Newspaper Page Text
PAGE FOURTEEN
WORLD WAR PLANNED TO EX
TERMINATE RATS.
(Continued from Page Two.)
may be regarded as the standard work
on the subject and the official dec
laration of the international war
against the rat. A few weeks ago
he had the great satisfaction of see
ing this theory accepted in the report
issued by the plague committee ap
pointed by the secretary of state for
India. This document states con
clusively that the rat (Indian varie
ty, Alexandrinus), owing to its hab
its of wandering about and its lia
bility to invade inhabited houses and
places where food is stored, is of
all agents the most dangerous in
spreading the plague germs from
house to house, and even village to
village. “Unless, therefore,” says
the committee in effect, “the destruc
tion of rats is carried out with the
utmost energy, it will be vain to
get the plague under control.*’
Having published, in 1898, his first
book, entitled, “The Rat and Civili
zation,” and placed his views before
the Danish people in a series of
newspaper articles, he was invited to
call a conference of men interested
in the subject either on economic
grounds or those of public health.
The conference took place, and re
sulted in a committee being formed,
with Zuscblag as president, charged
with acquiring a “war chest” and
promoting his scheme.
While Zuscblag does not discour
age the employment of either trap,
poison, or shillelah, for that matter,
against the hated rat. he says: “All
measures will be devoid of perma
nent value unless the campaign is un
dertaken nt the same time over the
whole of the kingdom. You must not
forgst that among other difficulties
wc have to deal with the enormous
fecundity cf the rat. From one paii
of rats we get in twelve months a
progeny of 800. If each town coun
cil acts independently of all others,
it is bound to happen that council B
will breed rats while councils A and
C are destroying them. Further,
while all means are good, there is on
ly one perfect system —the payment
of a premium for each rat killed and
handed in at appointed depots. Fi
nally, no permanent good can result
from our efforts in Denmark unless
our neighbors and other countries
make a similar effort. As long as
Germany will let them come to us
by land and England will bring them
by ship, we shall be killing rats for
ever and aye.”
A Bag of 103,000.
To provide an object lesson for the
people at home and abroad in the
rational destruction of rats tbe com
mittee selected Copenhagen and tbe
neignboring Frederiksborg. The to
tal “bag” obtained in eighteen weeks
amounted to 103,000 rats, at a cost
of 13,255 kroner (about 736 pounds)
paid for premiums and cremating, or
1 1-2 d. per rat. “Now,” said Zuscb
lag and his committee, “you will all
agree that each rat eats and destroys
each day at least one farthing's
worth of food and material. One hun
dred and three thousand rats would
have cost you about 39,000 pounds.
Having spent 736 pounds on killing
them, we have saved you 38,000
pounds.”
This way of reasoning appealed to
the economical Dane. Campaigns
Ware undertaken in other places with
WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN.
similar satisfactory results, and so
much had Zuschlag’s scheme impress
ed the public mind with its practica
bility that in the following year first
the Farmers’ Union, then the Prop
erty Owners’ Society, and then all
the borough councils presented pe
titions to the government and Riks
dag asking that Zuschlag’s proposals
should be embodied in a law without
delay. Several bills were subsequent
ly brought in and dropped, but last
year the home secretary introduced
a measure which was passed unani
mously by both houses of parliament,
and became law last March.
This rat law is now in full swing.
Under the act the state undertakes to
spend 1,606 pounds annually for three
years, and compels the county and
borough councils to spend 35.. 3d. a
year for each 100 inhabitants, on the
society having given the undertaking
that they will spend at least 500
pounds each year. In return for this
expenditure the society is entrusted
with the entire working of the act. —
Constitution.
COURAGE.
True courage has so little
to do with anger that there lies al
ways the strongest suspicion against
it where this passion is highest. True
courage is cool and calm. The brav
est of men have the least of a brutal,
bullying insolence, and in the very
time of danger are found the most se
rene, pleasant, and free. Rage, we
know, can make a coward forget him
self and fight; but what is done in
fury or anger can never be placed to
the account of courage.
Brother Jeffersonian, Get up a Club and send it in at once.
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October 9, 1907.