752 TEE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of the familiar rules which govern every well-regulated house- 

 hold. Can a house be clean if the members of the family throw 

 waste paper and other refuse on the floors, and ignore the waste- 

 basket and the cuspidore ; and how many times a day must the 

 floors of the house be swept, if such a practice is tolerated ? 



It being absolutely necessary to the proper cleanliness of the 

 streets that no dust, dirt, refuse, ashes, or garbage should be 

 swept or thrown into the streets or upon the sidewalks, or allowed 

 to escape thereon from ash and garbage receptacles or from carts, 

 a thorough reform must be secured in this particular, and by the 

 following means : 



1. The education of the entire population of the city on this 

 subject. All desire clean streets, and an appeal to the common 

 sense and public spirit of the people will be successful. A plain 

 and simple circular from an official source should be placed in the 

 hands of each householder and storekeeper, and of each family 

 in tenement-houses, to the effect that every particle of dust, dirt, 

 ashes, garbage, and refuse should be placed in the garbage recep- 

 tacles, and that the sidewalk should not be swept into the street, 

 but the dust and paper thereon should be carefully gathered and 

 placed in the garbage receptacles of the stores or houses. Such a 

 circular would be disregarded by some, and all such should be 

 personally warned by an officer of police against the continuance 

 of the practice. Owners of carts conveying dirt, ashes, garbage, 

 manure, or any refuse, should be notified that their carts must be 

 absolutely tight and properly covered, and that the escape into 

 the street of any part of the contents, however trifling, is a viola- 

 tion of the sanitary ordinances, which will be officially noticed by 

 the police. In a very few months the people would thoroughly 

 understand the importance of this subject, and few would over- 

 look or violate regulations so reasonable and proper. 



2. When proper notice and warning fail to prevent throwing, 

 sweeping, or allowing the escape into the streets or upon the side- 

 walk of any dirt, ashes, garbage, or other refuse, the vigorous 

 enforcement of proper sanitary ordinances becomes necessary. It 

 should be made a part of the duty of every police officer on patrol 

 to arrest any one violating such ordinances, and to ascertain who 

 is guilty of any violation in the absence of an officer ; and, for any 

 neglect of such duty, officers should be held to as rigid accounta- 

 bility by their superiors as for failure to arrest or detect offend- 

 ers against the laws concerning life and property. In many Eu- 

 ropean cities the police are so active and vigilant in enforcing 

 sanitary laws and ordinances of this character that the streets 

 are models of cleanliness, and their condition materially promotes 

 the health, comfort, and happiness of the people. To make the 

 action of the police effective, the hearty co-operation of the courts 



