The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1915-08-26
Visiting the Birth Place of the Fly
BY PETER STERLING.

then we are an nngod-like though
God-fearing people. Like the Phari-
sees of old. under mantle of lily
white lies concealed q filth. not mental
nor moral of course. but physical,
which is intensely revolving in its
horrible possibilities.
These are harsh, startling, perhaps
ranking statements. But they are
true. And truth sometimes seems
most incredible.
The other day Mr.. w. N. Clark, Mr..
H. v. George and the writer were ap-
pointed as committee by the Civic
Improvement-league to. take little
walk up and down through the alleys
to seek out the breeding places of the
bald-headed mans bane. the house
wife's pest and the baby's mortal
enemy-the fly.
Frankly, we took the commission
as joke. A broad smile spread over
our faces as we met and decided upon
ways and means We dubbed our
selves the FERTILIZER Inspectors and
chuckled about 1t. We thought we
had sinecure's job. case Of moth
ing to do" as it were.
But we thought It was up to US to
bluff it out so we started. For the
first block down Main street alley
we talked mostly end didn't notice
much. Toward the end of the block
however we ran across a harmless
looking ash-pit that we glanced into
just to carry out the bluff. There be-
fore us was sight to turn the strong
est mans stomach.
Corn cobs. watermelon rinds, toma.
to skins. all supposed to be compare.
lively clean, but now half rotted and
virtually teeming with tiny maggots-
the atomical larvae whose mailed fist
of disease-carrying has well nigh
baffled the efforts Of man to eradi-
cate.
One glance and we knew our bluff
had been called. We realized at onf
that the often-asked question. Where
do all these flies come from?" had
been most emphatically answered. We
looked casually back over territory
We had inspected (D and we saw
where the flies came from. Not
twenty feet from uD. up against a
building, lay mass OF discarded ba-
mana stocks. Looking closely we saw
that same nlmy vapor composed OF
hundreds Of minute insects rising
from It. They were not flies. OF
course. but they were the very same
things that would be tickling our
noses as flies as we went home for
dinner in the evening.
We knew very well where the flies
came from then. We hadn't thought
before that a little filth 10 quite as
bad as a great deal Of It when flies
are concerned. We had thought that
our errand was a needless one be-
cause we had been thinking of the
clean front streets, the pretty lawns
and splendid gardens which mark
most Of our thoroughfares. Judging
from them we had taken our opinion
Of the town and would have scoffed
at the man who said our city was not
clean.
We had considered that because
the alleys were secured last ''Clean.
Up" day they we're as spick and span
as one could wiSh, for In our glances
up and down the alleys in the past,
as we walked by on a cross street,
we saw no unsightly scrap heaps or
tin can monuments and boasted that
our town was clean.
! Our awakening was rude but last
ing.
We continued our Investigation but
this time with an eye for the little
filth, the slops here. the wet hay and
excelsior there. the open ashpit and
the uncovered barrel or tub. And we
found lots Of them. So many. in fact,
that as we proceeded. the occasional
fly trap We encountered seemed ridic-
ulous and silly; moekery, taunt.
ing challenge. an incentive OF def
ance to the thousands Of dies that
we're being born every minute.
About the rear Of almost every
building we found the little NTH, the
things that people overlook. The rea-