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Show l II ,,! !i N5v II III Pj i1 Women Are ; Afraid of a p, Rat and Yet fj They Fondle a 1 1 Canary Thich Is I More Dangerous to Health Than the Rat, I Says "Der Ratten-faenger. Ratten-faenger. " 4 &"( TOU know -who Unci T" Sam's worst foe 1b? Are you prepared 10 nyiiu uiul ioe. - Prof. Louis Hirsch of New t J York, graduate of Heldel- berg UrdverHlty In Gr- "sT'S' many, says we do not know our enemy or how to Ixst hlrru Unconsciously In these turbulont times tho mind turns to the legions of Europe Eu-rope or the Orient for an answer. But no wrny j5 as numerous or no field marshal has tho cunning of tho foe with which the United i States Is face to face today, and Is not prepared to meet. More than that, the enemy is already "ithln the borders of the nation, Dr. lllrsch ys. S The foe Is tho rat rf ' CT. Hirsch knows what he Is .talking about. B Ho has studied rats and mice and other vermin ver-min for forty years and his experiments and ' xpenences have given him an amazing knowl-I' knowl-I' de of the harm dono annually to the human race by tho ravages of the rat. ' H Is all the more startling when Dr. Hirsch . points out that 1W yearn ago there were com-1 com-1 " raratlvely few rats In tho United States and Us adjacent territory. Tho Indians' did not know what the rat was. Ships from Europe , flrfct brought the scourge to our shores. . r Dr. Hirsch, the biggest foe of the rat world. nd slayer of billions of the rodent family, be-r be-r Hecs tho country should know something about rats In oider to combat their ravages. They j ro far the greatest camera of disease, ho I averts. Iuo you know, for Instance, that tne rat is marter than you are. Flo hasn't more brains, i s far as weight goes, but what he has, coupled lth his Instinct for self-preservation, makes tlio rat more able to match his wits with you. i You have heard, of course, the story that rats lcavij a ship destined to sink before It I leaves us last port. A piece of sailor supcr- l UtIon? Not a bit of it. says Dr. Jlirsch. ' "Something inevplicablc seems to warn the c rcU of coming danger," said Dr. Hirsch. "My g experiences have Hhown mc that hours before & fire breaks out In a large building the rata if ' faave begun to leave it. Perhaps the nrst faint S curl of smoko somewhere in a corner was 1 . enough to warn them. I , "If ou can. -watch a lat when a severe 5 - llorm 1b approaching. The rat become rcst- pf ' i d A '' j f uil" Willi ''' v v m Willi v&f. JvMffiffiMttzM&B&Q ' ' ' 'f-'i ISikii fefla WlwKWk P 111111 v W wr' mi !lli'',,tv less and runs somewhat aimlessly about. Th? are sure cyclone Indicators in that' respect. Thdr keen foresight teaches them something Is going to happen." Dr. Hirsch says the rat is the ival disciple of tho survival of the flttent theory, and this Is one reason why the rat race has never deteriorated. "You will never pee a lame or blind rat or one deformed m any way.'. Dr. Hirsch explained. ex-plained. "The reason t that tho mother rat will kill at birth any of tho litter which Is deformed. de-formed. :Uoro than that. If the rat colonV becomes be-comes overpopulated the mother rats will kill two or three of their offspring at birth to keep down the census figures." Dr. Hirsch says he cannot understand why canary birds are household pets. He asserts a-bettor a-bettor pet for the home would be a mouse. Mrs. lx)Ver of Birds, exchange yojur canary for a mouse If you believe in hygiene! "The canary bird is a germ carrier," said the professor," while the mouse Is the cleanest of animals and absolutely harmless. Why should a woman, therefore, fondle and kiss a canary and then Jump on a chair when a mouse happens hap-pens to etray Into the apartment? It Is a psychological problem, r should say. becauso thf canary is really more to be reared." Dr. Hirsch told of experiments ho mad which proved to him how Jealous the rat Is to keep the race standard up. He told of catching catch-ing a number of rats and putting them In a closed room, and then throwing in a rat which had been purposely maimed. The noimal rats Instantlv greeted the new arrival with drI?lon and killed it. Tho female of the rat species, according to the nciaeiDcrg rjiu j"i " ".' "-deadly "-deadly than the male, but la a suffragette and the boss of the household. Every rat colony-rats colony-rats live In colonies because of their hlghlv developed social Instincts according to Dr Hirsch, Is ruled over by a queen rat. usually one about S years old, the maximum of rats. "The tpiccn rat." nald Dr. Hirsch. "Is not only more powerful In battle, but is far wiser than hor sister and brothers, and it i oy reason of this she really becomes the ruler of the colonv. The other rats rely upon the queen for protection. Should you by any chance kll the queen the other rats will leave the build ing for good, because a panic comes over them T alwavs keep a sharp lookout for the queen rai when T am ridding a place of the nests. but the queen la pretty sharp and hard to kill." dfifcvEw S3T mt r J 1 1 asm Ktwc &'tf&&'' ffi'7T'rfri r jr JEtaBBKamSSI. Dr. Hirsch doctn't place much reliance in the i at tiap as an cfllclcnt means of killing rats. JIo relics upon chemicals, the different mixtures being the result of years' work In tho laboratories. labora-tories. Did you ever wonder why that now rat trap you bought has become a useless article ar-ticle of furniture after the first two or threa days of use? Tho explanation is this: Kats are novcr deceived de-ceived by the same ruse for any length of lime. However tempting tho bait the rat reasons rea-sons out that, slnco tho installation of tho new devise, fivo or ten members of the colony havo disappeared and Instantly associates tho trap with their disappearance. Thereafter tho rats will walk around tho trap and turn up their whiskers In contempt at man's clumsy attempt to best them. "Hals arc lovers of good eating," continued Dr Jllrsch, and whllo thcy feed upon rofuse they prefer to dine upon the best In tho land. A rat particularly relishes a lobster supper or bluo jiointa on the half shell and Juicy steak.". This Is whero tho great danger lo tho human family Ih's. Delicacies left In the homo on Iho tablo for lato lunches for an after-theater supper offer a tempting bait for the rat. "While tho family is away the rat. -which has been prowling in the alloy among refuse, gains entrance en-trance to the house and carries the germs from the rcfuso to tho table. The rat tvM nibble to carefully at the .delicacies that the diners will never know there has beon anyono at tho table ahead of, them." v s2 The-3tory of-an Interesting experiment he and sonio companions made In the dining room of a large New York restaurant was related by Dr. Hirsch appropos of the "cunning of the rat In getting what ho wants. A. ham was hung from the celling In tho center of tho room so that the end of tho ham was several feet above the floor. There was no way rate could reach the ham" by climbing along thevwalls. The lights were then lowered and tho party, at a far corner of the room "Raited for rcsliItB. "We didn't have long to wait," he said. "Pretty soon a rat was drawn by tho scent of the ham, and ran under IL Tne rat mado several sev-eral jumps In a vain effort to reach It, then ran around the walls seeking a placo to climb up. Baffled In this, tho rat paused Tor a minute, Irresolutely, then ran out of the room. "Did tho rat give up the iflea of getting the ham7 Not a bit of it. In a moment tho same rat with four companions returned and all gathered for a conference under the ham. Thereupon one rat Jumped upon tho shoulders of tho first rat, and so on. until the new arrivals ar-rivals formed a pyramid. The top rat was ' then about 2 feet from the ham, and In a quick Jump reached it A bite or two of lt Bharp teeth severed tho cord and tho rata had tho ham. "There Ih no limit to the Ingonulty of tho rat," commented Dr. Hirsch, "and this is only one example of It. If as much attention were paid to the habits of the rat and other vermin as la paid to trivial things, the people would know more about how to combat the scourge. "For Instance, a simple way to keep rats out of a room is to round the corners of the doors You never see a rat hole In the middle of a ioor. because the rat's teeth are so constructed 't iar.7iin n&w on a smooth surface. Henco when rats seek to enter a room they gnaw a hole :n the door at one of the two lower corners cor-ners Uj rcur.iilng off these door corners you effectually jceep the rat out." ' TT-.ll the rat fight human beings?" Dr. j rach is frequentl asked. "Only when cornered 6r deliberately attacked when starving," Is his Invariable reply to this question. "If you corner a rat In a room." Dr. Hirsch said, "all you need do Is open a window win-dow and the rat will make a leap for freedom-no freedom-no matter If the room Is on the first or the tenth floor of a building. "Tho rat, you know, fears man most of all, because It realizes that man Is Its most formM-r formM-r able, foe. Next, a rat fears a cat most, because be-cause cats arc quicker than flogs." Dr. Hirsch exhibited a scar on one of his hands. "There Is the mark of the only time I was ' ever bitten by a rat In all my experience in K catching lhem,"'he explained. "That occurred one "night while I was In a daik warehouse catching rats by hand that Is with a small pinchers attached to my hand. The owner of the warehouse refused to let mc use poison or a light and T had been working two days trapping trap-ping rats as they camo out of their hole, from which they were drawn by a fine powder of hlch they aro particularly fond. "r was ho sleepy that I didn't close tho pinchers fast enough one time and was bitten. The owner of the warehouse wouldn't listen lo my explanations that a poisoned rat novcr runs back Into Its holo to die Invariably, unless the poison causes almost Instant death, they will run Into the open air where their bodies are later found." Every school child remembers the fairy tale of the rat-killer of Hamelln. who rid the quaint city of tho rats by the malc playing of hi plpeB. and then, when the burgomaster refused to pay him, lured the chlldron Into the mountain moun-tain side through the charm of the music ho made. .Dr. Hirsch has often been nicknamed a modern pled piper, but his methods ara not eo 'IIrI 'Jul spectacular nor do they lend themselves a til Tvell to Tomanclng. ''jliffi Tho doctor's power over the rat 1b due to his ;ij ! long years of laboratory study coupled with his ! ill first-hand knowledge of rats and chemistry ha I I l! i folved tho problem for him. Different occasions 'ill demand different poisons, and, in the wordB of ) tho professor, you must know your enemy be- 'j j, fore you can fight him. J II Meeting Dr. Hirsch casually you would never j take him for tho world's champion rat killer. 1,1 Sll Ruddy complexloned and gray-haired, with a 'lire humorous twinkle In his eyes, ho looks more i.j jlu like a successful small merchant or a traveling i j Ifl salesman nearlng the period of a comfortable ' 11 voluntary retirement from tho worries and ,; IS streeB of business life. Only when he begins to : talk on his favorite topic the extermination of jl the rat you realize that Dr. Hirsch Is no ordl- I j jl nary man. : j JMJ Ills hobby Is the advocation of the establish- ' r'ii ment of laboratories and schools In all metro- ij jj polltan cities, where tho'study of vermin would ' jm be taken up on a sclentlfts scale. i; jjj "What Is the good of wealthy men leaving j) millions to schools and to build hospitals?" h ' J jfl exclaimed. "Why not get at the root of the jj evil? Exterminate the major causes of the ii n diseases to which the human family is heir. ! i Rats are carrlors of typhoid and tuberculosis J ,4 germs as well as dozens of other diseases. j; Ei ( Bedbugs are a cause of cancer and roaches are 'I al typhoid and malaria gorm carriers. If we had )j' W the means to exterminate these vermin, how j j ' m many hospitals would close their doors!" I'sj Dr. Hirsch said he could clean the rats out of any city as effectually as the plod piper fl drovo the rodents out of Hamelln. All that i'ljl would be necessary would be the co-operation ' m of the Police .Department and of the Board of ' j 1 Health. 1 "A certain day would have to bo set aside," M he explained, "as rat-killing day. Before that day the police would have to take to every I j m . home a package of poison and leave explicit r instructions on how to strew it. At the given H j hour curfew bells and whistles could be blown m end the telephone companies could co-operate ' IE by reminding their customers to begin the kill- jl ing process. j i "The poison would contain Ingredients of i' SI which rats arc extremely fond and their sensl- (l tlve smell would soon draw them out of their j jjl holes. The rest would be easy. Of course the If3 Health Department vvould have to follow up I Ira immediately collecting the dead rats, otherwise og there would be danger of an epidemic. This HR would not be difficult, because, as I said, a pol- j gl sojicd rat will run Into the open air to die. A j W campiign of this sort would leave few rats In a j S Dr. Hlrcch took up the profession of rat-kill- f Hj lug by accident, he said, and found it so profit- jffl able a field ho r.ow has a permanent office In JJI New York. While a student nl the University jfl of Heidelberg ha devoted all his spare time to j jH rtudjing butterflies and other Insects and later i 'ffl rats. Instead of taking part In the sword j ft fights and drinking bouts of the classmates, he ! ' M preferred to amuse himself watching the antics o( his collection of rats and" mice and bugs. ' "j I The other students called him "Der Ratten- m faeligcr" the rat catcher and told him he was i f Today many of tho students wish they had U been .as "ciar.y" as the rat catcher of Heidel- M boi'g. It was M-ars, later, however, before Dr. H Uhsch thought of pulling his remarkable j jjl knowledge to commercial use. i g The looming houte whcie ho was staying j Jjtt while a chemist In New York was partly In- :t , jjJ f(Wted with rats and one day the landlady told ' i QH him hor woes In trying to battlo with the pests. , (Ml "Why, I can fl that easy enough." the chem- j j ffij irl icplicd. lie piepared the necesaary poison? jH ami after a few lours' work there wasn't a rat (4B left in the hoL.se. Of course the landlady , ( llj cgpldn't keep tho rood news to herself and it -y Mfc so'm xprcad about the neighborhood. The ' mi nwicr of a row of npariinents In the next block i ft (a'll-d upon Dr. Hirsch and begged him to rid ,' ift the aj-urtments of indent . When the work was JH dor.e he presuuted the rat killer with a check ( nl for a handsome sum. In all of his work after H thnl Dr.' Hirsch salil he made It a rule never .jp to charge poor people for oslernilnailng rats in J their homes Like a physician, he believes In jjn IcUiim Iho wealthy pay. jfl (cvral years ago Di. Mlr.sch was emloyd m as otliclal rat killer by the United States Gov- j Ij ernmciit and drove more than nOOO rat? out of j iM the Capitol Building. He alo cleaned th rats M out of the Treasury Department, the Nav De- j SB partment and was employed by the Department Kk of Agslculture lo gle advice on the extermlna- ( ffi tlon of vermin. A special law had to be passed . lift l.y Congress before Dr. Hirsch could be em- UJ plr.yed, as the United States laws made no pro- ' tgL vNfon for hiring rat killers. In addition Dr. l fBj HU?oh has been employed by numerous lead- ; ' m lng steamshlj) companies, warehouse firms and I jfcj olhei-s. Among his prized possessions is a let- m ter from the late J. P Morgan thanking the , . jft chemist for services rendered. ; Ml Dr. HlrECh w.t awarded the contract for1 fifl cleaning rats and mice out of the St. Louis Coll- jBJMJ seum to prepare that building for the National ljH Democratic Convention. JflK While tho doctor was talking to a reporter i!! n maid appeared at the window of a room J across the courtyard from that occupied by him. , ij The maid had a "fly-nwatter" in her hand and ag was energetically engaged "swatting" flies in vM accordance with the most improved methods jHj of the day. ' Wj The sight caused Dr. Hirsch to throw up his HWI hands in a port of "whafs-the-use" fashion fojjl and a look of disgust appeared upon his face. Sjjj "That is," ho said, "my Idea of a useless oc- t ' TTfll cupatlon. The fiy swatter 1b about as effective, J jH r, weapon to oxtorminaxe nioa m a. ueu-nuwicr would be to sink a drcadnaught. Let mo give J I t you some figures." I The doctor took a pencil and mado a few . fj rapid calculations. " . is "On Juno 1 a fly lays 120 eggs." he calculated Bj aloud. "Say that half of those hatch. By IjW June 10 there will he In existence sixty files. , ife-j Tn a short time they will grow up and lay 120 jll eggs each. On that basis by September 2S that ! jp ono flv will have Indirectly caused the exist- i , enco of this number 353.564.672.000,000,000,000." j j which he wrote on paper. A "Now, you see," he commented, "what a rea.1- j !i Iy tremendous Job it Is. And the answer is not i I, the rat trap or the fly swatttr, but the labo H ratory." I f |
