4 DDT — Killer of Killers 



More Desf-rucfive Than Wars 



In World War II — ^the most recent of the many con- 

 flicts in which man has killed his fellow man — the toll of 

 human life was staggering. The American forces alone 

 counted almost 400,000 dead, including those who died from 

 natural causes and behind-the-lines injuries. Among the 

 Russian and German Armies, the dead must have numbered 

 in the millions; and additional millions were added to the 

 list by the other belligerent nations. This is the penalty we 

 paid for not learning how to get along with each other; but 

 it is only part of the penalty, for no one can estimate the sum 

 total of human suffering that this one war brought about — 

 the agonies of the wounded, the loss of homes and means of 

 livelihood, the starvation and disease, the bereavement of the 

 survivors, and the hopeless outlook for the future. These are 

 the penalties that men have paid throughout the ages for 

 their periodic wars against members of their own species. 



We should not attempt to minimize the tragedy of war, 

 for wars are senseless and useless, but from an impersonal 

 point of view we must admit, for the sake of accuracy, that 

 insects have killed many more men and have caused much 

 more human suffering than have all the wars of history. And 

 in addition, mosquitoes, lice, and fleas have decided the out- 

 come of most of men's wars, and have thus played a bigger 

 role in shaping the political history of the world than have 

 all our military men and statesmen. In fact. World War II 

 — thanks to the medical services and DDT — was the only 

 major war of history in which diseases transmitted by insects 

 did not play a decisive role. 



