Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-03-22
THOSE FLIES
By H. Arlington Bruce


y DON the first OF this years army Of
~ house flies will be making an appear
w. ance. Prepare against them now.
Have your "swatters'' ready. See that your
screen doors and windows screens arc in Or
der. Make sure, BY thorough cleaning Of
house and yard that there are no fly breed
ing places on your premises.
In fine, take the fly menace most seriously
To help yourself do this-to help yourself
appreciate that it is truly serious menace,
ponder the following story:
To certain summer hotel in Maine there
came a man and his wife, hopefully looking
forward to a pleasant two weeks vacation.
The change of scene, the open country, rest,
and recreation amid healthful surroundings
factors such as these they counted upon to
reinvigorate them for the tasks and prob
lens of workaday life.
Alas! Disilusion came when they first
set foot in the hotel dining room.
Health, as every schoolboy knows, depends
on digestion Digestion dependr largely on
appetite in the case of persons sensitive or
the conditions under which food is served
and eaten. The presence of flies in dining
room is one condition sorely destructive to
appetite in the case of persons sensitive or
we'll informed.
And this hotel dining room swarmed with
flies.
Four days of menta, martyrdom the dis
appointed holiday maker and his wife en-
dured. Then they announced their intention
Of seeking other quarters. 'Too many flies"
they explained to the protesting hotelkeeper,
only to be told
"Fles or no flies, you took rooms for two
weeks. Stay pay"
They neither stayed nor paid for the two
weeks. Suit was brought The hotel man
won a decision. But the case was carried to
The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine. Here5
in effect, are the courts reasons for finding
in the vacationist's favor:
'"The real issue involves single question
of fact Was the defendant justified in
leaving the hotel because the plaintiff al
lowed flies to collect at the defendants table
in such numbers as to become insanitary
and repu,sve? The court holds that he was.
eft is matter Of common knowledge that
the house fly has come to be regarded by
the enlightened understanding not only as
one of the most annoying of insects but one
Of the most dangerous in its capacity to
gather, carry and disseminate the germs of
disease.
''He Is the meanest of all scavengers. He
delights in revealing in all kindc Of filth.
The greater the putrescenCe. the more to his
taste.
After Tree indulgence In the cesspools Of
disease, he then possesses the further obnox-
Gus attribute Of being most agile and per-
sistent in ability to distribute the germs OF
almost every deadly form of contagion.
''Accide ntally, flies may invade any dim
ing room, private or public But the pres
ence of flies in dining room regularly in
numbers, hov ever small, is menace not to
oe encouraged or tolerated"
Here, then, the teachings of hygienists find
legal support. Hotel keepers everywhere
may we'll give thought to this decision. So
may the keepers of boarding houses and res
taurants, bake shops, grocery stores and mar
ket stalls. And for the householder it has
it's warning, too.
The day may come, as it should come,
when courts will deem criminal1y culpable
all who tolerate flies about their homes or
working places, or provide conditions favor
ing the increase Of flies. Total determination
of flies may be an impossible ideal. But the
more closely it Is attained the healthier the
nation will be.
copyright, 1921, by the Associated Newspa-
pers.)