The report of this Committee, including its selection of the Superintendent of Schools as General Chairman and the Manager of the Civic and Industrial Department of the Chamber of Commerce as General Secretary, was submitted to a large meeting attended by representatives of the civic organizations, the State Fire Marshal, the schools, the Fire Prevention Bureau, the Salvage Corps and others. Its plan of organization was adopted and its selection of members of the committees approved. The Mayor promised the cooperation of all city departments.
Publicity Plans
The keystone in the arch of any successful campaign is effective publicity. This is obtained through newspapers, bulletins, circulars, buttons, rubber stamps, placards, posters, motion pictures, banners, trolley cars, bill boards and private advertising.
Cincinnati reports that no other factor contributed more to the success of its campaign than the newspapers. By giving daily reports of the progress of the work during clean-up week the press created a rivalry among the various wards.
In the Philadelphia campaign the total space devoted to newspaper publicity amounted to 14,225 lines, or 88 full length columns of printed matter, of one column a day for eleven days in each of the Philadelphia newspapers. For the benefit of the foreign born the same information was printed in every foreign newspaper published in that city. Cartoonists depicted Clean-up Week as a family affair and showed it to be a real pleasure as well as a necessity. The editorial writers in a more serious vein urged the necessity of cooperation and pointed the way to communal benefits to follow.
Bulletins, properly distributed, are effective in arousing civic pride and procuring the cooperation of householders. The first should be the official proclamation by the Mayor. The Mayor of Kirkville, Illinois, gave this advice in his proclamation:
If your store is dingy—paint it.
If your awning is ragged and old, get a new one.
If your walk is an eyesore to those traveling over it, repair it or have a new one.
If there are unsightly traps in front of your property, or broken limbs, burn them.