, 1881-06-12

~
the American Humane Society, delivered a
lecture In this city Wednesday lust which
ought to open the eyes of tflo people to the
scandalous abuses which are practiccd i'll the
transportation Of livestock. Nr. Brown has
studied the subject for many Years. lie is
an expert in all that relates to tho suffering
Of the beast-creatiou, and the means Of pre-
venting or amelioratlng it. lie Is, moreover,
an entirely credible witness, mot given to eN-
aggcration or oyerstatenent; and what he
says may be taken asa literal statement Of
the facts-no more and no less. 1t is fortu-
nate that tho charges are preferred BY a per-
son Of his character, for it they depended OIL
the testimony Of all unknown witness the
community might be disposed to give them
little Or no credence, and to put them down
as the wild and exaggerated statements Of
an enthusiast, or a fanatic, or a man with Il
hobby. It will be impossible, however, to
dispose in this easy manner Of the calm and
judicious presentation Of the facts which Mr..
Brown has made.
1t has long been notorious that the cars in
which livestock is sent to market are shame
fully oyercrow.lcd; THAT facilities for feeding
ridiculously me4gre and inadcQuate; and
that every variety Of cruelty is practiced in
the stock-yartls. Mr.. Brown adduces spcciti-
cations which make each of these abuses ap-
pear more real and greater in extent than
they did before; he also cites facts within his
own knowledge that prove the existence Of
other and greater wrongs Of which the coin
munitY was ignorant. One Of the agents
Of the Society has Travelled over all the
routes by which cattle are shipped, and here
are some of the scandalous crucltics inflicted
upon the lefenscIess animals which came
under his observation:
It is no uncommon thing to see from eighteen
to twenty hcnd Of larRe, fat cattle In Il cur OF
twenty eight feet long and eight feet wide;
and thirty-six to forty-eignt cattle, and years
old. In IL cur, Also l2O stock hogs In ench deck
at dnuble-tecked cur, n1&d from eighty to
ninety large, fat hogs III single-lcck cars, where
there did not seem ~ to De nS ior
into each deck Of q double-dcckcd car in ex-
tremcly hot weather. have seen lurgc, tat
the same car, some of the calves lying down. and
hogs eating them while yet alive! have seen
hundreds Of cars with CATTLE 80 overloaded that
ten or twelve trucks and drlys from early
morning until noon haullng away tho dead and
rppe animals e stockyard 1s:; he Union
sccn more than 1,otV dead hogs taken from a
confinement day after day In the cnrs i'll tho hot
weather, and hundreds more nearly liiclcss
when unloadcd The treatment Of cattle i'll
cars is more easily seen than that Of hogs; this
causes more comment by observers: but he
1icye thnt tho cruelty to hogs generally exceeds
that nf cattle.
This cruelty was attributed by Mr.. Brown
to greed or the loss Of gain on the part, first,
Of the droyer or shipper Of the cattle. Rail
roads charge by the carload md not BY the
pound, and hence the idea that the greater
number Of animals crowded into car the
grcntcr will be the profit Of the shipper. The
next agents i'll this work Of cruelty are the
owners of the feed-yards,'' or what are
known as stock-yarls. Owners Of livestock
arccompellcd to pay excessive prices for feed,
and large prices for the use Of the yard; hence,
it becomes the interest Of the owner of the
stock to purchase as little feel as possible;
and they often do not unload the cars, or give
the animals the needed rest. Another form
of cruelty is the depriving cattle OF
water for some time before reachng
the market, and then, just before SELL
ing them, allowing tllein to drink all
they will, for the purpose of increasing their
weight. The instruments Used as goads are
described as infamous in their character and
effect. Mr. Brown thus particularizcd some
of these deyilisll practices. lie snid:.
But cruel. inhuman, and unchrlstian rs are
many Of the practices very common In connec-
ton with cattle, they do not even approach in
utter dcyillsb cruelty a pr1,ctce to increase the
thirst OF the poor creatures which has been
brought to my notice recently, nnd which wis
kept IRON the knowledge of our agent. At three
or four OF the large feeA- yards between 200 and
$50 miles west Of Chicago cuttIe nre frequently
by their tnhuman masters, and then, without q
drop OF water, are rcshipped for a twelve or
twenty-four hours' run to Chicago. Words OF