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Rats ! The expression is generally
sue of contempt ; but if a person would
'pause for a moment and consider that
tie damage done by these rodents in
the United States alone ameunts to
over $20,000,600 a year : the tone would
' be changed to that of fear. Occupying
J only a small part of the Old World at
one time , through the continued
rf spread of commerce these animals ,
have been furnished free transporta
tion to the most distant parts of tke
earth. Traps , poisons , gases and re
cently ; cultures supposed to spread fa
tal diseases have been resorted to to
drive out : tke pest. In spite of all
these the animals continue to prosper
aad multiply and their numbers and
destructiveness keep pace with the ad-
Vance of modern eivili ation. Though :
thousands and thousands have been
killed it is only a short time before
thousands and thousands more replace
the slain. Unless some new method of
extermination is devised the war
promises to "be never ending.
l David E. Lantz , assistant , biological
survey , has prepared an article on
the brown rat that is highly interest-
\ ing to all and instructive to those who
w a" ore bothered by the pest. His ideas of
the suppression of the reproduction of
the rodent are the enactment and the
rigid enforcement of municipal ordi-
I nances providing for the disposal of
garbage and the protection . of food
supplies. He says :
"Every effort should be made to in-
struct as to the necessity for care in
sthe
the disposition of refuse and the pro-
tection of food material. Tightly
closed garbage cans , frequently
emptied , will go far toward limiting
the food available for rats. Grain
to bins in thousands of private and pub-
' lic stables now afford food and harbor-
age for thousands . of rats ; public mar-
kets and feed , provision and grocery
stores , notoriously lacking in protec-
tion from rats should have their con-
tents safeguarded from these animals.
"The advantages of cement in the
cellars and foundations of public and
private buildings are now so well un
derstood that the rat-proofing of build-
Ings by cement construction and other
necessary measures should : no longer
be left to individual inclination and
.
"
- ' judgment , but should be incorporated
in building regulations and these
strictly enforced. The additional ex
pense , compared with the advantage ,
Is trivial.
I .
"The early history of the brown rat
is practically unknown. The species
is generally supposed to be of Asiatic
origin , but there is no positive knowl-
edge as to its native country. The
brown rat differs from the other two
.
species in "America in larger size ,
shorter head , more obtuse muzzle ,
smaller ears and relatively shorter
tail. The general color is grayish
brown above and whitinh below. The .
i
overhairs of the upper part have black
i
I
THE WAGES OF CRIME
> LTcrafie Income of TIio e Who P ; of-
It by Violence and Bloodshed.
j . To formulate anything more than
an approximate estimate of the cost
of 'crime to the country at large
Trauld , of course , be a task almost im-
posalble of accomplishment , for the
i . reason that in country districts records
.
! r are much more imperfectly kept , while
i / tie proportionate cost of crime Is un-
I ; doubtedly higher than for a large city.
. / . Tie cost of crime included in taxation
v in New York city is about $6 per
capita of population , the highest in
the country. In San Francisco it is
1
estimated at about $5 , and in ether
elties from $4 to 450. \
' . It is probably well wilbto. - 4fce - Ilm- . -
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS.
- r
The following are important aids in limiting the number of rats and
reducing the losses from their depredations :
1-Protection of our native hawks , owls , and smaller predatory mam-
mals-the natural enemies of rats.
2-Greater cleanliness about stables , markets , grocery stores , ware-
houses , courts , alleys and vacant lots in cities and villages , and like care on
farms and suburban premises. This includes the storage of waste and gar
bage in tightly covered vessels and the prompt disposal of it each day.
3-Care in the construction of buildings and drains so as not to provide
entrance and retreats for rats , and the permanent closing of all rat holes in
old houses and cellars.
4-The early thrashing and marketing of grains on farms , so that
stacks and mows shall not furnish harborage and food for rats.
5-Removal of outlying straw stacks and piles of trash or lumber that
harbor rats in the fields.
6-Rat-proofing of warehouses , markets , cribs , stables and granaries for
storage of provisions , seed grain and feed stuffs.
7-Keeping effective rat dogs , especially in , city warehouses.
8 - The systematic destruction of rats , whenever and wherever possible ,
by ( a ) trapping , ( b ) poisoning , and ( c ) organized hunts.
9-The organization of "rat clubs" and other societies for systematic
warfare against rats.
tips. The tail is usually shorter .than
the head and body combined , while in
the other two species it is generally
longer.
"During the plague of rats on the
island of Jamaica , in 1833 the num-
ber killed on a single plantation was ?
38,000. The injury to sugar cane on
the island by the animals was esti-
mated at that time to be $500,000 a
year. Over 12,000,000 were killed In
India during a year. Observations
I
show that climate and food supply I
greatly affect the rate of multiplica- !
tion of rodents. The rat . is no excep- ! .
tion. It increases more rapidly in a.
moderately ; warm climate with an
abundant supply of food.
"The destruction of feedstuffs by
rats is a serious loss not only on the
farm but in almost every city and vil
lage in the whole country. Often
through the carelessness or indiffer-
ence of servants the bin or barrel in
which feed is kept is left uncovered ,
and the rats fairly swarm to the night-
ly feast. In cases investigated in
Washington , D. C. , the loss was equal
to 5 or 10 per cent of the grain bought.
A grocer was buying feed for two
horses and several hundred rats ; the
horses were fed at regular intervals
and the rats nearly all of the time.
In the case of an establishment feed-
ing from fifty to a hundred horses the
loss of feed in the course of a year
often amounts to a , large item
"Rats are very fond of malt and
in malt houses and brewerIes con-
stant watchfulness is necessary to pre-
vent losses. Mills , elevators and ware-
houses in which grain is stored are
likewise subject to the invasion of the
animals. Also the destruction of sacks ,
barrels and bins is a large item of
loss.
"The rodents aro very fond of poul-
try and eggs. A commission mer-
chant of Washington relates that he
i once stored in his warehouse 100 dozen
.
its of safety to say that the total
direct cost of crime to the country at
large is about $600,000,000 or $700,000-
000 annually. : Criminal losses by fire
last year totaled about $100,000,000 ,
vhile the loss of wages of some 250-
000 prisoners in State , city and coun
ty jails and prisons , amounted to
something over $50,000,000. There are
at present about 100,000 criminals con-
fined in 'the State prisons of the coun-
try , and it is estimated that from 5
to 10 times as ' many more are success-
ful in eluding the law. From statistics
presented to the Prison Association of
New York some years ago it has been
ascertained that persons who follow
crime as a business realize from their
spoliation of the public $1,600 each per
_ .
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eggs in a wooden tub with a lid of
board nailed on. Rats gnawed a hole
through the top and carried away all
but twenty-eight and a half dozen ,
leaving no stains or shells to show
that any had been broken. Rats are
very destructive to tame pigeons and
young : squabs , game birds , fruit and
vegetables.
"It Is generally believed that mice
and rats cause fire by igniting matches
with their teeth. The testimony of
I .
chiefs of fire departments and insur-
ance adjusters confirms this belief.
Manufacturers : of matches often dip I
the ends in paraffin to protect the !
phosphorus. The paraffin is attractive
to rats and mice and the matches are
often carried behind walls , under
floors and behind partitions where
they are gnawed. Rats have been
known to gnaw through the lead gas
pipes and cause explosions. Rats often
do .mischief by gnawing the insulating
covering of telephone wires to obtain
the paraffin it contains.
"At state and national fish hatch-
eries the rats cause much trouble by
burrowing into embankments and
gnawing holes through wooden tanks.
They have been known to gnaw the
hoofs of horses until they bled. They
have been known to kill young lambs
and pigs and to attack very fat hogs
and eat holes in their body causing
death.
"There is a child buried near the
summit of Pike's Peak that is supposed
to have been killed by rats.
"The most serious charge against
rats grows out of their relation to hu
man health. It is now positively
known that rats are chiefly responsi-
ble for the spread of the bubonic
plague , a malady which , in spite of
modern methods of fighting it , has
within the past dozen years destroyed
over 5,000,096 human beings in India
alone.
"BUbonic plague in man is entirely
annum. When it is considered that
the receivers of stolen goods get the
lion's share of the profit , some idea is
obtained of how great the cost to the
community really is , and how small ,
comparatively , is the wages going to
those who risk their freedom , even life
itself , in following this mode of exist-
ence.
During thirty years of asbestos pro-
duction , Canada , which leads the
world in the output of the mineral ,
has produced over $20,000,000 worth.
The 800-foot bridge over the Yellow
River at Lanchowfn , in the Province
of , Kansu , Is nearing completion. All
materials had to be conveyed nearly
1,000 miles in Chinese carts
2
. ' -
:
DAMAGE BY : RATS. :
The estimated damage done by rats
in the various countries is as follows :
Denmark . . . . . . . . . . _ _ . . . . . $ 3,000,080
France . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . i . 40,000,000
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ _ . 50,000,008
Great Britaia . . . . . . . . ; - - . 73,000,000
United States . . . . . . . . : . . . 20,000,000
Mexico _ . . _ . . . . _ . . . _ . . . _ - . 15,000,000
Canada _ . . . . . . . _ . . . . . 2,000,000
dependent upon the disease in the rat.
"The infection is conveyed from rat
to rat and from rat to man solely by
means of the rat flea.
"A case of buljonie } plague in man is
not in itself infectious.
"A large majority of plague cases
occur singly in houses. When more
house the
than one case occurs in a
' simultaneous.
attacks' : are generally
( This proves that there is no soil in-
fection. )
"Plague is usually conveyed from
place to place by imported rat fleas ,
which are carried by people on their
persons or in their baggage. The hu
man agent not infrequently himself
escapes infection.
"Unsanitary conditions have no re
lation to the occurrence of plagues ex
cept in so far as they favor infestation
by rats.
"The non-epidemic season is bridged
over by acute plague in the rat , accom-
panied by a few cases among human
beings.
"Rats have been fought all over the
world with renewed effort since this
discovery has been made. The gov-
ernment on the Pacific slope has taken
up the fight and has exterminated mil-
lions of the rodents.
"Except that to a limited extent rats
act as scavengers , they render no im-
portant service to man.
"In former times , doubtless , their
work as scavengers in cities was of
considerable value , but modern meth
ods of garbage disposal make this
service insignificant.
"Among the methods for driving
away rats that have proved useful
under some circumstances . are the fol -
lowing :
" 1. Freshly slaked lime 'placed dry
in all burrows and runs of rats.
" 2. Freshly made thin whitewash
poured into the rat burrows. .
" 3. A strong solution of copperas
sprinkled in runs and burrow en-
trances.
" 4. Chloride of lime , loose or
wrapped in old rags , placed in bur-
rows and runs.
" 5. Gas tar daubed about the bur-
row entrances.
" 6. Powdered red pepper scattered
in rat runs and burrows. :
" 7. Caustic potash placed in the
burrows and runs.
"Owing to their cunning it is not
easy to catch rats by trapping. A
few adults refuse to enter the most in-
nocent looking trap. And yet trap-
ping if persistently followed Is one of
the most effective ways of destroying
the animal. For general use the im
proved modern trap with a wire fall
released by a baited trigger driven
by a coiled spring has marked advan-
tages over tEe old trap , and many of
them may be used at the same time.
Probably those used entirely of metal
are the best , as they are less liable
to retain odors.
"Vienna sausage ( Wienerwurst ) and
fried bacoa are the best baits , and a
part of an ear of corn is very attrac-
tive to the animals. In fact , they will
attack anything edible that is offered
them.
"The French wire cage traps are
very , food where rats are numerous.
All cage traps should be baited and
left open fer a few nights so that the
rats become accustomed to enter them I
in the search for food. As many as !
twenty-five partly grown rats have : '
been caught at one time with one of
these trajs. "
J
SIDELIG TS.
The Salvation Army Is established
in fifty-two countries.
The war department paid $94,418 for
artificial limbs last year.
Six out of seven pictures sent to
the Royal Academy every year are re
jected.
The railroads of this country pay
out $24,000,010 a year in freight
claims.
One-fifth of the country's wealth is
represented la the New York stock
exchange. ]
An owl with a nest of young will
gather about forty mice a day for her
offspring.
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Oak Park , a suburb of Chicago , is
located on the highest point of land
between Lake Michigan and the Des
Plaines River - "on a hill seven feet
high. " ' But how came ' this com-
manding eminence there ? Back in
the frigid heart of the glacial pe-
riod , about 20,000 years ago next De-
cember , the . northern part of America
was covered over with a great conti-
nental Ice sheet. It was like : the ice
sheet which now covers Greenland ; It
was formed by the impaction of thou-
sands of feet of snow , and flowed slow-
ly southward , like the advance of very
thick molasses candy on the surface of
a plate. Finally there came a succes
sion of mild winters , and the ice sheet ,
began to recede ; its extreme margin ,
which had been building up the Val
paraiso hills , which skirt the southern
end of Lake Michigan , retreated with-
in the present basin of the lake , and
slowly moved farther and farther
north. Its place was taken by a lake
-Lake Chicago. The surface of this
lake was sixty feet above the present
level of Lake Michigan.
The extent of Lake Chicago is some-
what indefinite , for the edge of the ice
sheet formed its northern boundary
and varied much from year to year as
Old Mother : Earth struggled to throw
off its glacial burden. Eastward the
lake included the present areas of
Lake Huron and Lake Erie , and cov-
ered the region lying between them ;
a broad arm extending across south-
ern Michigan from the Saginaw Val-
ley connected its eastern and western
portions. Lake Superior had at this
time its own outlet into the Missis-
sippi ; Lake Ontario was still covered
by the ice sheet. ,
Anything more desolate and awful
than the scenery of Lake Chicago at
this time it is difficult to conceive-
a vast stretch of ice cold water froz
en over in the winter and dotted with
Icebergs in the summer. Where now
stand the Auditorium icebergs ground-
ed in June and great drifting floes
creaked and groaned against each oth-
er through the dark days of the fall.
There was no fish in the sea , no bird
flew overhead , no animal walked or
crawled along the desolate : shore.
The outlet of Lake Chicago was
southwest through the Des Plaines
and Illinois rivers into the Mississippi.
Lemont was in a mile-wide valley
where once rolled the clear , chill wa-
ters which drained a basin extending
from Chicago to Buffalo and from
Green Bay to Georgian Bay.
In view of the comparative tame-
ness of the scenery about Chicago It
is enough to make one weep to think
of this river-a mile wide , with rock
bottom and sides , carrying a volume
of water "comparable to Niagara , " as
says William C. Alden , of the United
States Geological Survey , and de
.
scending seventy-six feet in a distance
of ten miles. Through uncounted cen-
turies that glory and grandeur weal
utterly to waste , so far as human be
ings are concerned ; and now ChI-
cagoaas pay out thousands of dollars
annually to go to see the rapids of
the St. Lawrence and the Niagara.
In course ef time this period of the
lake's history came to an end. Tha
rapids in the "Chicago outlet" cut
back to the limestone lip at whlcH
they started and lowered the level of
the lake some tweaty feet. Here it
was stationary once more through cen
turies of time. The waters were as
lifeless and the scenery as desola $ *
as ever , but the icebergs which drifted
down Michigan boulevard ! were small.
er , for tho water was shallower. It
was at this period that a large sand
bar more than a mile wide formed la
the shallow w 1.ter.
Why is Chicago : where she Is ? It
has often been said that the great city
of the lakes might just as well hava
been built en tho site of Milwaukee :
and that only the superior enterprise
and commercial genius of Chicago's ;
business men turned the scale. This
is putting the cart before the horse ; -
it was the superior advantage of Chl
cage's site that attracted these far-
seeing men. Look at a map of the
United States. Throughout a region
extending from Joliet to Texas and
from Denver to Nashville , the nearest
point on the great lakes , with their
cheap water transportation , is Chi
cago ; ; the grain must ceme : here. But
this great region is peor in timber
though rich agriculturally. The near
est point to which the southward-
moving lumber of the North can be
brought by water is Chicago. Look at
the map again. The great lakes ex
tend far to the south of their outlet
through the St. Lawrence , and the
railroads which , run frem New York
and ' Boston : to Wisconsin , Minnesota ,
northern Iowa , the Dakotas , Montaaa
Oregon and the Puget Sound region
not to speak of the imperial domain of
western Canada - must be gathered to-
gether like a sheaf at some point on
the shore of Lake Michigan , where Its
waters block the direct path to the
Northwest. There was but one point
where this could occur-where the
Chicago River furnished a harbor for
the boats , and the Des Plaines water
shed , with . its fifteon-faot divide , af -
forded easy access te the "hinterland"
for canoes , railroads , ship canals , etc.
The jobbing trade of Chicago has been
built up subject to strict geographic
and topographic conditions. And Chi
cago's great strategic advantage of po-
sition is seen in this : That no matter
what the form of transportation ,
whether by rail or by water , her posi
tion is equaly advantageous and equal.
ly commanding.
.
ADVISORY STAFF OF THE CENSUS DEPARTMENT. III
P ' , + , dtkl *
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' ;
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$ Y , ,
A ' 'y
A1e s t r yM 'yk''J
K ,
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" " " " " , , , " "lI'1""C'--- ' . ; . ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ " 'te . . . . . U.O' . ' . . - - ' { ' . . " ' 11
.
Alma Mater is proud of her sons who have been serving as advisers
to the census authorities upon the subject of the formulation of the inquiry
schedules , writes a Washington correspondent. There are twelve of them ,
and they represent the University of Dakota , University of Wisconsin , Iowa
Agricultural College , London School of Economics , University of Berlin ,
Cornell University , University of Nebraska , Harvard University , University
of Texas , University of Chicago , University 'of Kansas , Columbia College ,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology , University of Vermont , Northwestern
University , Dartmouth College , Carnegie Technology School , Brown Univer-
sity and Yale University. Among them are : A. B.'s , Ph. D.'s , M. : S.'s , B. S.
C.'s , S. C.'s , B. S. A.'sM. S. A . ' s , A. B . ' s , A. M.'s , Ph. B.'s , Ph. M.'s , and about
all the other combinations of letters indicative of degrees in the higher
branches of education There are professors of agricultural economics , of .
farm management and farm crops , of political economy , of finance and of
other special lines versed in the science of agriculture.
'
The back row reading from left to right is made up ef : Horace Secrist ,
Spurgeon Bell , John Lee Coulter , Henry C. Taylor , Thomas N. Carver , Alvin.
S. Johnson , Carroll W. Doten. The front row reading from left to right Is .
made up of : William B. Bailey , J. F. Warren , Arthur Boynton , Joseph A.
Hill , Bmil P. Seeker , Allen H. Willett. Dr. Hill is the chief statistician of
tie Division of Revision and Results , and ie is a graduate from Phillips
Exeter Academy and of Harvard College. He is a Ph. D. of the University
of Halle in Germany.
ATCHISON GLOBE SIGHTS.
How hoarse a little steamboat can
-
whistle !
Until the fire , every man feels that
the insurance agents are robbing him.
"Pull" can never carry a man far.
It Is hard work and application that
count.
One way not to have a good time Is
to spend most of your time looking
for 1L
I
.
When people do not enjoy doing tke
things we do , we are apt to think they
do not have a good time.
-
Wken two old ladies and an . ld
mam walk down the street , the Man
generally pokes along behind. .
Mtst people , are forgetful. Mest . = ; : r
people think children used to be more 4.t
siedieat : than they are to-day. " ' 'JJ1 . >
I" -
Hew tender and devoted a young s : \
maa is te an old lady , when a prettj
yeuag . girl Is looking at hI" , ? ' 0 0
. iJi. : _ s t
i .
. 1 r : 1 . .
3