The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-01-04

A TALE OF CATS AND RATS.
1t Comes From Iowa, Which Is to
Have a Rat Farm.


A cat factory is the latest Iowa scheme.
Every little while strange rumors come
out of the west, but of all the wild border
it's Iowa sends the best. The Sun has
had its eye on Iowa for long time Even
with half an eye one could see that
strange things were happening out there.
In fact, four of these strange things hap
pened along this way When New York
saw the four Cherrys it decided that there
were stranger things in heaven and earth
and Iowa than were dreamt of in its phil
osophy. 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 it is
ripe for execution, and the magnificent
schemes of Col Sellers pale into signih-
canoe beside the possibilities of this prai-
RE project.
Clinton is beautiful town in the ex-
treme eastern portion of the state. As far
as can be learned, 1t has never borne III
will or malice against anybody, conse-
quently the cat factory cannot be of the
nature of a revenge. The Clinton peo-
pie do not understand 1T. They have
given bonuses to packing houses and boz
muses. to wagon factories and 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 encour-
agement All 1t wanted was a chance, and
two enterprising men from Kansas have
promised that The simplicity of their
scheme is, in itself, a stroke of genius.
Here are the details:
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 with 1000 assorted
cats. A separate portion of the place will
be occupied by 5000 rats. The 5000 rats
are to be fed gradually to the 1000 cats.
Meantime both cats and rats will increase
in numbers despite the fact that the cats
are eating the rats. 1t is estimated that
the number of cats will increase to 5000
during the first year and to 225,000 during
the second year.
OF course, If the rats increased no faster
than the cats, the cats would soon eat up
all the rats. and there would be trouble.
But they don't give way to these little
difficulties out in Iowa. The cats are to
be raised for their skins, which are worth
81 each in the 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 will become more toothsome
and nourishing for the cats, when it Is
the turn of the rats to be eaten.
The beauty of this plan must be appar-
ent. What is cats to-day become rats to-
morrow, and what is rats tomorrow be-
comes cats next day, and so on round the
circle of rats and cats until doomsday-
or the time when the Clinton people shall
turn out and exterminate the whole insti-
tuition.
But this isn't all. The cats become rats
and the rats become cats, as before ex-
planned. Also, the cats become more cats
and the rats become more rats with a per-
sistent rapidity which makes ones brain
reel. IF the 200 cats become 225,000 in two
years, the question is, how many rats win
they have from a beginning of 5000, pro-.
vided 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 eat cats. This is
important. Also, that many of the rats,
having been eaten by the cats, will there
fore be incorporated in the cat population,
and will be assisting the cat total to the
detriment of the rats OF course, at the
same time, some of the cats will have been
eaten by the rats, and must therefore, be
subtracted from the cat producing and adj
ded 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, ] 600 cats
inside of the first week, and the story
would be done more quickly even than the
famous tale of Solomon Grundy, which
covered period of seven days, not count
ing the obseques which must have occur
red the next week. There must be a way
out of this. Naturally enough 1t is a
milky way. A third section of the farm
will be devoted to cows. The cows, 1t is
to be hoped for the success Of the scheme,
will give milk. Part of this milk will be
fed to the cats. The rest will be made in
TO cheese for the rats. 1t is so easy to kill
two birds with one stone, If 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 surround
ed by ten-foot fence to prevent the es-
cape of the capitalized stock of the COM
pany; second, the cows. which will furn-
ish milk for the cats and cheese for the
rats; third and fourth--for they are insep-
arable or will be in the course of year
or two-the cats that are to eat the rats
and the rats that are to eat the cats, the
cats becoming rats and the rats cats,