The City of Mud and Broken Promises
Business owners in Walla Walla are demanding the city address the 'execrable' state of downtown crosswalks, suggesting that hiring unemployed men to clean them is both a public service and an economic necessity.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
There is no doubt that the abominable condition of the streets is a costly sort of economy to business men and they are anxious for a change. There are men here at home in need of honest employment, and the street committee could benefit these men and the city by putting them to work in cleaning the crosswalks. There was a time in the past history of the town when the muddy crosswalks in the business district were cleaned every day, and taxes were then lower than they now are. Last year about $2,000 was spent on the streets, yet there is little to show for it. Business men have good reason to complain of the execrable condition of the streets, and if there is not a change for the better soon, they will make their indignation felt in a way that will not be misunderstood.
“Business men have good reason to complain of the execrable condition of the streets, and if there is not a change for the better soon, they will make their indignation felt in a way that will not be misunderstood.”
Local business associations often serve as the first line of advocacy for basic municipal maintenance, a tradition that persists today in Walla Walla's downtown improvements. The argument that public works spending yields little return is a century-old refrain, echoing modern frustrations over infrastructure management and budget transparency.
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