binations among themselves. They now have a regularly authorized "Committee of Forty-one," elected by themselves, and fully recognized by the Commissioner as an element of the general method of discipline. This is made up entirely of sweepers and drivers. To it are first sent all complaints, appeals, and suggestions. Its discussions are secret, and its freedom of speech is absolute. Five members of this committee and five officers of the Department constitute a "Board of Conference," to which are forwarded all questions which the committee has not been able to settle. In this board the laboring men are on an absolute equality with the officers. In fact, the permanent chairman of the board is always either a sweeper or a driver. If the Board of Conference cannot decide any case, it is argued before the Commissioner, whose judgment is final.
During the first year of the working of this system 345 cases were submitted by the men to the Committee of Forty-one. This settled or rejected 221 of these, sending 124 cases to the Board of Conference, where all but a single one of them were determined by unanimous action and to the satisfaction of the men. The case that came to me was decided in favor of the complainant, and the fine which had been imposed was remitted, with this statment:
"Technically, and in accordance with all rules of discipline, the fine was a just one, and should be imposed in all similar cases. At the same time, I cannot avoid the feeling that this violation was made for no improper reason, and perhaps with a laudable desire to help the service; and, in any case, probably the ends of justice and discipline are as fully satisfied by the mental anxiety to which the driver has been subjected, and the full discussion the subject has received in the 'Committee of Forty-one' and the 'Board of Conference,' as they would be by the enforcement of the penalty. I, therefore, direct that the fine be remitted."
JUVENILE STREET INSPECTORS.
In the effort for general improvement no stone has been left unturned. Everything possible has been done to enlist the interest of all the people in our work, so that all might at least give the substantial negative aid of avoiding the littering of the streets. The end is not yet, by a great deal. Still, it cannot be gainsaid that where one person gave the least thought to the condition of the streets only three years ago, a hundred are now interested in keeping them clean.
Among the agencies by which this change has been brought about, the most important has been that of the Juvenile Leagues, the young volunteer aids of the Department. In the recent parade we turned out nearly five hundred boys and girls in white caps, representing many organizations, some of them of two years' standing. These organizations are actively engaged in "trying to keep the streets clean." This movement has been so useful and is now so promising that we are about to extend it throughout the whole public-school system, with the cordial concurrence of the Board of Education. The boys and girls constituting these leagues are active inspectors of local conditions, but they are especially useful as disseminators of ideas. They are our means of communication with their fathers and mothers, whom we often find it impossible to reach directly. Through them we get into contact with the public sentiment of large elements of the community which we could reach in no other way. Then, too, we are giving an entirely new and very useful training to those who are soon to become the men and women of the city. They are being taught that government does not mean merely a policeman to be run away from, but an influence which touches the life of the people at every point. We are making, it is hoped, citizens who will be interested in the city and who will do what they can to help improve its ways as well as its highways.
To this end we are bringing children into close relation with our work. Those who show the proper qualifications are given an official badge and a certificate (see illustration on page 917).
It is hoped that the children in the public schools will, in time, also be made familiar with the work of other departments of the city government.
It is not only through the children that the influence of clean streets has been felt by the people of the least intelligent classes. It has justly been said that "cleanliness is catching," and clean streets are leading to clean hallways and staircases and cleaner living rooms. A recent writer says:
"It is not merely justification of a theory to say that the improvement noticed in the past two and a half years in the streets of New York has led to an improvement in the interior of its tenement houses. A sense of personal pride has been awakened in the women and children, the results of which have long- been noticeable to every one engaged in philanthropic work among the tenement dwellers. When, early in the present administration, a woman in the Five Points district was heard to say to another, 'Well, I don't care, my street is cleaner than yours is, anyhow,' it was felt that the battle was won."
