St. Paul daily globe., 1892-01-27
HORSES FOR RUSSIA.

"A Correspondent Who Favors
Sending Them to the Starving.
To the Editor of the Globe.
have recently read an article writ
ten by Count Tolstoi, of Russia, wherein
he pictures to us the great panic, the
struggle, the great fight that will be
made in provinces of Southern and
Eastern Russia where the crops last
year were total failure. And if the
food supply is as Scant as pictured by
him (Which | have no reason to doubt,
it is only question of few months
when we shall hear of the struggles be-
tween man and man for the wherewith
OF which to live. No man can tell what
the end will be. No one can foretell to
people will carry their struggle: but
one thing we know, that the strong
will survive and the weak will
bite the grass. / see further in a paper
that the crown prince of Russia has
bought 1000 horses and shipped them
into those panic-stricken districts.
What for, the article does not say: but
Que thing we know, that the people in
that section Of country have no aversion
to the eating of horse flesh, and they
consider it equal to that of any of our
domestic animals.
The Minneapolis Times, in recent
issue, had long article on the differ
ence of taste, and in that article it
clearly pointed out that it was only a
difference in taste that created in man
an aversion to hOrSetieSh. 1t says that the
flesh of the horse is certainly as healthy
as eel and the devil fish. and do believe
that of the crab, the grasShopper, the
that it would be no harm in this coun-
try shipping into that panic stricken
country $4,000 or 100000 horses or their
dressed carcasses. This country is
overloaded with horses, and | am sure
that If commissioners were appointed
in every county in this vast country to
gather contributions of horses to Ship
to that famine stricken country, it
would not take two months before we
would have 100000 horses ready for
shipment.
Many hundred farmers in Minnesota,
Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois,
Indiana and Ohio and elsewhere would
gladly contribute healthy and good
fat horses, and there are hundreds OF
good, ,healthy,horses in our cities that are
in good flesh and that have done good
service, all Of which would he gladly
given towards a good cause, when there
by the owner could know that he was
assisting in'preserving human life. You
may say that the expense of tranSporta-
ton would be SO great that it would not
be worth the effort. If such be the case,
they could be shipped to the large pack
Ing houses, there slaughtered and
packed ready for shipment. the expenses
to be paid by those who had no horses
to give.
Now, what would be the effect of such
contribution? Half a million of peO-
pie would be fed until the next crop.
Yes, probably 100000 people might be
fed thereby, and our country would not
feel it. But why give horse flesh? Be-
cause there is surplus of it in the
land. But why give that which we
the people to whom you give horseflesh
have no aversion to it the reason is
doubly good why you silouldlgive it. You
are not taking the bread out of your
own mouth, and if these poor, starving
people have no aversion to the eating of
horseflesh, it tastes just as good to them
as the flesh of the OK and sheep nd the
pork of the hog. Now, then, you may
say that the civilized world would laugh
us to scorn for making such c0ntribu-
ton. Let them do so.1RAn starving
Russia would stand with open hands
ready to receive the cargoeS and say
they have surplus of horses. would
say. Why did not we think of it and
do likewise, for while America literally
contributed of their beeves, their wheat,
their -four and their pork, she also fol-
lowed in the footsteps of the crown
prince of all the RusSias and gave of her
fat horses to the destitute and starving
people that life might be saved. There
are countries where the people do not
eat the flesh of swine. Now, if we were
destitute and starving, and not knowing
where we were to get the next mOrscl,
would we not be thankful as much to
the country who sent us their swine as
to the country who. sent us wheat and
flour. even if the country giving the
swine had no taste for pork? We would
all gladly stretch our hands forward to
get the biggest ham. Just so with Rus
sia. What joy would it not be for those
provinces to know that three or four
cargoes of what they term good, healthy
food had entered the. Mediterranean and
that they had only a few days more to
wait? NICHoLI BRowITSKA.
st. Paul, Mimi.
Jan 26