Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-06
Cleanup Week" Flayed
.As Useless in Effect
TO the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
Cleanup week." INDUCED once each
year, Is pitiful effort and almost
mconsequential of lasting results. One
might as well expect a man to shave
once a week and clean his shoes every
three months, and thus try to deceive
himself into believing he's tidy and
neat in appearance. Every day should
be cleanup day. If people were taught
to be tidy and neat all the time, there
would be no need for such an absurd
thing as Cleanup week.
AS matter Of fact, however, the
Capital City of the Nation is Uttered
from end to end with paper trash;
mostly discarded newspapers, cast
"willy-nilly' to the winds by the
thoughtless and needless. Around every
school house the streets are Uttered with
school papers, candy wrappings, empty
ice cream containers, ETC., thrown aside
by children untaught in the simple
habit OF tioinesS. The metal newspaper
racks, located all over the city, are one
of the worst things ever invented to
create widespread untidiness. They are
frequently stuffed to overlooking, so
that winds scatter papers all over the
landscape. I have seen a paper boy
dart from his delivery wagon, snatch
out huge handful of old papers, throw
them down on the street, jam in his
fresh papers, and dart back to his
waiting auto and be of to another
similar depreciation in about 10 seconds
time. No thought whatsoever about the
bundle of old papers cast aside adjacent
to the curb to decorate the surrounding
streets.
Everywhere walk In Cleveland Park
see the evidences of utter carelessness.
The telltale cord and newspaper wrap
pers from off the bundle of morning
and evening papers delivered to the
carrier boys, lying precisely where he
received his package of papers from
the wagon; except, more than likely.
the wrapping paper is lodged against
nearby hedge, or is on its way down
the street playing tag with the breeze.
And in the face of this picture-not
overdrawn particle-we seem to think
there is merit in a Cleanup week"
once out of So weeks. There will be a
lot OF talk about it, columns in the
newspapers admonishing every one to
clean up his yard and the cellar, etc,
etc, but the root of the evil is COM
pletely CLOSED over as though it does
not exist. There is about as much real
merit in a Cleanup week as there
would be in admonishing a child to
wash its face and hands at least once
a month.
Why go through this every Spring as
though it were a fine civic thing? It is
sheer nonsense. Begin teaching the
people to be neat and tidy with regard
to their own premises and the public
streets in particular Let the children
be taught at home and at school that
tidiness is a virtue almost as much as
bodily cleanliness. Abolish the metal
newspaper racks. Insist that the news
papers see to it that their delivery en-
ployes-all OF them--do not litter the
streets with one cast-off piece of paper.
These few simple things could be ac-
complished by a publicity Campaign at
practically no expense and would 90 a
long way toward making it entirely I'M
necessary that we try to acquire merit
once each year by resorting to Clean
up week. ENOCH A. CHASE.