The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-28
rib TAPE AMI RAT TRAPS.
A bIsAsTRoUs Defeat FoR EEG-
LIsH OFFICIAL sTUPIDITK

EHaviug Determined That the buccess5ut hneS
Catehiu1 Cat Was Too Expensive. Costly
Trpp. Were Introduced. Instructors Were
Detailed. much Clothing was Rutned, ana
Finally the Cat Cnme Hack, Amer All.
EnRland's enemies arc not all to DO found
among tho Afridi5 and other savage tribes,
Within her own homo territory she Is occa-
siopally attacked, and her efforts Mt resistance
arc sometimes of no avail. Tho following
article from tho London Arnpv and Nary Ca
rette gives an instance where n savage attack
was made upon hor and where valiant resistance
with red tape and other weapons failed OF lite
effect. IL is o vindication Of tho cat as an in-
strument Of war. England must organize q cat
corps TO vie with Gcrmany's dogs OF war;
'withln 1000 miles Ct P-- was a store In
which IL large quantity Of military clothing was
kept, pending emergencies, and to Keep down
the rats there was a cat, for which a small sub
~sistenco allowance was drawn monthly. Rc-
trcnchment, however, was the order OF tho day,
and the officer In charge was directed to indcnt
for traps. rat, wire, iron. galvanized, Mark J.,
in tho proportion of one to every 100 suits OF
clothing In the next changes in war material
an elaborate picture and description OF he trap
appeared, and the cat WAS declared obsolete,
and ordered to DO handed over to the Commits
sariat Department to be sold. The number Of
traps. according TO the above proportion. was
found to be 1913, and accordingly twenty traps
were demanded. Tho indent came back with
one trap d~isallowed, but by way OF consolation
it was stated that fractions Of u trap exceeding
five would DO considered as O whole trap
Theroupon tho officer in charge OF the clothing
store pointed out that the odd thirty. three suits
or clothing would he at tho mercy Of tho rats.
but without avail. The nineteen traps duly ar.
ordered to be submitted monthly.
The return in question was arranged in bird.
cage form. and was a masterpiece of its kind,
showing at n glance the amount OF clothing in
store, tho cubic meusuren ents, Of each room,
tho number Of traps ON hand, and the number OF
rats caught each day. Mice were to DO shown
under 'Remarks.' Tho percentage of rats
caught TO suits OF clothing, and of rats to traps,
waste be mHrginqlly noted. Asst was feared that
the officer In charge OF the clothing store
ths measurements Of the animals caught werc
ordered to be inserted, and the officer in charge
was authorized to demand "a suitable servics
measuring rod for the purpose The officer in
charge OF the clothing store, anxious to show
the Keen interest ho took in the matter, de-
SHE'LL WITCH fs6SS Would niiddNS enabiEo ' mea Z aaa ht to
be taken to one-thousandth Of an inch. The au.
were fitted with gun-mctal screws, and In
tended Tor measuring explosive articles only,
and that their use with articles OF a non.ex-
Plosiye character would therefore be highly
ton must in any case be carried out under
magazine regulations with felt slippers In an
i h,on cd t 6puiiit ndn 200 yards !, from q road. "A
, application that the term live she'll might be
EXTENDED 10 include live rats was rejected, and
rule would DO sufficiently accurate for practis
cal pn1rPosss This was accordingly demanded,
part Of chests. tool. carpen1er.'s s' VIII l0r ,psTa
only allowed At stations for which carpenter
accordingly made for the erection Of q carpen.
ter's shop, which was sanctioned at a cost Of
cor in charge Of tho store acknowiedeed the re-.
ceipt Of tho traps. and requested Instructions as
that the sI matter had been &c 99 under con nsRis Stmo
a TSa sfn inst man3h'r would yotId,s sh SptEy be published
Of on slo a ! R destrSy sd' by rst showed several 'uit'
"The authorities gave evidence of the energy
they have always displayed In an emergency,
a month. in WSioRR tie mining is Of tho " irona
drawing DRAWN. out inte wiTs; method q gal.
into tho Se .eF rsRs9s wePe e sSssnsi fpa drla Resa'io os
second return was Ike Tie nr Tt''!'SW1e ere The t IN.
f SssF's ~. s'; Part 1x e ,s sss sfls' R5YEss s' s4sSs s. ss9 a.:
s siI0wed a,,n was ~. the su tEiu%@phSs nt Ee,olndeE: Az.
t tb;,S clothing eaeh. Il store Of sisty.seyen spits, The
tho Eirs vas not aalvanlzed. ana tho Iron wss
None 5qs men q superior intelligence were
rant 70 e G sss%l'' sas e g 'G 81 str tas l'f ~ asu a1a an. e "a q
tailed to INSTRUCT them. A return was 70 b
submitted monthly showing the number Of man
instructed. Badges IN god and In worstsd 81
sttained 2 certain stage Of proficiency IA trfp-
struction of clothing continued. ' The return
howin number Of men instructed was 30 Be
eubmttted in duplicate ence Q week. Even ShA0
failed to produce an Improvement,
1T was suddenly discovered that the tran.
though oficislly kn9wn as .trap. rat. wire. Fo4.
EHHlvsniEed iron. The responsibility for thlS
but after some discussion the nomenclature
was amended. and changes in war material
were ordered to DO at onoe corrected accord.
inEly. and a certificate furnished. Tho almond.
ment was made retrospective. and past returnn
were ordered to be ~resubTitted. They wefS
still found to be blank, and no Improvement
ensued, The authorities were reluctantly CON:
their expectations and that there appeared u
be no fault either in tho traps themselves o.
the setting and inquired Incidentally what
bait was usod. The officer in charge Of the
clothing store pointed out that no allowances
vas made for bait in the regulations and that
he could not be expected to provide 20 out Of
his own pocket. In Tho end the cat was reintr9.
duced into the service and was to be striotfY
adhered to for the purpose OF catching RATA
The traps were ordered to be retained for In
6truCtiOnal DurDOses Only'