Iron County register., 1892-05-05
MEN AND ANIMALS MUCH ALIKE
In Many Cases the same Impulses Control
Their Actions

III many edses the same Impulses Control
Their Actions.
The impulses and motives which lead
10 the commission of crimes are essen
tlalIy the same in beasts and in man.
and students of penal Jurisprudence are
just beginning to learn that the psy-
chology OF criminality in civilized socie-
ty can never be fully understood except
by careful scientific study of it. not
only IN savages. but also in the lower
animals Many actions. such as the kill
ing of dcfOrmed or sicklv infants and of
old and infirm individuals. are common
to barbarians and to beasts and are re-
gardcd as right because they contribute
to the collective strength and conse-
quent safety of the tribe or herd: but
with the civilization of man and
the domeStication OF the brute
this precaution is no longer needed.
and the primitive practice is aban-
aoncd- Mice take excellent care of
their aged. blind or helpless kin. con-
cealing them in safe places and provid-
ing them food. II must be remembered
however. that the mouse has lived in a
semi-domestic state as the companion of
man from time immcInorial. In the de-
vclopTncnt and organization of social
and civic lif" the bee and the ant hold
the foremost place among articulates.
corresponding 20 that of man among
vertcbrates- They stand respectively
at the head OF their class and represent
the highest point attained by insect and
mammal in the process OF evolution.
As regards form of govcrnmsnt, it Is
mistake to speak of the bee state
as monarchy: it is. on the
contrary. the most radical of re
publicS, or rather democracy of the
most rigorous kind. with absolute power
vested in the working class. The claims
of labor to the exercise Of supreme
control in political affairs are here fully
recognized and practically realized.
The SO-callcd queen is the mother OF
the hive: her functions are maternal
rather than regal. If she may be said
to reign in a certain sense. the workers
rule. deciding all questions and per
forming all acts affecting the common
veal. POpulous and powerful bee com
munities sometimes relapse into bar
barism. renouncc the life of peaceful in
duStry for which they have been pro-
verbal. acquire predatory habits and
roam about the country as freebooters
plundering the smaller and weaker
hives. and subsisting on the spoils. These
briTand bees seldom reform: if they
busily Improve each shining hour it
Il not to gather honey all the dav
from every opening flower" but to
range the fields in lOOting parties and
ransack the homes of the honest honey
makers. Against these anarchists of
apian society and other foes the honey
bees often fortify their hives. barricad-
ing the entrance by thick wall. with
bastlonS. caSemates. and deep. narrow
gatewayS. When there seems to be no
immediate danger Of hostile attack
these defensive works. which seriously
interfere with the ordinary industrial
life of the hive. are removed and not re-
built until there is fresh occasion for
alarm. 1t has now been ascer-
tanned beyond Il doubt that in
Texas and South America. as
well as in southern Europe.
India and Africa. there are ants which
not only have a military organiza ton
and wage systematic warfare, but alsC
keep slaves and carry on agricultural
pursuits. Nineteen species of ants with
these habits have been already discov-
cred. and their modes of life more or
less fully described Indeed. nearly all
the institutions and gradations of cul-
ture and civilization which the human
race has passed through. and of which
we find survivals among the different
tribes of men. exist also among ants.
Besides the tillcrs of the soil just men
toned. there are other species.
like the Peruvian caZadoreS. which
still lead Il nomadic life. having
no permanent homes. but wandering
from place to place: entering the
houses of the natives by mill
ions. killing rats. mice. snakes. and ali
sorts of vernin: devouring offal. and
performing in general the useful func-
tions of itinerant scavengers. The
slavcholding ants are of several kinds,
and differ greatly in manner in which
they treat ;hcir vaSSalS. Some make
them do all the work under the direc-
tion of ovcrScc-S: others share their la
bOrS: while still Others have fallen into
such habits of luxury as To- be unabl OF
unwilling to wait upon or even To feed
themselves. and are carried about and
provided with food by their b0dv-serv-
ants. In many eases this sybaritism l.
the mere OStentatious love of being
served. The incapacity is not physical
but moral. and arises from an ariSto-
cratic aversion to any kind of neniaI
labor.-Atlantic.