Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-21
RAT DETERMINATION
is THEIR BUSINESS

ATS and liberty came to Ameri-
ca about the same time. There
is a rat blue book on tho press
at the government printing
office. and when it is issued
there will be a chapter showing the dates
on which rats were first noticed in vari-
GUS cities of the old world, but the best
published information now is that rats
got here in 1715. A shipload of the
British aristocracy, coming over to en-
force the tea tax, brought the rats with
them Rats seem to have followed Eng
lishmen into all sorts of ports, perhaps
on account of the English fondness for
cheese. Anyhow, when the shipload OF
British aristocracy bade goodbye TO the
folks hanging over the rail at the time
Of embarkation there were four large
rats aboard. By the fourth OF July mex.
year. when the liberty bell cracked ltselI
telling the British aristocracy just where
they could get off. the four rats had in
creased so that they had representatives
in each Of the thirteen original states
and had a guard out on the frontier.
1t is pretty hard to kill a rat. as the
biological survey down in the Agricultural
Department will tell you. 1t is not ike
killing anything else. as will appear from
studying the situation carefully. Neither
is it feasible to take a census OF the rats
for while one is counting a single rat
there are millions dying and triliions
a-borning. A rat at the age of five months
will have fourteen or fifteen children and
several thousand living relatives, and at
the ripe age of two years will have so
many descendants and relatives that IL
would stagger a man TO think of 1T all.
So killing a rat-just going up and
ruthlessly taking a rats life-is like going
out to wipe I'D the ocean and dipping up
a bucketful and saying:
There that much is done"
Then there is the poison method: but,
remember If rat chooses to make
mausoleum of your wall he leaves
monument-not more lasting than bronze.
but more objectionable. One would
rather have many live rats about.
OF course rats do a lot Of damage.
They eat everything and anything that
will succumb to teeth. A piece of brick
is as appetizing TO a rat as prolied
chicken would be to an arctic explorer.
A lead pipe is fine for the young rats;
a corn crib is heaven and pile of carpets
is as dainty as Brussels sprouts. A
collection of old lace and lavender Is a
cocktail; and as for an egg. there is no
telling what a rat thinks CT an egg.
A rat can make a hole in an egg as
neatly as a housewife can make a pie
crust In fact, he can clean out an egg
shell much more neatly and completely
than the balliest Englishman that ever
looked at an egg cup. They raise cain
with chicken coops. therefore.
X
No one can estimate how many rats
he has in his house from the amount OF
damage DONE A three-month-old rat
may take bite of lead pipe souffle sew
eral times day and finally get down
to the gushing swaters underneath the
delicious metal. drown himself and food
the whole block. One rat. one army of
plumbers-many, many dollars. Or. take
the case of department store, which
case is scheduled as stock illustration num-
Der a99S977S97S in the biological survey.
Every morning the boss tore his hair
because somebody had been doing things
to the gloves. Fingers were torn off and
palms destroyed. The floor walkers were