Evening star., 1940-07-22
Indorses Effort to
CIeon Up City
Present Condition Of Steets
Held Disgrace to
National CopitoI

To the Editor Of The Star:
notice in last nights Star that, at
long last tho most beautiful city, the
most untidy, belittered city Of grand
dimensions in our country, is to have q
public education in tidiness and neat
ness. For some years past from time
to time have tried to cause something to
be done about untidy. belitttered WASH
ington, being ashamed for the thou
sands Of visitors coming here month after
month to see how slovenly we, the GUS
todians Of their National Capital, keep
house in our public streets and public
parks. But my voice was like one cry
ing in the wilderness; my letters went
unheeded. Now, seemingly, something
is to be done about it, but it will only
be done II sthe newspapers take up the
cudgel and educate the careless pub
lic;;' shame the people into neatness.
The general public will not like to be
told that 1t is sloyenly and untidy, but
he who runs may read. The Nations
Capital is Uttered with trash from one
end to the other; the streets become the
dumping place for old newspapers, frag-
ments Of newspapers, empty cigarette
packages cellophane cigar wrappers, dis
carded match holders, empty liquor bot
ties, torn up advertising matter, paper
bags, handbills Of advertising, etc. In
one mornings walk from my house in
Cleveland Park to the Calvert Street
Bridge I counted SO discarded news
papers and fragments thereof along the
sidewalks and streets, without trying to
count the other bits of litter cast aside
by an untidy people. Through a mill
tant newspaper campaign the general
public must be taught it may not cast
aside into the streets and onto the side
walks the unsightly trash 1t may wish
to discard at the moment Newspaper
delivery boys must be taught that they
shall not unwrap their bundles Of news
papers and cast aside the wrappings the
bundles have arrived in from the trucks,
to be blown, willy-nilly. all over the
streets. Neatness and tidiness, with re-
gard to our streets and sidewalks must
be the predominating thought and 1t
can only come about by being dinned
into the people. to make them self con-
scious about it and to make them proud
to be as neat about their streets and
sidewalks as they are about their per-
sonal cleanliness.
The city authorities can do a great
deal to help. There shall be vastly more
trash receptacles everywhere upon the
streets in which to deposit trash-we
now have not anything like the number
that should be available all over the city
and plainly marked to be easily notice.
able. Drivers Of trash collection trucks
should be made to fasten cloth COW
ings over their loaded collections Of
trash in moving about the city from
place to place. Dirt-hauling truck
drivers should be caught and fined for
cone-shaped dirt loads spilling over
onto the city streets, because the loading
OF the trucks was so slovenly done where
the load was taken aboard. School chill
dren should be taught that it is untidy
and wrong to litter peoples lawns with
discarded school papers on their way
from school. Picnic parties In Potomac
Park and Rock Creek Park should be
educated to their duty to clean up the
litter which a majority Of them now
leave behind them for the park attend
ants to clean up after them. Go to Po-
tomac Park any Sunday evening and
observe the great American people at
play. hundreds Of them enjoying the
beautiful places that have been provided
for them at public expense. and see what
a discouraging, notwithstanding mess
they have made of it-their public play
grounds. And it is so easy to observe
the virtue of neatness and tidiness. Were
it hard task there might be some slight
excuse for carelessness Actually there
is no valid excuse for slovenliness.
If the newspapers will pitch in and
help, we can tidy up Washington and
keep 1t neat and tidy. but 1t is every
ones bounden duty. We owe 1t to our
selves to our own self-respect. and above
all we owe it to the thousands Of visi-
tors who flock here to see their Capital
City, those who must now observe what
slovenly. untidy housekeepers we are
indeed in their Nations Capital.
July 16. ENOCH A. CHASE.