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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1915)
THE SEMLWEEKLY TRIBUNE NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. i HHHPHH .K' 'VV. JHHMMAki. X IGHTING TM PLAGUE ?T. CAAU0& C P?cr FJ. I R.n L STAFF CORRESPONDENT 0E THE uuvvMru l vjcir t 4 i A LONG tlio lovccs gunrdlng tlio crea-cent-shaped hanks of tlio Missis sippi river nt Now Orleans, the good rat ship, Neptune, 1b at deadly work. Deadly work which 1h Hfo-anving work, dono under tho direction of Undo Sam's pub He health service. Hats carry tho parasite which transmits tho fright ful dlseafic, bubonic plngue, to mnn. The Neptune's work Is to kill tho rat and to savo man. It Ib doing Its work moat efficiently Tho Nopluno In In charge of PnBt Assistant Sur geon Norman Roberts, while Asulatnnt Surgoon-Gon-rral William C. Itucker Is In charge of the general crusado being conducted by the public health service ngalnst tho rat plaguo and paraslto. Dr. Clntido C. Pierce Is also ono of tho determined workers In tho tuitlplague crusado. TIiIb rat-kllllng ship Is worth a thousand ferretH, a thousand catB and a thousand terriers In Its work of rodent extermination. With Inno breath It can kill 10,000 rats. It can kill tho liu.uuu, but lot it bo said that only occasionally 1h it called 'upon to breathe out death upon more than 1100 of tho posts at ono exhalation, for seldom Is a larger number found on ono ship. Why It Is done, and how It Ib dono, It is hero tho purposo of n layman to sot down, trusting that tho doctors of the public health service will approve tho Hplrlt, even if tho strict lan guage of bdenco, In which tho ttrofension usually communl- rates itH views, is horo notorious by its absonco. Lot it bo toIdW Unit how it Ib dono. ' Tho Noptuno Is llttlo nioro limn n big tub, but H Is well fitted up with quarters for the medical offlcors and tho crew who ' liuvlgate it nnd direct Its beneficent work When thoro woro rumors of tho ppearauco of tho dread plaguo in tho Croscent City, tho Neptuno put to Hca from Philadelphia and mndo tho trip in quick timo to Now Or leans. Mb deadly pro Jeotllo la monoxido of carbon; its wenpon of offense is tho hoso and iwzzlo; and its powdor Ib colco which burns in a closed furnnco. Monox ido of carbon Ih morn deadly than Bhrnpnol, A RAT GUARD which occasionally woundH only, allowing Its vic tim to live out hla natural days and to dlo In bod. Thoro aro no wounded to bo picked up after a battery of monoxido of carbon has been at Its -work. Tho casualty liwt Ib ono of tho dead only. Hats, as has been said, carry tho parasite, which is a flea, from which it Is posBlblo for man to become Infected with tho disease, bubonic plague. Tho public health sorvico Iiuh classified all the commercial ports of tho world ns follows: "Cloiw," "Suspected," "Infected." When a ship hound for New Orleans, reaches quarantine, which Ib a good ways down tho river from tho Crescent City, It Is boarded. Thore, If an unusual number of ratB aro found on board, or If other conditions Hoem to require it, thoro is a sulphur fumigation. Then tho ship proceeds on its way to Now Or leans, It is then that the public health olllcora tako up a watch on tho vossol, There have boon plaguo ratB in Now Oiienna. Thoro aro certnln places whoro ints ate moro llkoly to succeed in getting onto a vessel than they aro at othora. There Is no greater do Hlro that rats which poBBlbly may he Infected Hhall get on to n ship than that rata In the saino IKiBBlblo condition shall leave it for the shore. It 1a poaalblo for precautions to bo taken which will prevent tho rodents either from leaving or enter ing tho voasol. Tholr ordinary way of egress or ingress Ib along cables or ropea which lead from tho vessel to tho shore. To prevent ontranco and oxlt guards are attached to tho ropes and no rat Ih ablo to pass thorn. When tho public health officials find that It Is necessary to turn their monoxido of eaiuon bat tery loose on a ship tho hatches aro buttoned clown, ovory window of every cabin Is sealed, and nil the cracks of tho doors are closod with paper attached by meana of flour paste Then tho Nop tune steams up alongside, tho eoko in tho closed furnace la atnrtco burning and tho generatod monoxido of carbon passes through a hose into tho hold of tho nhlp until it Ih filled with tho dead ly gas. Then attention la turned to tho cablna nnd staterooms, each of which Is given its full chargo of tho ovorpoworlng Tunies. Tho vessel is loft nlono for bIx hours nnd then the hatches, doore, windows nnd port holes aro opened nnd tho gas eacupoa. All that romalna to bo dono Ib to go In nnd gather up tho dead rats. The fumigating proceaB IcIUb not only tho rats, but everything olso living that la qn board and thin means everything living down to the mlnutoat form of animal life. Danger la passing quickly from Now Orleans and it Ib passing becnuao not only tho health au thorities of tho atato and city, but thoso of tho government took hold of tho situation at onco ami saved It, if It really noedod saving, and thoro arc thoso who bollovo that If unchecked, tho bu bonic pluguo might have obtained a firm foothold. Pr William C. Itucker, who has been In chargo at Nifv Orleans, la experienced In antilnguo work, 7 Mi- SPREADING " J I i RAT A WBk WLOTERnliLWJPAPERUNOIf sz. m lASJ5TAHr JURffBIN GFMTflAL WCMrxrA ATm '" MhI8Hmi Cr cbrffiAiaffGsor Vjsjl to I SLSkL. WKBBSKKSM9rjJAr(7jq7:' j'oy?Ar orjmucr0r 1 ri niniiPlirr ' 11 F lfl1 ' H'i gffisfc&g. WPkdpmmy rat f 3l .;aatm- mOK- - . ijri-r k. . . ,-' . '' -si&$f!z&azp& '. a -iV' Jyj'iSfeyk-,v yoisc a 7&ir xooxsey" having acrved In San Francisco, whoro ho was oxocutlvo olllcer whon tho crusado against tho plnguo was Instituted in that city. Tho rat ship Noptuno does Its work on tho watorfront of cities, but it muat not bo supposed thnt vessels nlono aro tho habitation of rats which may carry with thorn tho germs of a dread dla eaae. In any city which may bo suspected of har boring rats aflllctcd with tho plaguo paraslto, tho criiBiulo against tho rodents Ib carried on In nil sections or tho town where- tho rodents abound. Thousands upon thousands of tho rats aro caught In traps and ovory rat caught is tagged, so that tho place whero It was taken can bo known defi nitely. Tho bodies or tho anlihals aro taken to tho public health laboratory and there they aro oxamlncd, tho examinations Bometlmos reaching tho number of 1,000 a day. Each of tho dead rata la examined thoroughly and an experienced man can tell instantly thoso which nppoar to bo affected. In tho caso of a sus pect, or whero It Is definitely dotormined thnt tho rat actually has tho disease, tho tag la conaultod nnd the place or capture of tho animal la learned Thou tho work of extermination nnd of fumlgntlon and perhaps demolition or buildings begins In tho neighborhood from which tho Infected rat camo. Hero la what Assistant Surgeon-Ooneral Wil liam C. Hucker has said In ono brief paragraph concerning tho eradication and provontlon of bu honlo phmun: "Plague la primarily a dlsenso of rodents, and secondly and accidentally, a disease of man. Man's aafoty from tho dlsenso Ilea In tho exclusion of tho rodont and Its pnrnsltos. This Is tho baHls of all preventive and erndlcntlvo work If a man can llvo in rodent-freo aurroundlnga ho noed have no fear of plnguo, becauBo If thoro bo no rodents there enn bo no rodent lmrnsltcB, and for all prac tical purposes the flea may he conaidored as tho common vector of tho dlseaso from rodent to rodent and from rodent to man. Tho eradication of bubonic plaguo. thoiefore, meniiB tho eradica tion of rodenta." Now, In n layman's language tho path of tho bubonic plaguo from rodent to man la something llko this: A rat hna tho plaguo. Whore It got It wo will say nobody knows, for tho origin of tho thing la as much or a question as "which came first, tho hen or tho egg, Kvory rat baa lleas. Tho rat which has the plaguo la bitten by a floa, which absorbs tho plaguo poison. Tho rat dies, wo will say; tho iltn loaves It and In some wny getB on to a mnn, the pnnislto Is charged with tho dlscaao and If tho poison is trnnsmlttod bo -"VsiS.-. , A V neath tho skin of a human being the plnguo results. In the week ending Sep tember 2C, 1914, Assistant Surgeon-General Itucker's report shows thnt 70 ves sels were fumigated with sulphur and 13 with car bon monoxide nnd there were 128,853 packages of freight inspected. In this week moro than eight thousand rats were trapped and examined. Hundreds of premises were fumigat ed or dlalnfected and many moro plnces were Inspected. During the one week 199 buildings were made rat-proof. Altogeth er tho number of buildings thus guarded ngalnst tho entry of rodenta was 1,300. Asslatant Surgeon-General Itucker followa his word that the eradication of bu bonic plaguo meana tho eradication of rodenta by snylng that in America wo have two rodents which are comprehended In the problem, tho rat and the ground squirrel, and appar ently each plays a very distinct role in tho propa gation nnd perpetuation of. tho disease. The rat is distinctly do mestic in Us habits, and theretoro comes in moro or less Intimate contact with man. It frequents tho great hlghwaya of tho world, travola long distances In shlpB nnd occa alonally on tralnB. Tho ground squirrel docs not llvo in human habitations nnd It makea only short migrations. As Doctor Itucker puts it, it is al most a ncgllglblo factor In tho direct transfer of tho dlscaao to man. Tho ground squirrel's great function In the plnguo scheme is that of a rural reservoir from which from time to time the dis ease flows over to tho suburbnn rat, thence to his city cousin and thence to mnn. In parts of the West the public health sorvico Is conducting a crusado against tho ground squlr rel. This animal looks not unlike tho common gray squirrel, and tho help or tho scientists of tho biologlcnl survey of tho department of agrlcul turo In Washington has been given to tho work of the extermination of this animal over largo tracts of land. Tho public health service has given in Its ro ports descriptions of tho means wljlch should be taken to prevent the spread of tho disease with which tho rodenta aro affected. Instructions are given in rat-trapping, rat-proofing, in methods of destroying rat habitations and to these aro added ehaptors on tho natural enemy of rats, owls, hnwks. weasels, cats, dogs, ferreta and tho other creatures which either consider tho ropulsivo rnt a jlolirncy or llko to prey upon It Trom sheer love of Wiling. Tho country probably has little knou ledge of the constant work which la being dono by tho public health service of tho United States govern ment to safeguard tho pcoplo from disenso nnd death Tho plague preventive work which has been dono la to scientists ono of tho most Inter estlng works in tho wholo Held of their study and endeavor OUT OF COMMISSION. Nervous Wife Oh, Harry, dear, do ordor a mouse-trap to bo sent homo today. Harry Hut you bought one last week. Nervous Wife Yes, dear, but there's a mouso in that Pcaiaon'8 Weokly. A SAD FAREWELL. (M7T-or-CM)INAK nr People v- DOCTOR JORDAN, PEACE ADVOCATE Among tho peace advocates of the United States, place In tho front rank must bo accorded Dr. David Starr Jor dan, chancellor of Leland Stanford university, becauae of hla conslatency nnd persistency. Everywhere and at all tlmca ho Bpreads tho doctrine of universal peace and disarmament. No sooner did Heprcsentatlvo Gardner and others begin their campaign for more ndequnto national defonscs than Doctor Jordan sprang into tho arena and hurried East on a lecture tour. Japan, ho declares, la financially un ablo to carry on a war ngalnst us, nnd by tho time the present war Is over, lasting International peaco will have been assured by tho pacifist move ment. "Politicians start all this wnr scare nnd war talk," ho says. "They do it to bring themselves into the limelight. Every naval officer knows that tho outlay of millions for arma ments Is not for efficiency, but waste Every' military officer knows tho same thing. Soldiers aro police. They only become soldiers when they are above the law, when martial law is pro claimed. This nation has not ono thing In a million to do but nit tight. "We should not tolerato any tirade against the so-called Inefficiency of the army or the navy, and wo Bhould, protest ngalnst an agitation for moro armament nt a time when tho nations of the earth are crumbling each other because simply of their perfect equipment." SIAMESE PRINCE VISITS US Princo Kampengpetch, brother of tho king of Sinm, fell ill and the court physician prescribed a tour of tho w orld. Consequently the United States has been having the houor of enter taining that royal personage, togethor with the princess and Capt. S. Yoo, military nlde. Landing In Now York with 25 trunks and two Siamese dachshunds, tho party visited tho chief cities of the country and then crossed tho continent for a somewhat pro longed stay in tho Yellowstone Na tional park and tho Yosemite valley. "The princess and I plan to cover tho entire world on our tour before returning to Slam noxt February," said tho prince. "We have been trav eling over a year now and have cov ered most of central Europe. From this country wo will go to Japan and China. "This trip is much more wonder ful for the prlncoss than for me, be cause I apent ten years on tho conti nent, after I finished my course at Cambridge. never been far away from Slam." Though tho princo is not much more than Ave feet tall, several years' Bervico in the Siamese army has given him a military bearing. His manner resembles tho EngliBh far more than it doea the Oriental. On each arm ho woro a heavy gold bracelet, one of them bearing a watch. Ills fingers woro well supplied with rings. Tho princess, however, has MEANS TO LIVE TQ BE 120 Prof. Frederick Starr of the Uni versity of Chicago, a scientist with a acorc of foreign decorations, la cer tain ho will live to be ono hundred and twenty years old. He said so re cently on hla arrival in Los Angeles, whero he spent the first vacation ho has had in 30 years. Professor Starr ia fifty-six years old. "Another man who feels Huro of great longevity," said Professor Starr, "is Count Okuma, premier of Japan. Tho count is absolutely certain ho will reach one hundred and twenty-flvo years. "The count and I aro old friends," said the professor. "Ho seoma just as suro that ho Is going to beat mo by five years as he ia that he Is alive today. We havo agreed that, if ho Is still alive when 1 reach ono hundred and twenty yenrs, ho gets a present. If I am still allvo when ho gets to bo ono hundred and twenty-five yeara, I get a present. How's that for a wager?" Professor Starr said tho secret of a long life ia nlwayB to smile, never to get angry, and to keep working all tho time. "Tho history of man through all tho ages," he said, "show's that those of tho sunny temperament have tho longer life." Plfcll? DOCTOR MUNR0E, EXPLOSIVE EXPERT "So you aro going to mako another tour?" "Yo8," icplied the actor. "Hut you advertised your previous eugi'gement ns n farewell occasion." "It was one Wo aald good-hy to noarly a thousand dollars " When dispatches camo from the wnr zone telling of tho wonderful lethal gases thrown off by tho oxplod Ing turpinite shells and of how those gases destroy instantly all life over a considerable area, the Washington correspondents turned at onco to Dr. Charles Edward Munroe, who pro nounced the stories to bo "bunk." What Doctor Munroe haa to aa about exploslvea is Interesting nlways. He knows his subject. He is, per haps, Uncle Sam's most distinguished expert on explosives. Now sixty-five yeara old, from hla youth he has ex perimented with and investigated ma terials that explodo His publlcatlona on tho subject, totaling aomo one hun dred volumes, aro standard. Heredity and environment made Doctor Munroe a student, for he was. born at Cambridge, Mass , of a achol nrly family. He was. of course, edu cnted at llanard, from which Institu tion he was graduated w Ith tho degree or bachelor of science in 1S71. For three years he was an aBalstan profes sor or chomlhtr nt Ilannrd. Chemistry lb a broad Held and ho acquired a familiarity with oer portion of It, but especially was ho attracted by that portion in which ho later apcclnl.t.ed. Tho things that went off" had a faaclnntlon for him Then for 12 years ho was professor of chemistry nt nnapolia, and alnco 1886 ho has been In tho employ of tho government at Washington. S ' I Irk r A - L I h