South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-02-08


While we are making every
effort to defeat the Germans and
using up our income and resources
in the struggle, we are allowing
the rat to do us as much material
damage every year as 100000
German soldiers could do
The United States Government
has recognized the gravity of the rat plague.
For the first time it has used pictorial
poster In disseminating public warning 1t
has sent out one broadcast entitled, Kill the
ratP' It states the immense amount of dam
age done TO fOodstuffs and property and an
nounces that information concerning the
best methods of rat killing and rat-proof
building will be furnished on application to
the United States Department of Agricul-
ture, Bureau of Biological Survey, Washing
ton, d. c.
The great deadly fact is that there are up
wards Of 200,000000 rats in the United
States and that each rat destroys on the
average So worth of foodstuffs year with
out counting other property.
That means 81 000,000000 worth of food
stuffs year wasted. We are trying to feed
the allies and paying ruinous prices for our
own food, and at the same time we are let
ting the rats destroy 81 000,000000 worth Of
the finest human fOOdstuffs
Every year the rats eat UP one third of the
first Liberty Loan-which was S., 000, 100000
and we have nothing left to show for it.
The Government shows that to produce the
food destroyed by rats annually requires the
labor Of 10000 farmers and farm workers
NO single farmer devotes his entire time 10
the rats but the labor wasted is equal to the
entire time of 100000 of them In addition
1t requires the services Of at least $4,000
other laborers 10 replace the damage done
by rats to buildings Thus the total output
Of at least 100000 men is continuously re-
CURED solely to feed and otherwise provide
for the filthy, disease-spreading rats.
The fertility of the rat IS amazing and ter
rifying. A female begins to breed al three
months and has on the average twelve litters
year and ten rats to a litter.
At tins rate one rat In year would have
210620 descendants. The rat lives about six
years barring accidents
David L. Lantz, of the United States Bio
logical Survey, has estimated that two brown
rats in three years could have 2O155. 500 de-
scendants. If the same rate of progression
were kept up for SIX years the total would
run into eighteen figures and there would be
more rats than could be accommodated on
the surface of the entire globe. That such
q thing does not happen is because the rat
death rate is high, and must rise, as men
realize their danger. Nevertheless, the rats
are increasing at an alarming rate
At present the number of rats in towns is
about equal to the human population. which
gives us 100000 city rats in the United
States In the country the rats exceed the
human population three or four times on &C
count of the abundance of foodStuffs And
it Is there that they are increasing most rap
idly. Thus the total rat population of the
country cannot be less than 100000 OO
Some experts have placed 1t at 50O,0O0,OOO
In addition 20 Aindering our war work at
home rats are figuring at the front I'M
mense hordeS of abnormslly large and fierce
rats add greatly to the miseries of the
trenches attacking the soldiers while they
sleep and destroying food and equipment
Government literature now being dis
Gibuted shows that rats not only eat up food