Very interesting. I think a lot of people don't think about what a danger city streets were before the turn of the century or sewers. An elderly cousin noted that people lived with the common knowledge that the city was unhealthy and tried to send their children away to farm relatives during summers. This eventually led to the custom of summer camps. On 4/14/07, John O'Brien <JohnOBrien@kc.rr.com> wrote: > > "The Kansas City Evening Star" (Missouri) Monday, May 9, 1881 > > SAVE US. > > "Just cast your eye along that gutter," said a prominent citizen to > an Evening Star man, as they gently ambled along Sixth street > yesterday afternoon; "Isn't that a disgrace to any city?" > > The gutters were filled with a thick, black, slimy mud to the depth > of several inches, which extended from the corner of Delaware > street nearly to Main, sending up under the generous influence > of the sun a sickly odor, sufficient to saturate the entire > neighborhood with malaria. > > This opened up a new train of thought to the reportorial mind. It > struck him forcibly that he had noticed other streets in a similar, > if not worse condition. As a rule the streets are in a terrible state. > Mud and garbage defile them, and obstruct the sewer openings. > The rains come and this mass is water-soaked and stirred up into > a pulpy mortar bed of malaria-breeding filth. > > When the sun comes to the front, this steams and foments, giving > forth the noxious gases that make life a burden to the citizen. > This condition of affairs is apparent in every prominent street in > the city. > > Another distressing feature is the building material with which > contractors delight in blockading the thoroughfares. Give a builder > a permit, and immediately he proceeds to take possession of the > street for an entire block either way from where he is laboring. > > It would be useless to attempt to mention the streets on which this > sort of thing is to be seen. It would necessitate the publication of > a map of the entire city. > > There is a remedy for all this. The city engineer is required to see > that the streets are kept clean and he should be spurred up to his > duty with a very sharp pole. It is needless to point out to that > officer the resources on which he can draw to effect this end. He > understands thoroughly just what can be done, and he is well aware > that it is an easy matter to have all the city streets thoroughly > cleaned and purified and should proceed to accomplish that end > at once, before the hot season sets in and evil results from the > slime and garbage are felt. > > ====================================================== > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > KSWYANDO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >