MODERN METHODS OF STREET CLEANING 



mary to clean most of the streets not regularly and 

 systematically, but spasmodically often only when the 

 conditions become so bad that public endurance will 

 no longer tolerate them. The cleaning is done by an 

 unorganized gang of laborers who swoop down upon a 

 district and with more or less hurrah clean it up with 

 shovels and brooms. 



This spasmodic cleaning is regarded in many parts of 

 the United States as highly praiseworthy. In cities of 

 from 10,000 to 100,000 inhabitants it is often done with 

 a great deal of advertisement and show. Thus a town 

 appoints a special day as cleaning day. The school 

 children are given a holiday so they can help their 

 elders clean up private premises and put the streets in 

 order. Gold prizes have been offered for the best work 

 of this kind and the city authorities solemnly agree that 

 teams "will haul away free of charge from any residence 

 all ashes, leaves, cans, bottles, paper, rags, and other 

 refuse except garbage." "Broom brigades" are some- 

 times formed. A city of 64,000 inhabitants in New York 

 State announced in the spring of 1908 that it had "inau- 

 gurated the work of street cleaning by putting a force 

 of 130 men and 40 teams at work. This is the largest 

 force ever employed on the streets." 



In some northern cities where outside work is im- 

 peded by ice and snow for several months and where the 

 business of cleaning the streets can be carried on through 

 the winter only at much expense, it is to be expected 

 that the cleaning of fine dirt from the pavements must 

 be interrupted or altogether suspended for long inter- 

 vals. But to stop all efforts at cleaning private premises 

 and public streets through a large part of the year, 

 allowing household and other coarse as well as fine 



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