Ogden Daily Standard | 1910-05-13 | Page 1 | Rats by the Millions

Bite Children and Drive Away Dogs From the Garbage Dumps Summit. N. J.. May 13. Rats two million or so of them which Infest jj the city garbage dumps, threaten to overrun the residential section of Summit and the board of health has appealed to experts In New York Cil to provide a means for their extermination. extermin-ation. The serious nature of the visitation visi-tation as called forclhl to the attention at-tention of the authorities by a recent report from a school prloclpal to the pffect that children in an outlyin suburban su-burban sectl.-.n hovr been inaling long detours on their way to school because be-cause of their fear of being bitten by the rodent?. Tim estimate that the total number num-ber of rats reaches two million is based on an r-stlniate made by a member mem-ber of the board of health after a personal Inspection. One of the rats seen recently by city employes is reported re-ported to be fully two feet long nnd j many of the others are said to have j attained phenomenal size. ! The dumps are in aa abandoned railway cut Tbrpe sides are Inaccessible Inac-cessible hut on the side away from the city, the cut Is open anil no ono dares approach unarmed from that direction. The rats havo driven away the stray curs that used to get their living at the dumps and the scarcity of wandering dogs bas left the dog warden without a job The authori ties nre unwilling to spread poison on the refuse because of the danger that the rat9 would spread Into nearby houses and stables to die.