Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-30
WAR ON HOUSE FLY
"Swatting" Movement Plan
ned to Be Made Nation Wide.
DEADLY FOE OF MANKIND
Has Killed More People Than All
the Wars, Pestilence and Fam
ines Combined.
DEADLY FOE OF MANKIND
BY Frederic J. Haskin.

against the house fly has started with
Swat the Fly" as its slogan. An all
summer campaign has begun which will
give the invading hosts tug Of war such
as they have never before encountered.
Last years campaign was successful
enough to demonstrate just what may
be expected when the country becomes
aroused. and If this summers work does
not awake the ninety million people of
the United States, then all signs fail.
Schools. churches. women's clubs, civic
organizations, health associations, pic
ture shows, boy scouts, municipalities.
neWspapers-a thousand agencies Of every
kind and description will be enlisted I'M
der the banner of the fly-fghting army,
and from every housetop the tocsin of
war will be sounded calling all men to
arms to resist the invading host
And we'll it may be. For generations
man has given the fly home, only shoo-
ing him away when he became too pestif-
erous. and only using a fly brush, when
During all these years tho fly requited the
shelter Of mankind by secretly dragging
In all manner of filth and disease and
placing 1t where his benefactors must
eat It. He has been the advance agent of
pestilence and the drummer Of disease,
and. as one bright crusader recently put
1t: He has six legs. and a half dozen
hairy grips on each leg in which to carry
samples. and these he distributes with
a lavish hand" These samples he gets
from the stable, from carrion-from any
place where disgusting things and deadly
disease germs are to be found. In short,
the fly Is a professional poisoner. In
stead Of slipping a little arsenic into ones
consumption germs in butter, or other
equally deadly. though invisible, germs in
the meat and vegetables Men hang the
occasional human poisoner, but every
day they let this insect poisoner go scot
free.
Exposed by Science.
Science has at last succeeded in ex-
posing the fly and the mosquito in their
true colors, and has proved that these
two little pests have destroyed more hui
man lives through their arts as poison
ers than all of the wars. famines and
proved that the doctrine of reincarnation
holds good In the case Of the fly: 1t is
filth come back to life to plague man.
kind
with these facts before them tho cru
saders are going into the campaign In
deadly earnest this spring, They are 60
ing to annihilate the advance guard be-
fore the innumerable achievements ar
rive. thereby hoping to avoid unneces-
sary warfare There will be many new
papers everywhere. daily and weekly, are
Joining In the crusade, and all admit
that they constitute the artillery Of the
crusading army. The American Civic
ogy furnish all the ammunition the press
desires, and this ammunition Is Of as
fine quality as the art Of war affords.
Then there will be one branch of the
Il, stab pn< 0nyHln
Their lives are yet ahead of them, and
their chances to escape the fly peril are
fewer. The enthusiasm Of the Boy Scouts
Of the country will be used as q sort of
nucleus around which to rally band of
youthful crusaders, who will contribute
much time and energy to the movement.
They can keep a watch on the breeding
places in their neighborhood, destroying
what they can and reporting to others
what they are not able to destroy them
selves.
School Children in Army.
The school children will also be drafted
into service in the f1y-f1ghting army. The
teachers will tell them how the fly Is the
buzzard of the insect world, and will
instruct them in the manual Of arms and
otherwise fit them to be fully equipped
soldiers. In many schools prizes will be
offered for the best essays on the house
fly and its habits, on its dangerousness.
and in some cases moving picture shows
will give free exhibitions of the famous
fly film. Last years crusade was great
ly aided by the moving picture brigade,
which did such effective service In the
advance guard.
Every municipality in the country is
asked to enact such a sanitary ordinance
as will enable the fly fighters to force the
non-participant to become at least pass
to- So ant Dc, v,<>t
much use for John Smith to fight all
summer long against the fly If his neigh
Dor, Sam Jones, allows it to use his prem
Uses as its ralying ground. And there
will be some Sam JoneseS remaining in
spite of all the enthusiasm. A city ordi
nance will take care of these few hope
lessly Indifferent citizens, and the Amer
lean Civic Association, with its headquar-
ters In Washington, is ready to send
model ordinance to any one who wishes
to urge its adoption upon his munich
pality.
The women's clubs which have become
militant crusaders have surprised them
selves with the possibilities of the effec-
tive work they can do. So successful
has this element of the crusade been that
special effort will be made to interest
every club in the country. and they will
be supplied with helpful literature at all
times. No one breads filth like women
and their support to the fly crusade Is
considered by the leaders Of the move
ment as one OF the greatest aids they
can hope to command.
Chance for individuals.
Then there IS opportunity for the indi-
vtdual Last year q woman in Boston
set her own premises in order ana showed
her neighbors how easy it Is to keep the
flies from multiplying at home. She had
a supply of literature and was able to tell
the newspapers what she was doing. and
her missionary work finally spread until
It reached whole communities. When an
individual begins q campaign of swatting
the fly all he need do is to tell the news
papers what he Is doing and that becomes
a news story, and the heavy artillery OF
the press Il turned loose In support Of the
work