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Show Rats and Fires. At a time when everyone is complaining com-plaining of the high cost of living it might be well to see if we cannot eliminate elim-inate two great sources of waste fires-and fires-and rats. Most fires are needless. All rats-are rats-are so. Some years ago a study of the rat problem in Philadelphia arrived at Hie conclusion that the rodents of that city ate more than a million dollars' worth of food each year. At that rate, the disgusting creatures enn hardly cost less than ?100,000,000 per year to the whole country. This Is a pretty pret-ty high price to pay for the companionship compan-ionship of impish pests which, besides their other bad habits, undermlno floors and carry the most dreaded of all diseases, bubonic plague. Yet fires are more expensive than Cats. In 1015 the last year for which figures are at hnnd-the American people paid out in premiums for fire Insurance $-119,301,3-10. Of this vast sum at least three-fourths could bo saved by reducing our fire record to the rate prevailing in England, France or Germany; and even In our time and nation 5300,000,000 per year Is a saving sav-ing worth noting, and one which would have n perceptible effect on the cost of living. |