The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1914-08-13

get well in four months; fifteen-six-
teenths. in eight months; thirty-one-
thirty seconds, in n year. Judged by
biologic law. it should be easy to con-
troll malaria.
Malaria at times is a markedly cpl
emit disease. Since the advent OF the
mosquito doctrine, 16 years ago, the
malaria zone has been pushed back
year by year In the United States.
half the territory infected 20 years ago
is not infected now. The anopheles
mosquitoes Che malaria spreaders)
abound. but they are not infected.
The worst malaria pest holes of to-
day have no more malaria than Chicago
and New York had 80 a ago. Lou
isiana today is no SO malarial as was
Illinois a quarter of a century ago.. Hill
nois is now practically free.
Twenty years should see every ma
larial district in the United States free.
Ten Years of moderate effort could ac-
complish the same result. Five years
of strenuous effort should accomplish
1t.
1t has been estimated that an eff
ficient malaria campaign will reduce
the malaria rate so per cent the first
year; so per cent the second, and 95 per
cent h third. The links are so weak
that, whenever 80 per cent Of the ma
larla, even 70 per cent, is eliminated,
the remainder will spontaneously dis
appear.
An established principle in the con
troll OF a widespread and prevalent dis
ease is to gradually and persistently
decrease Its prevalence. content with
slow and gradual gains until a certain
point has been reached; then to strike
to end it. The time is at hand to strike
to end malaria.
In the natural course of events the
northern border of the malaria zone
will drop further south every year. BY
the pursuit of a method the rate of
travel can be fastened. The method
consists Of three parts:
(a) To prevent the breeding of mos
quitoes.
(b) To prevent the infection of mos
q%uitoes by people.
(c) To prevent the infection of peo-
pie b. mosquitoes.
To prevent the breeding Of mos
quitoes (a) it is proposed to drain the
land, OBJ cut out the grass and under
brush, (c) catch mosquitoes with bats
and birds, CD catch the larvae witt
fish. (e) catch the mosquitoes in the
houses, particularly the last crop ir
the fall and the first crop in the spring
| (f) to kill the larvae with kerosene oil
nicotine and other poisons.
The expense of the work of ditching
draining, grass cutting, sodding and oil.
ing varies greatly. In Panama the an.
nual expediture is $1,000 a square mile
On the basis of population, it figures !
cent a day per capita. 1t figures So {
day a square mile.
The Pennhyn campaign in California
cost 40 cents a day, per square mile
or $146 a year per squar mile. In Is.
MALTA the first cost for drainage anc
%quinine was s1.56 per capital per yeal
for the first year. and ST cents pc
capita per year afterwards. The Klans
campaign costs 1917 cents per capits
the first year, and 81 cents after tina.
per capita. The cost of the Orvill,
campaign per square mile per capits
was 7b cents. The California board
of health estimates the cost of a 80
mile tract is $50 per square mile pc
day for the first year so cents for Thu
second ear and 81 cents for the thirt
year.
In my judgment, while a rnosquit'
campaign has its place in contes
against malaria, it Is the least effective
the least necessary. and the inost eX
pensive part of the work. MdEquitoes
even anopheles, may abound ind ma