but keep them within en-
closure so that your neighbours gar
den will not be destroyed.
4-Raise all food stuffs you pos
sibly can. and use such as will not
stand long shipment so We may
spare surplus supply Of such as will
admit of shipment to United States
IA,lies across the sea.
Very truly yours,
ELLIS j. HOOK,
T14-2w Mayor