davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-13
DIFFERS WITH THE VIEW
TAKEN BY DR.. HOWARD
Plumbing Inspector Says Mod
ern Sewer Traps Do Not
Breed Mosquitoes.

A. r. McGonegal. inspector of plumb
ing, said today that DR.. J.. o. Howard,
the government entomolosist, is wrong
when he blames back yard sewer traps
for the breeding Of mosquitoes in such
terms as he used in an interview in The
Star published Thursday.
THE sewer trap is responsible for bad
conditions when the householder does not
treat il right, but it does not breed mos
quitoes."
The iIlustra ton furnished to The Star
for use in connection with the statements
made by DIR. Howard does not portray a
modern sewer trap at all. according to
Mr.. McGonegal.
That style of trap has not been placed
in back yards in this town for ten years.
occasionally We find some. especially in
GEORGETOWN, but as rule they have been
supplanted by modern style of trap
which has water seal about twenty
four inches below the surface. That old
style, of which the illustration was an
accurate delineation, allowed water to
stand for several days. 1t was because
We wanted TO get rid of all chances of
standing and stagnant water that the
regulations were changed to do away
with that old style.
In the new style trap the water stands.
saw two feet below the surface. and the
area of the surface of the water in the
pipe is about l2.36 inches. In the old
time trap, such as was pictured, the sur
face area of the water could have been
i'm the neighborhood of 100 square inches,
and was near the surface of the street or
pack yard and mosquitoes would natur-
ally breed there.
In the new style the water is so far
below the perforated top that mosquitoes
will not breed there.