The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-09
HOW A B|G ARMY COPIES WITH FLIES Burning of Refuse Greatest
 Solution PRESERVES HEALTH Garbage Can Is All Right But It Sometimes Springs a Leak"
 Plan Adopted at San
 Antonio
By C. H. MANDY

l much gratifed at the willing response of the people generally in helping them in their vigorous warfare against the common househy. They believe that with the cooperation of all the people they can successfully combat the pest and common enemy.
 But notwithstanding the fact that the people are being enlightened as to the danger that turks in the hairy feet of the little pests, they would remind that safety can only be had by eternal wig ilance,e and that the fight to be suc- eessful must be waged relentlessly and without ceasing
 The persistent efforts of the medical profession, the publicity given by the press, the cartoons that have appeared from time to time in The Age-Herald con- veying their timely warning. and the hearty cooperation of the health officers of the city have done much to mitigate the evil and much good has already been accomplished.
 The use of screens in the dwelling house is no longer a convenience or a luxury, but a stern necessity, the proper screening of foodstuffs a legal require ment But greater than these are the precautionary measures that either de- stroy the pest or prevents it's breeding. The proper use of the garbage can does a great work, but the garbage can itself can become a menace, unless the pointed suggestion of the cartoonist to | put the lid on tight is adhered to, for otherwise the receptacle becomes a harboring place for the disease bearing insects where they multiply by the hun dreds.
 But great as is the properly kept gar bage can in the lessening of the evil, it does not begin to compare with the sys- tenn of incineration adopted by the mill tary authorities, which is in such suc- cessful operation in the army camp at San Antonio. Every scrap of waste food, refuse, sweepings, vestige of animal mat ter is destroyed by fire, even the dish- water is exaggerated and the grease burnt up. Every company in that camp of | 15,000 men maintains a separate incin- orator in which the refuse from the kitchen and the scraps from the table ! is kept burning both day and night, and the result is almost a total absence of flies.
 The disposal of garbage from a large camp was always a troublesome prob- lem heretofore; it is now settled def- nitely in the system adopted at San Antonio.
 As a result of this and other precau- tionary measures there is less than l per cent of sickness among that large body of men, a marvellous result and a record that has never been surpassed in mill itary annals of this or any country in the world.
 | If the system of incineration can be worked so successfully in military cir | cles, could it not be worked equally as successfully in civic affairs? One of the l secrets of it's success is the fact that there is no accumulation of garbage consequently no gathering of flies, for the moment the garbage is created it is thrown on the fire and immediately de stroyed. There never was garbage car nor garbage cart devised that did not sooner or later leak and often in trans port from the place where the garbage was created, to the place of destination half of the contents of the can or cart is deposited on the public highway to the disgust of the people and the satisfaction of the flies.
 | All this is done away with by the in- cinerator system and outside of a hand | ful of ashes nothing remains of the ob- jectionable matter, and the flies simply | die of starvation.
 | As suggestion could not this system be adopted by those places of business where visit of the ''slop'' wagon is a daily necessity, and a somewhat disgust ' ing spectacle to those who are often | compelled to witness it? The writer has been informed that an incinerator nc larger than kitchen stove is already on the market If so, it might be adopted and used to the health and advantage of | the community wherever installed. Of course this would not totally destroy the pests, but it is one of the means to bring | about that end.