Man's Mortal Enemies 29 



the history of Africa would begin the next day. All wild 

 game — warthog, buffalo, and zebra — over an area of 400 

 square miles of Zululand were to be rounded up and trans- 

 ported to a specially prepared reserve. And a strip two 

 miles wide was to be laid waste around the reserve, on the 

 assumption that the tsetse cannot fly that distance. That is 

 a drastic procedure! 



But what are we in this country going to do? Will we 

 be forced to exterminate the wild animals of our woods, or 

 confine them in special reserves? Will the raising of chick- 

 ens be restriaed to certain regions of the country, and the 

 area be placed under strict quarantine? Will it be consi- 

 ered a criminal offense to keep a dog or cat or perhaps a rab- 

 bit? Will horse racing finally be barred, not because of the 

 evils of gambling, but because horses carry disease? There 

 are legitimate arguments for doing all of these things. But 

 wouldn't it be much simpler if we would just concentrate on 

 getting rid of the insects that carry the diseases from animals 

 to man? And remember this: don't be misled by the as- 

 sumption that "it's just a harmless insea." How do you 

 know it's harmless? Just because there is as yet no proof 

 that a particular insea is harmful does not mean that it is 

 harmless. When a man is brought into a court of law, we 

 assume that he is innocent unless he is proved guilty. This 

 is a sensible attitude for it does give greater protection to in- 

 nocent people, even though, unfortunately, it also permits 

 many of our gangsters and other public enemies to escape 

 punishment for their crimes. But, be this as it may, when 

 we deal with insects, the only wise thing to do is to assume 

 that they are guilty unless they are proved innocent. 



