334 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1953 



During World War 1 1 a well-known news commentator, for want of 

 a more timely subject perhaps, took it uf)on himself to ridicule a sys- 

 tematic treatise of the fleas of North America, It is the type of 

 technical work that is of utmost value to the specialist desiring to 

 make prompt and accurate determinations. He described this Gov- 

 ernment publication as a waste of paper, containing no useful infor- 

 mation because it did not tell how to free your dog of fleas. But it 

 was just the sort of book that would have enabled Rothschild to dis- 

 tinguish the species of flea that was the chief carrier of bubonic 

 plague in India from the less harmful kinds. Moreover, this publica- 

 tion has in it the very information which enables one to identify 

 this particular oriental plague carrier, which, by the way, has become 

 established in this country, but hap})ily, so far as we know, is not 

 here infected with that most serious of diseases. 



A Museum friend of mine, though not a scientist, was utterly 

 shocked by the low regard that the commentator had for work so 

 important. He wrote the commentator a letter which I believe is still 

 pertinent, and I quote part of it : 



Having for luan.y years been counected with a scientific establishment, and 

 not being a scientist myself, I have come to realize the real value of such 

 scientific works as you disparaged, and for the first time in my life I am moved 

 "to write to the editor." 



This impulse was perhaps strengthened by the fact that the very next morn- 

 ing [after your broadcast] 1 was pointedly reminded of it by the receipt from 

 the medical officer at one of our outlying bases of a nitujle si^ecimen of flea which 

 he particularly desired to have identified with reference to its function as a 

 possible carrier of disease. Only by knowing the exact identity of an insect 

 can information of this character be given promptly, and tlie scientific entomolo- 

 gist turns instantly to such works as you ridiculed just as you would seize 

 "Who's Who" or the Encyclopedia Britannica, or some report of the Department 

 of Commerce for data you might need. 



A steady stream of mosquitoes, ticks, and the like is pouring into Washington 

 each day by airplane under highest priorities from our farflmig battle fronts, in 

 order that the local specialists may make prompt identifications, thereby furnish- 

 ing the medical officers in the field the guidance necessary for applying the most 

 effective control measures. 



The mere knowledge of the precise name of "resident" fleas and other insects 

 will enable the medical and sanitary services of our Armed Forces to quickly 

 ascertain which of several towns in plague-infested areas are the safest for 

 quartering men. 



Such works as the one under discussion are a distinct contribution by the home 

 front to our forces on the battle front. In this connection I am moved to quote a 

 line from one of Kipling's "Barrack Room Ballads" : 



"Making fun of uniforms 



That guard you while you sleep 

 Is cheaper than them uniforms 

 And they're starvation cheap." 



