davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

no profit to the public. To turn the spar
row into food product looks like good
economics to the government experts,
and they believe it can be done.
Many of the sparrows caught in Wash
ington are kept in a big cage. where eff
forts are made to fatten them for mar
ket. Thus far these trials have not been
a success. The birds flutter about the
cage so much, and make such efforts to
free themselves, that they lose rather
than gain weight. in spite of the food
that is given them.
Sparrows can be kept this way for two
or three days and remain in good condi-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

shot they withdrew and let the sparrows
alone. This is the sort Of protection
that was frequently given the birds when
they were first brought to America.
The experience with the sparrow has
frightened the restrictions against the in
PRODUCTION of any foreign birds or ami
mails. The starting, which belongs to the
blackbird family. is the only other bird
that Is legal exile with the sparrow.
Both Of them are directly forbidden by
law to enter this country. The law pro-
vides further that no birds can be
brought In without the express consent
Of the Secretary of Agriculture.
If the public will Join in the new cru
SADIE against the sparrow, it is. believed
that its numbers in this country can be
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

lave a sparrow trap, a cheap but eHec-
tive little device that has been secured
from England, where the sparrow was
secured sixty years ago.
These traps are to help solve the cost
of-living problem. From the sparrow
trap each day are to be taken plump
little birds to be fried. broiled. potpied,
or prepared in some other culinary dis
guise which will make them palatable
and wholesome.
Those who have tried sparrow fare de-
clare that the bird is a most delicious
meat The new sparrow traps have been
at work in the grounds of the Agricultu-
raj Department for two or three weeks.
and in that time have caught many dozen
snarrows These have been carried home
by employees and officials of the bioiogl-
cal survey and served on the tables OF
several Washington homes.
II the public can be convinced OF the
excellence and wholesomeness of the
little feathered robbers as a food, and
can be persuaded to join in the fight for
the capture and determination of the
bird, DR.. Fisher believes the number OF
sparrows in the United States can be
greatly reduced.
Many proposed plans of campaign
against the sparrow have been started III
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

country. Theophile ROuSSel almost exter-
minated 1t by active measures relating
were simple. When pellagra appeared in
any section of the country he Immediate
ly visited that section and, with the zeal
of Peter the Hermit arousing Europe to
the recovery of the Holy Sepulcher, raised
the cry of mo corn, no corn" AS the
grain had not become a favorite cereal
in France, his difficulty in suppressing
the use of 1t was not great. Pellagra
almost disappeared from the country, and
as it is one of the most difficult OF all
diseases to extermfnate the measures of
Roussel are worthy of notice. -'
BY the efforts of Lombroso and the
preventive measures of the Italian gov
eminent with reference to the handling
of spoiled corn. the mortality from pei
lagra has decreased in Italy J}
per cent in the last twenty-five years.
Lombroso's efforts were largely educa-
tional, and he began with the children,
placing in the schoolrooms posters show
ing the effect of eating spoiled fool. Side
by side two life-sized colored posters
hung, one Of a healthy farmer with the
caption, This man lives on good corn
the other Of a pellagrin with the cap
ton, This man lives on spoiled polenta."
In the treatment of the disease itself
all physicians. even those opposed to the
maize theory. concede that patients suf-
fering from pellagra should not eat corn.
The spoiled-corn theory readily accounts
for one American condition. Pellagra has
probably existed here sporadically for
some time. but as an epidemic the ap-
pearance Of the disease is very recent.
This can be accounted for by changes in
the raising, harvesting, storing and ship
ping of corn. causing yearly damage to
vast quantities of the grain. 1t should
be emphatically stated that the Zeists
make no war upon contrasting, but upon
the use of damaged corn as food.
The second theory is that of DR.. l..
w. Sambon of London, who in 1905
advanced the idea that pellagra is due
to some protozoon, the disease being
conveyed to the human organism by an
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

greatly reduced. The fight must he thor
oughly organized. however. and no ten
der-hearted persons are TO he allowed
TO interfere with the slaughter
Details as to the manufacture and use
of the new sparrow trap are to be pub
lished as soon as II has been thoroughly
tested. Meantime. the department ~
publishing guides to the destruction OF
the sparrow. plans OF nests TO be butt
used.
II * sa well conceived plan to rid the
country OF the bird brouaht In AT such
expense and with such care sixty wears
ago
When the first Importation OF the spar
rows was made in 1870 il was believed
+lat w h.r.lG .,,.,,-i as ~ 6an
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

insects, and that they would prove bene-
fetal in killing many pests Of the orchard
and garden.
Before it recommended any campaign
against them the biological survey made
a long and careful examination OF the
stomachs of captured birds to find out
whether the birds lived up to this repu-
tation. In. the majority of the stomachs
no sign of insects were found. and ia
those containing insect remains more
than half showed that the sparrows had
eaten bugs long known as beneficial 10
fruits and flowers
The sparrow has failed to justify lis
existence in America, and IL is now pro-
posed to Kill the young and eat up the
adults. ="
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

Newcastle and at a number of other
points in Colorado. On Grand Hosba elk
the mine fires are burning valuable beds
of coal. and at Newcastle where the coal
fields run about los feet in thickness
there Is "a single bed OF coal on fire eX-
tending more than fifty feet below the
surface of the ground. This tremendous
fire is claimed to have started in a mine
belonging TO a private company and now
extends to lands belonging to the gov
eminent.
Similar coal deposits have been burned
and are now burning at many points in
western North Dakota, eastern Montana.
Wyoming ard other western states II is
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11


tion for the market. Beyond that length
of time it is waste of good material,
with no increasing weight or plumpness
in the sparrow. Traps in daily opera
ton. turning their catches over to CEN
trail cage, would furnish a steady supply
of birds for the market at profitable
rate. 1t costs little to make and bait the
traps. and they require no assistance in
capturing the sparrows.
In time the birds may become wary Of
these new traps. as they have of all other
methods for their capture. The Agricul-
tural Department has found no lessening
in the number of the birds patronizing
the free grain display under the traps,
and is convinced that it will take long
time for the sparrow to learn the full
danger of the wire cage.
The story Of the sparrow in America
is an unusual record Of the misconception
of a birds value. The first sixteen birds
were imported in 1850 by Nicholas Pike
for the Brooklyn Institute. They did not
thrive. and the following year 500 was
raised by committee of the institute
and larger lot were imported. These
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11
For Girls.

DOOTH HARRINGTON, at a dinner in
= Indianapolis. praised wittily the
husband Of domestic tastes.
"A good match he said. smiling
toward a group Of pretty Indianapolis
girls-a good match, ladies, Is one who
never goes out"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

PNCLE SAM is now going to do
battle with the many unseen
and unknown dangers that Turk
in the bowels of the earth, and
try TO save the lives of thou
sands of miners-the toll annually taken
by our mines. BY means of travelling
schools or mine rescue cars, fitted up
with all kinds of life-saving apparatus,
accompanied by a corps of practical
miners trained in rescue work, the gov
eminent will attempt to check the alb
normal death rate among those who labor
under ground Each Of the new rescue
cars will be so located that any one of
them may be rushed to the scene of a
mine explosion. cave-in or any other of
a score OF disasters which happen fire.
uuen,Iy. al a minutes notice, where the
rescue corps will do everything possible
TO save the entombed miners.
The new bureau of mines has been al
work on the knotty problem of the saw
inc of human life in the mines since It's
recent organization, and the rescue cars
are the first result 1t Is intendeu 10 rave
the cars travel about the country. from
one mining point 10 another, in order TO
show mine officials and mine workers the
many dangers of mining ana 10 give
practica, illustrations of how to avoid
them. There Will iltH dttdShNu ~
the cars who have been miners Them
selves, who will deliver lectures and In
every way endeavor 10 impress on the
miners the dangers of care!essness ana
ON the mine officials the necessity for
proper safeguards.
In this new departure Of the govern
ment the schools will go to the miner
in his own town or camp 1t has been
usually the case that the man or boy
had to 60 to the school. but this is the
first case on record where the school goes
TO the man. Each of the six cars the gov
eminent proposes to have on the road in
q very short time, will have a certain
territory to cover. and in this way every
mining community In the United States
will be visited.
There will be mining engineer and a
surgeon of the American Red Cross So
ciety and other assistants with each car.
illustrated lectures and moving picture
shows will be given the use of ex-
plosives. The handling of electrical equip
ment. how to prevent fires in the mines,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

only successfully lodges the t. olley car
automobile and the restaurant cat in its
daily search for food. but it rivals the
wolf in its ability to steer clear of poison
ed food and dangerous traps.
After long experiments the biological
survey officials declare that it is almost
impossible to poison the sparrow sue
cessfully, even in states where the law
does not prohibit the spreading of poison.
In the first place the sparrow will not
touch food in an unusual place. If the
poisoned grain is thrown where it will
not inju-e other birds and animals the
sparrow knows there is something wrong
with it. If the birds actually eat the
poisoned food, and two or three of their
number die, the others leave in hurry.
THE sparrow has knocked around SO
long in the American city," says DR..
Henshaw, chief of the biological survey,
that he has absorbed all the tricks of
civilization. But for his unequaled abil-
ity to take care OF himself he would
never have prospered and multiplied with
such phenomenal rapidity The sparrow
is the street Arab of the bird world, and
he has become as acute at detecting
snares and dangers as the boy raised in
the streets.
The new sparrow trap is the first sue
cessful means to the end that the biolog-
ical survey has found. 1t will not sue
coed alone, for it will be too ciTficult to
induce the public to use it generally.
If the food value of the bird is fully
understood, however. the biologists be-
lieve the public will join with enthus-
assn in the pursuit and capture of the
sparrow tribe.
The trap is built Of wire over a light
wood frame. One end is tightly inclosed
and has a trapdoor for an entrance. The
other end has long funnel-shaped en-
trance. leading to a little hole just large
enough for sparrow to enter. The mid
die compartment is a roomy wire cage,
in which food is placed, and which the
birds enter or leave at their pleasure.
The moment a sparrow in this middle
cage becomes scared it forgets about the
little hole through which it entered and
begins hunting for an exit. A sparrow
is always kept in the last compartment
as lure to the others, and in its flight
about the middle section the frightened
sparrow is likely to fly toward its friend
it lands on the door it drops through and
the door closes behind it.
One of these traps in England caught
1000 SparroWs in season. The ones
now in use at the biological survey are
of the smallest size. but are catching
from eight to fifteen birds daily. The
trap can be built in any size. and as it is
leading to the death chamber can be in
creased.
DR.. Fisher is in charge of economic in
vestigations among American BIRDS If a
sparrow is poisoned it becomes a dead
loss to the scheme of living. 1t has eaten
the farmers grain. or the gardeners
fruit and produce, and in return it gives
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

of
IL Bird Pests a Subject
Taken Up by Biological Sur
vey of Agricultural Depart
ment ~ New English Traps
Catch Sparrows by the Dozen
Claimed That Little Birds
Are Wholesome as Food-An
Answer to the High-Cost-
of-Living Problem - Expert
ments Made by Department
of Agriculture.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

were all let loose in the grounds of
Greenwood cemetery. Brooklyn. in 1853
Within a few years there was craze"
for sparrows. In 1869 twelve birds were
introduced in Madison Square Garden
New York, and in 1864 in Central Park.
In 1888 they Were introduced into the
Boston Commons. In 1869 the city gov
eminent of Philadelphia imported. 1000
of the birds from Europe, the largest
single importation ever made. During
the same year twenty pairs were i'm
ported to Cleveland, and sixty-six pairs
were taken from New York to Cincinnati.
In 1857 a colony was taken to Galveston,
Tex; and during the next five years they
We're taken to California, Salt Lake City
and points in Illinois. Wisconsin and
Ohio.
All of these importations of the birds
are matters of record in ornithological
circles. 1t was the most remarkable
bird craze any country had ever seen.
and the entire country has been paying
the bill ever since The first birds were
Eatched, protected and fed; were trans
ported from one point to another by
people, and were given every opportunity
to increase
This important factor in the rapid in
crease and wide distribution of the spar
70" IN America has been too generally
ignored" said Walter B. Barrows several
years ago, land it is only recently that
we have come to realize something of
the magnitude of the craze which has
LED SO many people to foster and dis
tribute this serious pest
The marvellous rapidity Of the spar
rows multiplication the surprising swift
ness of its extension and the prOdieious
size of the area it has overspread are
without parallel in the history Of any
bird Like noxious weed transplanted
to fertile SOIL it has taken root and
become disseminated over half con-
tinent before the significance of it's pres
ence has come to be understood"
AS has been stated, the campaign for
the exterminati ton of the sparrow is not
to be limited to the use of the new Eng
fish traps and the cultivation of a taste
for sparrow breasts among American cpl
cures While such plan will help to
kill off the adult birds. it must be remem-
bered that every pair of sparrows raises
from eight to twenty young ones each
season.
The biological survey urges the most
ruthless slaughter of the young and the
breaking of the eggs. 1t urges the con-
structiOn of nests where they can be
easily reached. The parent birds can be
caught at night by a long-handled net
held over the mouth of the nest. A
slight noise will then arouse the birds
and drive them into the net
Farmers and owners of buildings are
urged to build nests on the inside of their
barns and sheds, having an outer holo
for the entrance of the sparrow and a
hinged cover to the nest. The sparrows
will use these nests, and the eggs may
then be destroyed as soon as laid. Poison
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

intermediary, like the Anopheles mos
quito, which conveys malaria DR.. Sam
under thirteen heads, mainly denying
the correctness of the maize theory,
but among positive claims are the fol-
lowing: l, the similarity of symptoms
sickness; 2. the favorable action Of ar
senic in the treatment Of the disease,
as in other protozoal infections.
The whole theory is exceedingly in
terestfng, and some eminent authori-
ties accept 1t, among them Sir Patrick
Milan and Prof. Babes of Bucharest.
In January, 1910. at meeting held in
London. pellagra investigating COM
mittee consisting OF thirty-nine dis
ease. was formed, and DR.. Sambon was
sent to Italy to work out the topo-
graphical distribution and epidemiol-
ogy of the disease and to endeavor to
discover whether connection, can be
the so-called sand flies (Simulium).''
In the spring of 1910 DR.. Sandwich of
London, the discoverer of pellagra in
Egypt. sent the writer the plans of
this investigation. Since then the
writer has seen 1t stated that DR.. Sam
bon has proven the connection be-
tween the sand fly" and pellagra.
Such q statement, however, Is not war
ranted, as all of DR.. Sambon's work
WIN the ny Is as yet experimental, anu
he himself is not wholly. certain that
the maize theory is not correct.
If the protozoal theory is finally proven
to be correct it will make great changes
in preventive measures. Pellagra would
be more easily dealt with under this the
DRY, and for that reason it is desirable
that it's correctness be demonstrated
American physicians are open to convic-
ton, but at present most of them are
zeists. Notable among these is DR.. J. J.
Watson of Columbia, S. c., who went to
Italy to study pellagra with Lombroso.
He has treated probably more sane pa
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

NE need talk Dut lew moIhehlS
about pellagra to the average
individual to get an idea of the
strange conceptions that possess
the public mind in regard to it,
In the first place. pellagra is an old
disease. Manifestat 'ons of 1t among the
American Indians were reported by Bar
tino and Maffai as early as 1900 the
next distinct report came from Spain in
1875. when Gaspar Casal of OViedo OBJ
served it among the Asturian peasants.
Casal called it NAL de la rosa, from the
rose-colored markings on the skin. and
considered 1t a form OF leprosy. BY lIoo
il had appeared In Italy. and in 1711 1t
was given its present name tpelle-skin'
and agra-rough) by Frappoli. physician
in the hospital of Milan. The next ap-
pearance was in France. Today 1t is
prevalent in Italy. Spain. Austria. Bull
garia. Roumania, Turkey. Greece, Egypt.
Tripoli. Algeria, Tunis, Asia Minor. Yucca
tan. Campeche, Brazil. Uruguay, Argen-
tine Republic. Barbados, India and the
United States.
Our own country has been one of the
last attacked. but the distribution Of the
disease here Is wide and widening rapidly.
1t exists in twenty-nine states. and is
epidemic in the southern states and ILL
nofs In one asylum in Illinois at the
present time there are 100 cases. The
idea that IL is limited to the south Is
mistake. DR.. Long OF the public health
and marine hospital service found nine
positive cases and seventeen suspects In
Philadelphia. There is no well defined
climatic limit to pellagra; 1t can thrive
at the arctic circle as well as at the
equator
There are three distinct theories as to
the cause of the disease. The oldest and
most generally accepted. and the theory
upon which all Of Lombroso's brilliant
work was based, is the Zeist from yea
mays, Indian corn, belief that the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

the United States has been the most
remarkable chapter in the bird history
of North America. except possibly the
sudden and complete disappearance of
the passenger pigeon.
Today the government is expending
large sums of money to find methods to
prevent the spread of sparrows: states
and municipalities are paying large boun-
ties for the death of the birds; buildings,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

the proper Ventilation OF the mneS, anu
first-aid surgical treatment will also be
taught The ears will stop long enough
at each place so that the miners may be
thoroughly advised of the necessity for
care and the many other apparently little
things. all of which have a great deal to
do with many explosions occurring in the
mines of this country today The gov
eminent intends to assist the miner In
every way. mainly through the forming
OF rescue corps of number of men
at each mine where they are employed,
and to equip these rescue corps with
the necessary apparatus so that they NAV
be ready to go at once to the aid of their
fellow-minerS in case of an accident of
any kind.
Each of these rescue cars will contain
number of the well known oxygen he'll
NETS, supply of oxygen in tanks, one
dozen safety lamps field telephone with
1000 feet of wire, several life-saving out
fits and small outfit for use in teach
ing the miners the principles of first-aid-
to-the-injured. One end of the car is to
be fitted up as an alright room. which
will be used in training the men in the
use Of the oxygen helmets. This room
will be filed with poisonous gases and
the miners. wearing the helmets. VIII re-
main inside this room for two Or three
hours in atmosphere that would k II
at once without the helmets. for the pur-
pose of having the miners get thoroughly
acquainted with the use of the helmets.
With these helmets any one can enter
mine Immediately following an explosion,
even though it is still filled with poison
Gus gases, and by breathing the oxygen
stored in the tanks and carried on the
back they may stay there two or three
hours. or as long as the supply of oXy-
gen lasts without any bad effects.
Two of the rescue cars have been COM
pleted and are now on the road -Four
other cars exactly like tn" first two are
now being finished and will he ready to
go on the road within few DAYS. Head
quarters of car No. will be at pittshurg.
Pa: car No. 2. at I'rhana III: car No. 3.
at Rock Springs. Wyo.; car No 4. at
Billings. Mont: car No. <. at Salt Lake
Citv Utah: car No &. at Knoxville. Tenn
The mine rescue cars are also to be
used i'm connection with the mine rescue
stations several of which have a're"a"
been established by the government
Other stations will he established IN the
near future at or near The great centers
OF mine accidents Altogether Il Is the
plan of the government to have at least
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

z. a. X. FISHER
and his associates
in the biological
survey of the Ag-
ricultural~ Depart
ment have a new
plan for the ex-
termination Of the
English sparrow,
the worst pest OF
the feathered king
dom. f V e + y
householder is TO
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11

the birds have not yet become numerous;
but they are so thick in most American
cities that they actually make the city
crowded from q bird point of view,
and the new crops Of sparrows are forced
to go to the outskirts, or into the coun-
try, to get their dishonest living.
The sparrow is as shrewd as the rat
and as clever as a street Arab. 1t not
The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1910-05-19
RnpEpTc1n RnYRIlY
IlVuLtIt uuIB tFu IULLt
WELCOMED AT CHANDLER

Chandler, Okla. May 19-With the
largest crowd seen here IN years
Judge ]. B. A. Robertson. democratic
candidate for the gubernatorial nomin-
alton, was given royal home vel
come here Wednesday. Judge Robert
son has been speaking over the state
and this is his first speech at his
home town during the campaign.
The crowd is estimated at from
5000 to 5000, all cheering for Robert.
son.
During the morning Judge Robert
son spoke IN the opera house to a
crowd Of fully 1000. the house being
jammed to the doors and hundreds Of
people crowded in the streets outside.
An all day picnic is in progress and
those unable to hear the speech max
ing are finding plenty Of amusements
in other ways.