Expectorating On the Streets

Monday, 21 June 2010 05:00

June 21, 1895. The editor of The Week magazine expresses a dim view of those who expectorate on both the snowy and summer streets of Toronto.

A protest comes to me from the fair sex re the growing nusiance of “expectorating fiends.” It is said that an Englishman when on a visit here in the winter enquired as to the cause of “those brown spots on the snow.” My young friend wished to know whether it would not be possible to have a by-law passed making it compulsory for men to spit into the “ditch.” As an inducement to do this she suggests the placing of what are euphemistically called cuspidors at intervals along the sidewalks. The extermination of “brown spots” would be welcomed by all the fair sex. The “toughs” who are guilty of making them should certainly not be admitted on our streetcars. What does an “expectorating fiend” want on a vehicle which is used by ladies attired in delicate and dainty summer dresses? Expectorate the animal!