Former Street Cleaning Commissioner William H. Edwards, of New York, says that four kinds of cooperation are needed by street cleaning departments:
(1) “Cooperation with the force by showing a human interest in the work of the men. This can be done by establishing a pension fund so that when a man has served faithfully for twenty years and has reached the age of 60 or has become incapacitated after he has served ten years, or is injured in the performance of his duty at any time after service has begun so that he is disabled for future service, he can be retired on half pay. This instills in men a keen desire to do better work and permits the Commissioner to retire men who are no longer able to do good work. The danger of street sweepers in busy streets is apparent to any one. More than 2,500 accidents resulting in death or personal injury or damage to property occurred in one year in connection with the New York City Department’s activities. The percentage of killed in the street cleaning force was considerably higher than that in the police force.
(2) “Cooperation of women in the communities in New York. The Women’s Municipal League and other bodies have cooperated with the department. Every year they offer a medal to the sweeper, driver or foreman who does the best all around work.
(3) “Cooperation with citizens. Carelessness up to the present time has added to the work and expense and has been an obstacle to real cleanliness. It must be remembered that before the sweeper can begin that part of the work which is beyond prevention, he must remove the litter carelessly thrown on the street.
(4) “The formation of ordinances for the prevention of this carelessness. If the department has the effective cooperation of the police department and of the magistrates, in the enforcement of the ordinances, then and only then can this particular condition be reduced to a practical minimum. In an attempt to enforce ordinances forbidding the throwing of litter in the streets, New York City in 1915 caused the arrest of 5,400 persons for violating ordinances relating to street conditions of the scattering of refuse. In addition to these arrests in the last three months of the year more than 18,000 formal written warnings were issued for the violation of ordinances.”