Destruction Wrought in Hawaii by the Tidal Waves .vT\v.\\y4?y ?wmm , ^helps them to avoid danger. They are anything but gullible, and this makes the problem of destroying them the more troublesome. They quite often avoid traps. Predatory animals, such as cats and ferrets, cannot as a rule be used to kill them off in large numbers. Poison, carefully and properly used, Is the most effective means of dispos ing of them on a wholesale scale. Mr. Nicholes uses barium carbonate, which is tasteless and odorless. Its ac tion upon rats is slow, so that poisoned animals generally leave a house or barn in search of water, and the small quantities used to bait food for rats are not often sufficient to kill other creatures. Three Kinds of Bait Used. The American Pied Piper carries his reasoning about rat intelligence over Into his work of poisoning the pests. He knows that rats are suspicious, and so he uses three kinds of bait, per haps cheese, apples and hamburger steak. The rodents do not seem to be able to suspect danger In as many as three kinds of food at one time. Food Is placed not less than five nor more than fifteen feet apart In baiting an area. No special effort is made to avoid handling the bait. A wild ani mal might be warned by the associa tion of a human being with the food, but a rat is domesticated. The scent of man is attached to much of the food it eats regularly. The rat brain seems to work some thing like this: The first rat comes out and finds a piece of poisoned food. He sniffs It suspiciously and decides it might be dangerous. He goes a little farther and finds a different kind of food. The first kind he avoided as dangerous. He tries the second and apparently it is all right. Other rats follow the example of the discoverer of the food. A banquet follows, and then wholesale tragedy. 15,000 on One Farm. The scale on which an expert rat killer works may be Imagined from the following case: A Louisiana farm five miles square was so overrun by rats that nothing could be successfully grown on it. Mr. Nicholes took 16 bar rels of sweet potatoes, 16 cream cheeses and an entire cow and baited drain ditches for a length of two miles. The result was that 15,000 rats died that night. In spite of such sweeping destruc tion no community has ever been en tirely cleaned of rats. A 75 per cent death rate is about the best record made when a city conducted a rat-kill ing campaign. Some rats escape to the country and come back later, and some buildings are not cleaned at all. | Mother Killet^Children 1 | Trying to Keep them Warm | t I ? Desire of Mrs. Edna Oilhnny i ? of Phllndelphia to keep her two j J babies warm cost the lives of J f Thomas Gllhany, twenty-two J | months old, and Mary Gllhany, t f nine months. The mother ! I dropped a quarter in a slot me- J | ter, ignorant that a pas heater In I i the room where the children J t were asleep had gone out. Es- ? ? caping fumes asphyxiated the lit- j f tie ones. 4 i t It is not enough for one or two peo ple in a town to fight rats for a week. The entire community must Join In the battle ^nd continue the attack after a campaign is over. Houses should be rat-proofed, food shut up in rat-proof containers and refuse cuns kept cov ered. This appears to be good advice when it Is known that each rat costs some body half a cent a day, or $1.82 a year. In inland cities there are now two rats to each person, Mr. Nicholes fig ures. In seaports the proportion Is four rats to each person and In the country eight. The burden of support ing these parasites falls on the human race, and evidently people are making it easier, rather than harder, for rats to get a living, for Mr. Nicholes re ports that rats are not only Increasing in numbers; they are getting fat. ? Chi cago Daily News. FIND JEWELS IN INDIAN MOUND Diggers Find 300-Pearl Necklace Worth $15,000 and 14-Inch Cere monial Quartz Spearhead. Chilllcothe, O. ? A necklace valued at $15,000 and containing 300 fresh water pearls has been dug out of the Hopewell Indian mound, near here. In announcing the find recently, Dr. W. C. illlls, head of the state archeologlcal society, declared that the necklace was the first ever fouud among mound builders' relics. The gems now are the property of the state.- An offer of $15,000 for them was rejected recently. Several of the gems in the string are polished and in excellent condition. The ma jority are Imperfect, however. At the big Prlcer mound, near Baln bridge, nnother valuable find was made when a ceremonial quartz spear head 14 Inches long was dug up. This is the largest spearhead ever found In Ohio. The valuable relic was washed out of the mound on the property of Mrs. Mary Wood. It is in the posses sion of a state historical society. Italy's Army to Be Doubled. Rome, Italy.? Army reorganization In Italy, under Premier Mussolini, will double the force of men under arms if one Includes the national militia. The kingdom will have land forces numbering between 400,000 and 500,000 officers and men. notes. Mr. Nicholes says that rats (Mstin tniish between different colors. If bait is put on a number of papers, some red, some white, and some blue, the rats will eat the food on one kind of paper and w ill avoid the other colors. Pre sumably they try one type of food, and if that seems satisfactory they con tinue to eat as long as It lasts. If they try the bait on blue paper and like that they will ignore the red and white pa per and eat only the blue. Most Cunning of Animals. Rats are the most cunning of animals, Mr. Nicholes says. He tells of a case in which a basement was overrun with rats which were almost tame. One day ia trap was set in the basement. A rat ran along the floor directly toward the trap. Suddenly lie saw the danger and tried to stop so quickly that he slid on his haunches and caught himself only a few Inches from the trap door. He scampered away hastily, and evidently spread the exciting news of the trap, for no more rats came out all after noon. That rodents warn one another of danger is further shown by Mr. NU?fc ? oles In a story of Lexington marker. Several years ago Mr. Nicholes con ducted a rat-killing campaign In Balti more, and cleared this market of 1,500 rats. For a year, which Is about six rat generations, there were no more eats in the market. It may be that the survivors told all of their friends about 1 4he terrible massacre of the market plac* After that the fear xrore off, Ambassador Warren Comes Home Charles B. Warren, the retiring American ambassador to Japan, and hli family photographed on their arrival in Ban Francisco from Tokyo. psnoiH TO ORDER SIMS BOUTHERN MAY CARRY FIGHT AGAINST ORDER TO U? 8. SUPREME COURT. MSE OKIES BUCK TO 1914 Passenger Station at'Selma ls*the Particular Mote In the Railroad Eye. Raleigh. The power of a state railroad com mission to. compel an interstate line to build a passenger station was before the siipreme court of North Carohna, the appeal marking the third of its kind in the United States since tbe pasages of the Esch-Cummings trans portation act in 1920. Appeal of the Southern Railway company from a decision of Judge Cranmer, in Wake superior cour:, on a mandamus action brought by the North Carolina corporation commis sion lo compel the construction of a union pasenger uepot at Selma, junc tion point of Ihe Southern and Atlan tic Coast Line, brought the case He fere the highest court here. Pic viou8 cases were heard in the coirts of California aad Illinois and su1ij?? quently passed on by the United States supreme court. Decision was rendered in favor ot the railroad in their cases. The history of the case before ihe court dates back to 1914 when ihe Southern and Coa3t Line w??re order ed to build the Selma station. Be cause of emergency conditions due lo the world war, the corporation com mission was Indulgent and did not en force the order, it was state'l. On December 20 last, however the Jen. Mt Oliver; Rupert H. Trull, M&rshTill* 1 Big Road Letting April 3. Nearly 200 .-miles of new highway construction, representing every dis trict in the State will be placed under contract April 3 when bids are opejaed on 23 new projects, aggregating 111.24 miles of modern hard surfaced road, 18,87 miles of penetration macadam, 48.91 miles of gravel; three projects for the construction of bridges and railroad crossings. The approximate cost of the 23 pro jects will be in the neighborhood of $4,000,000, bringing the aggregate of expeditures and contracts made by the Highway Commission since Frank Page became chairman to very near ly fifty million dollars and the total mileage built or contracted for under his direction to nearly 3,000 miles. This is the second big letting for the present year. Three projects involved in the let ting will further reduce the unpaved mileage of the Central Highway, leav ing only a short link in Johnston coun ty between Statesville on the west and New Bern on the east that has not been surfaced during the past three years. The Jasper-Fort Barnwell Jink in Craven, the Hillsboro-Durham line link and the Statesville-Barbers Junc tion sections are included. Another important link of road provided for in the coming lettipg is the second section of the Raleigh Franklin county road via Waks For est. The new project will begin at the Neuse river on the Wake Forest road and extend beyond Wake Forest to the county line, a total distance of about 18 miles. The Raleigh end of the road was put under construction last fall, and the road is now closed to traffic. More than 300,000 barrels of cement will be required in the construction of the 111 miles of hard surface to be let, and just where and how to get that much cement immediately is the problem that concerns the Commis ' sioner just now. The entire country is in the midst of a cement famine, and mills are unwilling to make new I contracts until present obligations have been met. Chairman Page has already bought the entire output of two of the largest mills in the country, and has contract ed for half the output of a third, to be applied to contracts already outstand ing. "rtiese mills, as well as others not under contract with the State, were forced to suspend operations for i months during the past year, for a I time on account of the coal strike, and later by the railroad strike. Reserve stocks usually held on hand were entirely depleted, and although i conditions in the industry have return- ! ed to something like normal during the past few months, the demand is greater than the supply. Changes Made in Health Board. Announcement of the appointment of Dr. G. M. Cooper, who has been director of the division of medical in "spection of schools, as assistan secre tary, and of several other staff chan ges was made by the state board of health. Dr. J.. S. Mitchner, who has beem epidemiologist of the board, has been transferred to the division of medical inspections of schools, as director. The division which he formerly direct ed has been abolished and the work consolidated with that of the division of statistics* headed by Dr. F. W. Register. Dr. K. E. Miller, of the United States health service, for the past sev eral years assigned to the board aa director of county health work, has been sent to Loulsiara for similar du ties. He is succeeded here by Dr. B. j P. Long, who formerly was assistant director under Dr. Miller. In point of service/ Dr. Cooper is one of the oldest members of thq board's staff, having been with the organization since 1914. From 1914 te 1917 he was director of field work, and then became head of the medical in spection of schools division. Dr. W. S. Rankin is secretary of the board. The position of assistant secretary has been vacant for several years. To Appoint Chief of Deaf Bureau. Appointment of a chief of the bureau of labor and printing will be made by Commissioner M. L. Shipman within the next several days, it was announc ed. Although the names of the appli cants for the position have not been made, public by the commissioner, it becomes known that J. H. Robertson, president of the North Carolina Asso ciation of the Deaf, has been recom mended. 'q The bureau was created by the 1923 session of the general assembly and the new officer will devote his time to special work of labor for the deaf. He will collect statistics relating to his duties, ascertain what trades or occu pations are best suited for deaf per sons and inspect the school for the deaf. It also is provided that the bu reau chief study educational methoda for dear persons in other states. A salary of $2,000 and an expense allowance, not exceeding $1,000 per year, is provided for the position. New Corporations. Dixie Clothing Co., of Durham, with $25,000 ^authorized capital and $4,500 subscribed 'by D. T. Lunsford, J. L. Cozart, and Warren Bishop. Robertson -Manufacturing Company, of Concord, to manufacture cotton, silk and wodl goods with a capital ot $400,000 and with $81,500 subscribed by E. C. Barnhardt, A. H. Howard, and W. B. B ruton, all of Concord. ' Roanoke Construction Co., of Roa noke Rapids, with $100,000 authorised capital and $7,500 subscribed. CONDENSED NEWS F% THE OLD NORTH ST? SHORT NOTE8 OF INTERe8tJ CAROLINIANS. Wilson. ? Carl Coarch. f<)r ^ two years editor of The \,.;v . Sun-Journal, has purchased an lr,' in The Wilson Mirror, a per published in this eHv, an,, assume management of th- JKl., tion. Durham. ? Definite assurance thr effort will be made to chan^<- th>. ^ of municipal government in hUr^ was given when the city boanj J tions issued a call for an t;?n a commission form to be h. i" Leod.y Charlotte. ? Charles P. Stallings, 21 was shot to death by W. A. Rhyn *. when Stallings, it is alleged, attempt ed to rob Rhyne'a grocery store at four Spring street. An army discharge In the dead man's pocket identified him as having enlisted in the army from Mooresvllle, N. C. Burlington.? Mrs. Walter Thrift was found dead in her bed at her home in Saxapahaw, this county, by her hus band upon his return from his work as night watchman in the cotton mill at that place. * It is not known how lonp the woman had been dead. Klnston. ? Fred Simmons, 26, found luffering from bichloride of mercury poisoning in the annex of the Hotel Tail here, may recover, according to physicians. Simmons admitted taking a tablet in a fit of despondency, stat ing that he had been unhappy at home and tht the future held no par ticularly bright promise fQr him.