Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-01-23
CASING THE BUGS
BY Frederic ). HAskin

Here. as in 80 many other ways. the
clumslnfss Of modern Industrial and
governmental methods comes 10. The
trouble Is that the saving cannot De
applied TO the cost of the work. II
the work Is to be done by the Gov
ernment, II must be paid for BY the
tax payer. But the taxpayer feels
that he is already being taxed enough,
chiefly 10 keep up the Army and Ma
w and pay the war debts, and II hs
has an ounce Of sense ne knows that
the saving Of this cotton is not AZ
all sure 70 reduce the price of cot
ton shirt TO him. As for the planter,
he wants the boil w1eyil extcrninated
badly enough In order that his whole
I living may not be eaten up By the pest,
/ but lis complete destruction does not
mean any Certainly increased income
20 him. In fact, large cotton crop
/ is apt TO mean a low cotton price for
4 the farmer, go that ne really cannot
afford any extra large investment IN
this work.
4 How Science is Blocked.
1 These came obstacles, rooted. in ths
stupid inefficiency OF industrial orga-
| nization and political government, are
! found blocking the path OF numerous
| projects for the furtherance Of mans
control over nature. Science DEVICES
solution Of the problem, but Indus
. try and government seem designed %
? obstruct putting the solution irto ef-
= feet. The fact Of the matter ls that,
while the physical sciences have ad-
vabced steadily since the Middle Ages
trade and governmental methods re-
! main ndieval IN many respects. Our
: methods Of regulating comu1erce. our
n diplomacy and our wars, for example.
! are all essentially medieval.
: We cannot stop to elaborate this
Z important idea, because this fs p story
e about bugs. The point IL that the
e afrplane, II properly developed, may
e well give US control over many kin e
Il Of insects which are now getting the
u best OF US or course, the insects
:. are slowly getting the best of us
II everywhere, and many scientists. es-
% pecialiy entomologfsts, see life az a
= battle for supremacy between men ard
g. the insects Insects dsvour our crops
ies and our forests and carry many @.
the deadliest diseases. The mosquito
= and the boil weevil, the Hessian- fiy
= and the gypsy moth and a long list
Of other insect pests are mans mos
- serious enemies
The insects have the enornoui
= advantages Of being very small. YER
:, numerous and very prolific. We can
a not destroy them one by one "a we d
a. our other natural enemies. The in
sect problem was admirably posed b,
- that friend Of the human race who
40 some years ago. advertised positiv
{ method OF destroying potato bugs. II
IN sent 20 inquirers, for one dollar, tv
" small blocks Of wood with instruction
he 70 put the potato bug on one bloc
90 and hit him with the other.
w What man must do, 20 save hi
it crops and his life, il 70 invent mean
BY OF destroying insects wholesale. Sws'
u the-fy campaigns are as inefectus
as as the above potato bug masher. o
be the other hand, mosquitoes have bee
IN successfully destroyed by ioodin
Ae their breeding places with oil.
DC The airplane can undoubtedly ds
nc stroy wholesale many kinds OF ir
sect pests, II science can only get I
y this instance the support IL need
from government and industry.