The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-27
A TALE OF CATS AND RATS.
IT COMES FROM IOWA, WHI0H ~
TO HI TE n CAT FARM.

There VIII ne Rats TO Feed tho Gets ana
Cats to Fnttou the Rats and Cows 90
Supply the Rest of the Needed Food fee
Both-A Project. Whose End IL CatsE,ns.
A cat factory is tho latest Iowa scheme.
Every little while strange rumors como out OF
tho West. bus Of all the wild border it's Iowa
sends the best. THE Sun has had It's eve on
Iowa for q long time. Even with half an eye
one could see that strange thinGs were happen
\ ing on. there. In fact. four OF these strange
thin IS happened along this way: When New
York saw the four Cherrys 1t decided that
there were stranger things in heaven and
earth and Iowa than were dreamt OF in is
philosophy. The cat factory scheme goes TO
confirm this belief.
Clinton, according to report. is TO be the
home of the projected factory. The idea has
not been entirely carried out. but 1t Is ripe for
execution, and the MAGNIFICENT schemes OF Col.
Sellers pale into insigniicance beside the possi-
bilities of this prairie project.
Clinton lie a beautiful town In the extreme
eastern portion Of the State. AS far rs can be
learned. 1t has never borne ill-will or malice
against anybody. consequently tho cat factory
cannot DO of the nature of q revenge. The
Clinton people do not understand II. They
have given bonuses to packing houses and
bonuses TO wagon factories and a building site
to the cracker man. who said he'd let the poor
have all his broken crackers. But they never
gave even encouragement to the cat factory.
The cat factory didn't ask for encourage
ment. All 1t wanted was a chance. and two
enterprisine men from Kansas have promised
that. The simplicity OF their scheme is. init
self, a stroke OF genius. Here are the detailsi
In the first place, they are to have a number
Of acres on the outskirts Of the town. This
farm. If YOU choose to call it that. is to be
stocked will 1000 assorted cats. A separate
portion of the place will be occupied by 5000
rats. The 1000 rats are to DO fed gradually
to the 1.ouO cats. Meantime both cats and
rats will increase in numbers despite the fact
that the cats are eating the rats. 1t Is esti-
mated that TIE number of cats will increase to
$4,000 during the first year and 20 $4,000
during the second year.
than the cats. the cats would toon eat up all
the rats. and there would DO trouble. But
they don't give way to these little difficulties
their skins: which are worth 81 each in tho
market; When, the cats are Killed for their
skins, their bodies are fed. to the rats. which
will fatten on their adversaries' bones. Thus
%fattened. they themselves, VIII become more
toothsome and noGrishing for the cats. when it
is the turn OF the rats to be eaten
The beauty OF this plan must be apparent
and what is rats o-morrow becomes cats next
day, and SO on round The circle Of rats and cats
ton people shall turn out and exterminate tho
whole institution.
But tliS isn't all. Inc cats become rats ana
the rats b come cats. a. before explained.
Also. tho cats become more cats and the rats
become more rats with a persistent rnpidity
which makes ones brain reel. II the 1000
cats beCa ne c25. 900 in two years. the Ques-
tiUn-,is. how many rats will they have from u
beginning of 5.0n0, provided the rats increase
five times faster than the cats. One must
consider the fact. however. that the cats will
eat more rats than the rats can cat cats. Thir
is important. Also. that many of the rats,
having been eaten by the cate, will therefore
be Incorporated in the cat population. and
will he assisting the cat total to the detriment
of the rats. or course. at the same time. some
of the cats will bave been eaton by the rnts.
and must therefore. be subtracted from tho
cat producers and added to the rats.
Now there is another problem. II the cats
ate nothing but rats. then the entire 5000
rats would be eaten by the 900 cats inside OF
the first week. and the story would be done
more quickly even than the famous tale of
Solomon Grundy. which covered a period of
must have occurred the next week. There
must be a way out OF this. Naturally enough
1t Is n milky way. a third section of the farm
VIII be devoted to cows. The cows. it il to be
hoped for the success of the scheme. will give
milk. Part OF TIL. milk will be fed TO the eats.
1t is SO easy to kill two birds with one stone. II
you have the right kind of birds and the right
kind of a stone.
Here. then. is the project complete: First.
the farm. which Is to be surrounded by q ten
foot fence to prevent the escape Of the CAPITAL
which will furnish milk for the cats and
cheese for the rats: third and fourth-for they
are fnseparAble. or will be In tho course of a
year or two-the cats that Gre to eat the rats
and the rats that are to eat .the cats, the cats
becoming rats aud the rats cats.