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About The Choteau Montanan (Choteau, Mont.) 1913-1925 | View This Issue
The Choteau Montanan (Choteau, Mont.), 23 April 1915, located at <http://montananewspapers.org/lccn/sn85053031/1915-04-23/ed-1/seq-6/>, image provided by MONTANA NEWSPAPERS, Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana.
CLEANUP WORK Says German Cities Provide Model For Americans. STREET GLEANING SCIENCE. *lo Refuse Should Be Placed on Side walk—The Sweeping Process Should Be Started When No Traffic Is on Street— Early Morning Best Time. By FRANK KOESTER. Tlie lack of system and want of tech nical training on the part of many .American officials in charge make street cleaning unnecessarily expensive, leave the streets in a bad condition and cause the cleaning to be carried out in a disagreeable, insanitary way. In foreign cities engineers specialize on this subject. Street denning has been reduced to a science, and economy, efficiency and the comfort and con venience of the public nre considered. The purpose of street cleaning is to remove as quickly and as cheaply as possible all foreign matter in the streets and thus to conduce to the health of the public by minimizing the circula tion of genu laden dust. The cleaning of streets should be car ried out in a systematic and thorough manner. The cleaners should proceed •in crews with tl.e uecossary apparatus both to dean the streets and the side walks as weU».if ne< essary, and the lay out of the work should be stieh that no member of the crew needs to wait on tbe progress of the other, but all pro ceed simultaneously, and when they have passed through the street the work will be done. The method of piecemeal street cleaning, with the householder sweeping dirt Into the street, the street cleaner sweeping It Into piles and the piles being removed by wagons, with the occasional passing first ou one side of the street and then on the other of some piec<r of street cleaning apparatus, results in n contin ual stirring up of dust to the great dis comfort and inconvenience of all con cerned, while the street never really gets cleaned. The number of men in the cleauing crew depends on the kind of machinery used. As no machine Is capable of reaching all parts of the street, a cer tain amount of mununl sweeping is necessary, especially when the side walks are cleaned In conjunction with tbe machine sweeping, so that, as indi cated, the whole width of the street will be cleaned at once. Must Be Clear of Traffic. In order that such cleaning may pro ceed with efficiency and dispatch, and consequently with economy, the streets must he practically Hear of traffic, ns the presence of vehicles, especially those standing at the curb, greatly de lays the work of the crew. As the operation of such u crew also handicaps traffic and as the public pre fers to see the streets clean, rather than to sec them being cleaned. It is essential to select n suitable hour for cleaning. German cities have conduct ed numerous tests for finding out the most favorable hour. The city of Dres den adopted the practice of i-leanlna the main streets in the early morning hours, beginning ubnut 4 o’clock and o m e o n ¡■'•.Xs « * People, tKeiTowii !: .. finishing the business sections by 0 o'clock, some 20 to 30 per cent of the entire street area. The cleaning of the remainder of the streets proceeds im mediately after the main streets are finished, and the whole city is cleaned by 0 a. m. The Early Morning Plan. The advantages of the system are that the cleaning can be carried out by daylight and is consequently better performed than when carried out un der artificial light, that the workmen are more efficient as day workers than as night workers, and that during the enrl.v morning hours the traffic is at tbe minimum. No refuse may be placed on the side walk. but must be kept on the house holder's premises in such places as will not cause annoyance to the neighbors. As the street cleaning crews may be expected at a fixed time daily the householders are able to make their ar rangements accordingly, and thus the whole proceeding is carried out in the most expeditious and convenient man ner. Most Urgent Duty. Perhaps the most urgent of the du ties of the street cleaners is the re moval from the streets of the carcasses of dead nnimals, not only on account of the unsightliness of such objects, but also because, especially in summer, they tire a menace to health. Singu larly enough, in many American cities, including those constantly exploiting their civic Improvement plans, there is a lack of co-operation between the po lice, to whose notice such matters nat urally first fall, and the street cleaning departments, so that tbe carcasses re main often for days before being re moved. It would certainly seem a Decessary preliminary to street planning to have the streets free of such impediments. Street cleaning machinery consists principally of three classes—sprinklli\g, sweeping and removing-apparatus. DOCTOR SOUNDS ALARM FOR AIL He Tells How Dost Causes Throat and Lung Trouble, ONLY STRONG GAN RESIST. Chaff From Hay Wagons, Dirt Dropping From Contractors' Loads, Etc., a Dis tinct Monaco to ^Any Community. Prompt Reports to Authorities Neces sary. “In the many small streets in the poorer parts of towns and cities,\ writes a prominent doctor, “where nuisances oecrur, a considerable time often elapses before they are reported to the proper authorities. The nui sances continue unabated during this time and may result in infection of some kind. That Is not willful negli gence. It is simply because it. seems to be nobody’s business to report those nuisances, which continue until the tennnt complains to the real estate agent or it reaches a local department in some other roundabout way. \W h y could not a department of pub lic safety use inspectors and police of ficers and have them report every oc casion i f they found that garbage was scattered over the street or was not properly covered, that a main was bro ken, a drainpipe stopped or that any such nuisance had occurred? “When excavations nre made through out a city a great deal of the dirt blows about and fills the air with dust. The children of tbe neighborhood, too, play In the dirt and scatter It about Why should not tbe excavated mate rial be covered with a tarpaulin so that the dnst would be minimized? Another preventable cause of the dust aud dirt comes from the hoy wagons which trail their loads through the streets, dropping dust and chaff along the way. Finally, there are the drop bottom carts of the contractors, which carry dirt and refuse from one place to another. Often one sees a trail of earth sifting from the improperly closed trap bottom of these wagons to be scattered and blown about the streets. “ All these and many more things go to make up the dust which especially in the summer makes a haze which the eye enu discern. Smoke often causes part of this haze, particularly In damp weather, when it descends in clouds, but dust is largely responsible for it. “ The effect of these dust particles laden with all sorts of disease bear ers depends simply on the resistance of the individual who breathes them in with the polluted air. They are re sponsible for many cases of conjunc tivitis niul. 1 think, are an important cause of catarrhal and other head, throat and pulmonnry troubles.’’ VALUABLE HINTS ON DISPOSING OF REFUSE. How Pits With Covers Aid the Clean ers of Streets and Walks. When streets and sidewalks are cleaned by hand sweeping there should he provided receptacles of appropriate design aud suitable capacity for the re ception of the street sweepings await ing removal. A useful form of such receptacle would be one which could be removed without being emptied, another being left in its place for the next day's sweepings. The same method is equal ly applicable for small garbage and household refuse. There are other receptacles for street refuse that may be sunk In pits. They are made of steel with a dumping bottom, and the removal cart Is pro vided with means of lifting them out of the pit to the top of tbe cart, which is covered with a top having special openings so that the contents of the cans may be dumped into the cart without being scattered by tbe wind. After being so dumped the cans are lowered again into place in their pits. In order to avoid handling such caus pits are located In the sidewalk near the curb, and the street refuse is swept directly into them, small hinged flaps bridging tbe gutter. Tbe pit is, of course, provided with a cover. The removal of all town street sweepings and garbage refuse should be done in wagons invariably having covers in order to protect tbe passing public and the workmen from escaping particles. It is better, however, to have it removed in the original cans, leaving empty cans in place, as this is an absolute protection to all concerned and gets the wagons off the streets sooner. GOOD IDEAS FOR CLEANUP CAMPAIGN. Various localities where clean up and paintup crusades are waged appoint special commit tees of women and girls to aid in the work. Also many schools organize their pupils into bands of dirt annihilators. The young folks are found to be especially effec tive in this sort of activity. Most of them like to feel that they have become old enough and big enough to assist the grownups in doing the grown ups’ work. CLEANUP POSTCARDS. A TIM ELY WARNING. THEY’RE ON THE JOB—ARE YOU? The arrival of hot weather al ways brings with it an increase in infant mortality. The typhoid fly and other germ carriers breed and multiply in piles of waste matter and refuse of almost every kind. CLEAN UP AND SAVE THE BABIES’ LIVES. These deadly insects just dote on alighting on the babies’ milk bottles and foods. They are re sponsible for thousands of deaths a year. Destroy their breeding places and you will be aiding in a great, grand cause. An Effective Novelty First Used In a St. Paul Crusade. Cleanup postcards are a novelty in troduced in St Paul. No less than 40.000 were mailed to persons n year ago. and this year prob ably double that number will be utiliz ed. The cards, with appropriate Illus trations and text or with text alone, prove very effective in getting volun teer cleaners into action. The cost of printing them is very low. They can be either mailed or dis tributed by individual workers. SPOILING THE WILDWOOD. The wind blows free, and the hovering mist Gives way to the sun's bright glow The sighing oak by the zephyr kissed Has a song that Is sweet and low. A far fn the valley the stream extends Like a ribbon of silver bright. And the birds that build where the wi<- low bends Are happy from morn till night Along comp people who bring their lunch And they scarcely regard the scene. The chipmunk sits and observes them munch A pickle or n sardine. Oh, Nature, with all her splendid plans. Anger must surely feel As we strew the landscape with old tla cans And paper and orange peel! DON’T DO IT ANY MOREI >:* Mj 08 'QU,ITÓES; - . _. ' • \. y ‘pr-'Sì*-- '• V'/--Tr ’ - ^ * & ' t’r- V I ' * «O G L i'-,'- ¿ Ÿ \Cleanup ''time is here;'and. 1 spj f «>.. is mosquito -timW.'i'Giry.'on your $ swatting armor and go- forth, 7 One moment,” however,1. before: -you >■ go—‘the female is * more- deadly than the male.’ . \Among mosquitoes the mem bers of the ’fair* sex are fierce bloodsuckers that inject an ir ritating poison into our skins, and they ‘ may accompany the dose of toxin with a few fever germs. The males lead a com paratively tame existence, sub sisting on the juices of plants and fruits.’’ So says a member of the Ijniversity of Wisconsin biology department. \The speckle winged anopheles, the malarial mosquito,’’ he con tinues, \hibernates during the winter in our attics, cellars and closets. The presence of many lakes, swamps and ponds often makes mosquitoes an intolerable pest. \The female mosquito gorges herself with blood in order that the eggs may have abundant nourishment. She deposits her little egg raft on the surface of quiet water during the night, and it floats there until the larvae hatch. The larvae are the 'wig- glers’ or ‘wiggletails’ which are seen in ponds and rainwater barrels the world over. Though mosquito larvae always develop in water, they must breathe air and frequently come to the sur face. After a few days the larva sheds its skin and becomes a big headed pupa, which rests at the surface until it splits up the back to allow the adult mos quito to emerge. \The best way to get rid of mosquitoes is to destroy their breeding places. This not only means draining swamps and fill ing in ponds, but gathering up tomato cans, putting netting over horse troughs and rain water barrels and watching the eave troughs. If it is impossi ble to get rid of standing water near your premises, oil placed on ponds will kill the larvae. Kero sene or any light fuel oil will serve for this purpose. About one ounce of oil will cover fif teen square feet.’’ CLEAN UP -------------- and -------------- PAINT ÜP! THE TOWN BEAUTIFUL. Movement to Distribute Flower Seeds Should Spread. In Nebraska several public spirited communities have adopted tbe prac tice of distributing flower seeds to children in connection with the clean up and paintup propaganda. Tbe children are instructed in the planting and care of flowers and also in tbe simple methods of digging gar dens. The practice is known ns “ the town beautiful movement” Many a yard after being cleaned up becomes a spot of real beauty when a flower garden decorates it Even a back yard can be made a pleasure to tbe eye in this way. TR Y IT, NEIGHBORS! CLEANLINESS HELPS THE BABY. Dirt fattens files and kills babies. Baby needs pure air and clean food. He can’t get it if there is dirt around bis borne. Is your back yard littered with rub bish? Clean it out so baby can play there. Is your stairway or hallway dirty? Make It a fit place for baby. Don’t throw things In tbe street Baby plays there. Don’t throw garbage where you think no one will see it. The flies will find i t Don't leave dirt in your sink. It may get in baby’s food. Don’t leave dirty rags, bottles and cans around for baby to play with. Don’t^overlook ths fact that it is as important to paint up as it is to clean up while tha renovating war is on hereabouts. Paint is not only a cleanser and a beautifier, but it is a disinfectant as well. Also it preserves the life of buildings, fences, wagons, etc. Many a barn is leaky because Farmer John would not spend s.few dollars and a few hours on the simple job of giving it the needed coats of paint from year to year. Many a community has attracted new residents, new business and new repu tation by having a bright, prosperous appearance. Well painted buildings and fences, cleanly kept streets and sidewalks and neatly trimmed grass plots do more to give the impression of prosperity than any other things we can suggest. GET A MOVE ON, FOLKS. And where you consider the use of paint to be a useless expenditure use whitewash. It is cheap and clean and not unpleasing to ths eye. Cleanliness never is annoying.
