Evening star., 1926-12-26
District White Wings Are Guardians of Worlds Cleanes

sells all the horse and cow b.1es and
mule skins which are salvaged from
dead animals. realizing a revenue OF
about $4,000 from these by-products.
Generally about 500 miscellaneous
animals are removed from pet stores
and express company headquarters.
These include animals which die from
accidents or diseases. Eight reindeer
from Alaska were lately conveyed
from certain express ofice to the
soap factory. They had perished in
transit to Washington, where they
were to be used in Christmas displays
and later placed in the National Zoo
logical Gardens. Canaries. parrots.
guinea pigs, trained mice and rats.
and a great variety of othr pets are
delivered to the rendering establish
ment. Maryland residents avail them
selves of the Districts efficient serv-
ice in dead.animal removal. They
haul carcasses over the District line
and leave them by the roadside, know
ing the District authorities will re-
move such material promptly.
Every resident of the District could
aid the street-cleaning department
materially if he or she would refrain
from mutilating newspapers, second
class mail and similar scrap material
and tossing them about the streets.
This waste paper which is spread on
the wings of the wind is the most
annoying and one of the most costly
classes of refuse which the District
annually handles. 1t costs the Dis
trict more than 100000 annually to
remove the waste paper which the
carelessness of the general public has
spread about the streets. If each of
the 100000 Washingtonians would aid
by placing paper in the public recep-
tacles for such material, this expen-
sive nuisance would be abated
markedly
Occasionally you may hear COM
plants about the unsightliness of
some of Washington's alleys. These
personal objections invariably are un.
Just, for the District street-cleaning
department follows regular and syS-
tematized schedule in cleaning alleys.
No city in the country renders better
service in this respect. The arrange.
ment is such that each alley is clean.
ed every four or five days when the
weather is good.
Rainy weather, snowstorms and bliZ.
yards temporarily tie up the opera
tions and slow up the schedule. as
laborers cannot be asked to work out
doors in weather which is precarious
enty miles of alleys are cleaned in
Washington every five days during
fair weather. Ashes are collected on
specified days in all sections Of the
city, and alleys are cleaned as nearly
as possible according to schedule.
The alley-cleaning equipment works
independently of all other white
wing" activities. 1t consists Of carts,
wagons, horse sweepers and sprinklers
manned by four crews of experienced
men. One Of the particular concerns
of these workers is to remove all the
broken glass which can be found.
Broken milk bottles lead in this cate
CORY. The public is being educated
to exercise greater care in handling
glassware of all kinds, for much less
broken glass than formerly is now
found on District streets and alleys.
At Cherry Hill. Va. about 81 miles
from the. National Capital. the
District owns and operates a grease
plant. Seyenty-f1ve thousand tons of
District garbage are delivered annu-
ally to this grease extraction plant.
From this garbage supply 3.629.S7b
pounds of grease were manufactured
last year, with receipts OF $25O,05O.
The expenses of operating the reduc.
ton plant and Of shipping the raw
garbage to Cherry Hill aggregated
s1SO,127, so that the District garbage
disposal system showed a clear profit
of $69,s23.
A trash disposal plant is also run
by the District government. 1t is
at the corner of Montello avenue
and Mount Olivet road. In excess of
225 900 cubic yards of trash are haul
ed each year from Capital City streets
and alleys to this salvage station,
where approximately $50, 900 worth of
paper is rescued from ruin and sold.
Tin cans. bottles and rags are also
salvaged at this District establishment.
The tin cans are sold to a Baltimore
manufacturer, who meltS and converts
them into window-sash weights. The
bottles are also segregated and sold
to commercial agencies. All the milk
bottles are separated from the trash
and are returned to the Washington
milk-b bottle exchange. Two carloads.
or so tons. of paper. worth about $50
a ton, are salvaged daily at this eff
Client reclamation station.
Visitors from every State in the
Union and every city in the land are
delighted with the immaculateness of
Washington's channels of vehicular
travel. The next morning after an
inaugural ceremony or a monster
parade Pennsylvania avenue. its trib-
utaries and all the other highways of
the District are as slightly and invit-
ing as customary. 1t Is a stupendous
job. cleaning up after one of these
national demonstrations. but Supt.
Hacker and his white.uniformed army
turn the trick as if 1t were routine
work. Foreign visitors and travellers
who stop at Washington during their
globe-trotting excursions never neg
lect to pay due tribute to the cleanli-
ness of the worlds most beautiful