Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-01-18

The following remarkable document
blew OF a trash wagon directly into our
hands, and as we have always been in
tercstcd In manuscripts of oil kinds We
started to read 1t.
Some portions were obliterated by
great black smears, but enough Of It re-
NAMED to make the meaning quite
plnin! Evidently its author had thought
better Of 1t. however. and had cast 1t
into the waste basket. Perhaps he was
wise
II seemed to bc an address to n citi-
zcns' association or some similar organi-
cation interested In civic betterment,
and struck us as of such general in
terest that we present It here verbatim :.
Mr. President and fellow members:
For some time have been thinking
Of addressing you upon subject which
I deem Of Importance to this commit
nifty. Reasons for my heSitancy will
occur to you as I proceed.
II esteem most of you highly. and
for that reason would not willingly do
or say anything that would needlessly
offend you. But matters have come to
a point. In this community. where 1t be-
comes necessary for some one to speak
out.
III I am that one. believe me it Is
only in the spirit of man who does
his public duty. as a law-abiding citizen
might do who reported dangerous har-
borings Of trash to the fire marshal.
You may say that these conditions
are none Of my business but l assert
that they are so much OF my business
that arise here. out of turn. it may be-
in order to tell you plainly what !
think.
This alone is something that ought
to interest you. for 1t is not often that
any one, anywhere, tells other people
exactly what he thinks. Honesty Is a
much abused virtue: my only concern
is that you deem me honest.
my protest begins with lawns and
ends with human character.
Possessions have way of reacting
upon their owners. no less than owners
way Of acting upon their property.
There are too many front yards in
this community that look like hog wal
lows. This Is putting 1t about as plainly
as know how. \
LAS q matter OF fact. no decent
minded hog would want to wallow in
such places. Even hog has ideas of
property preservation, and he Is used to
finding his pen at the rear.
Yet today. throughout this commu-
nifty, there are front lawns and terraces
without a spear Of grass upon them.
Some corner properties resemble
nothing but mud banks. cut with great
gashes of red clay. This sort of thing
Is to be found. in most municipalities,
only in the very poorest sections Of the
town. where families exc out hand-to-
mouth existences. These poor people
have neither the money nor the inclina-
ton to do any better.
Here, however. we have an altogether
different state of affairs. Most of :o;i
are men and women Of some pretensions
to culture. Most OF you possess enough
money to hire work done for you II
you do not care to do it yourself.
Yet far too many Of you walk in and
out daily with utter disregard for the
appearance of your front yards, and
those Of us who do have what we be-
licve Is a proper pride in the appearance
of oir property are unable 10 make any
Roadway in the care OF our own yards
owing to the conditions which you con-
tinue TO foster
THAT such state OF affairs could
exist in cultured community remains
q thing Of amaZement TO some of us
who were brought up in homes where