Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-03-12
DUMPCART POLITICS AND
FILTHY STREETS

THERE is nothing unusual in the con-
- dtion of the streets. They are nor
mally filthy. For years, save in the brief
Blankenburg Administration, the accumu-
lations Of the winter have been allowed
to remain on the highways because the
contractors were hoping that the spring
rains would wash them away and do
the work for which they were paid, Now
and then the newspapers have been able
to prod up the contractors and shame
them into action, as happened this year,
following the highly effective series OF
news articles and pictures in the Public
Ledger.
This unsatisfactory state of affairs Will
continue, however, so long as the present
system remains unchanged. The chief
street-ceaning contractors are the chief
political leaders of the city. The chief of
the department in control of street clean
ing and his subordinates owe their jobs
to these political contractors. The
inspectors who pass on their work are
dependent for their bread and butter on
the men whose work they inspect. The
conscientious official who tries TO serve
the people and insists that the con-
tractors keep the streets clean sooner or
later discovers that the powers that be
regard him as inefficient and he is forced
to seek employment elsewhere.
There is no remedy save in the aboli-
tion Of the contract system of street
cleaning. Cartng the filth from the
highways is as much a municipal func-
tion as supplying water to the household
ers. In many other cities the street
cleaning force is in direct control Of
special department. The men are
appointed from the civil service list Of
laborers. They are paid out Of the public
treasury and are directly responsible to
a servant of the people, who in turn is
responsible to the people for the eff
cheney of his department. If the streets
are filthy he cannot hide under the dump
carts of contractor and say that he is
not to blame. He must make good or
take the consequences.
Under the Philadelphia system the
man who makes good will lose his job.
Under the system of municipal control
the man who does not make good becomes
the center of storm which forces him
out of office.
There is no doubt that the system Of
municipal control, even with many draw
backs, is far superior to contractor con-
troll. 1t has worked successfully in New
York. Commissioner Edwards over there
showed what could be done when deter
mined man set at the task. Long before
his time Colonel Waring, who was put
in Office by Mayor Strong, after long
period of Tammany Indifference to clean
streets, tackled the job and accomplished
what many cynics thought was impossi-
BILE. 1t has been demonstrated in
America that a city can be kept clean
as clean as European cities.
1t is not valid argument against
municipal street cleaning to say that the
politicians would control the appointment
of the chief of the department and the
hundreds of laborers under him. We
cannot yet prevent the trail of the poiti-
cal serpent from leaving its slime on
municipal affairs. But we can prevent
condition which sacrifices considerations
of public health and decency to the profit
of contractors whose god is their bank
account. 1t is about time that the public
spirited citizehs began to prepare to
demand Of the next General Assembly
such a change in the laws as will do
away with the STRENGTHENING contracts
and dumpcart politicians.