The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-11-25
ARE We NOT BETTER THAN THEYs"
To the Editor of the indianapolis Journal:

To the Editor OF the indianapolis Journal:
When / ventured TO hand the Journal
some written cogitations touching the prob
able relations of the dog. the horse. the
ass and the elephant TO God. man and the
universe, / had no thought OF arousing
either the resentment OF the one species
or the satire OF the other. Still less did /
expect any rational creature TO construe
my language TO mean a plea for the indis-
criminate .'crucifction" of kittens. 1 am
sorry TO find IL necessary for me to assure
Mr.. J. +. Iliff. president OF the Humane
Society OF this city. that my remarks were
not intended to be personal.
1t is not pleasant to be represented as
adopting a pagan philosophy. but even that
is not so bad as being accused OF posing as
the founder of that philosophy. IL may
appear rude and impertinent to those who
are in the habit OF thinking by authority
for anyone TO make his own deductions
from observed phenomena And yet IT Will
hardly be denied that most OF the authori-
ties. quoted by Mr.. niff have set US the
example. And perhaps l may be pardoned
for using this little controversy in evil
dence to prove that even ordinary thinkers
like him and me-are less apt to blunder
in evolving and presenting our own views
than In striving to make a logical applica-
ton of thoughts so ponderous and unwield'
as those of Kant and Descartes. FoI,
having never read a line of the .'cartesia"
philosophy" may at least claim not
have been directly contaminated by
fallacies. while Mr.. nin. having quite e,
IDENTIFY saturated himself with the lore
the ages, has committed the grave mistake
OF misinterpreting my argument and has
therefore wasted most Of his valuable am
mony of Huxley and Darwin Is in this case
Irrelevant.
My proposition is that the lower animals
are not intelligently conscious Of their own
existence and relations. This is not saying
they are without feeling or incapable OF a
emotions of pleasure. To be conscious
Of pain or pleasure does not necessarily
imply an intelligent appreciation OF the
cause. meaning and purposes of either.
Can Mr.. hin conceive OF no difference
In the situations of a man and a dog. each
client purpose In so adjusting the dog 10 his
environments that when he IS compelled
70 ena sSs ad Pn,yys acs1 I pain he 81 may n,s be free
realizing the actual and probable -conse-
quences OF such a misfortune? Is he not
endured in this world is that superinduced
by an alert conscience and vivid imagina-
tom Will he still insist that the lower ami
must, in the nature OF things. suffer more
poignantly than their human masters? For
the lower ns animals Risri are endowed clsea with thai intel
ligent consciousness or. a developing
nationality" all OF their Immediate or
Ter than similar ones visited upon human
beings-for the sufficient reason that they
must at the same time realize their com-
parafive heiplessness or dependence?
Huxley. In the passage cited by Mr.. Ilif.
goes SO Tar against the credibility of his
own theory as TO say: Il should be glad
II the probabilities are I'm favor OF Des-
cartes's hypothesis" Is not this a signin-
cant admission? Why not ignore the APP
parent faultiness OF the "Carteslan philos-
ODhE.'' and accent only en much If ff aa
may be rational. and I'm unison with the
admitted harmony OF nature? Or. what is
conception altogether. and improve the
glorious prerogativc OF thinking for our
selves?
II seems to me that every visible sign and
every atom OF collected testimony points
to the fact that the intelligence Of the
OF human beings. IL Is true that there
seems 10 exist between the Two a kind OF
analogy: but. 81 cannot be that the con-
scioisness or these limited and compare
lively helpless creatures nhe lower anlmals)
IL the same in kind as that OF men. -
stances OF tendish cruelty TO these > sor
Observation-Disclosures by depraved h<.fan
wretches-are not properly I'm eviGe:c.. III
used at all In this discussion. ttty Will
rather tend to disprove Mr. Hin imported
philosophy. For 10 IL only human scoun-
drels who are and have been capable OF
the refinement OF cruelty. AS 90 the case
city-that OF a certain man" taking bis
spite out on a nctghbor by mailing hia kit
ten 10 a piank@t u but fair TO this hypo-
thetical villain TO state that he IN still at
large. unidentified and UNPUBLISHED. Mr..
Ilins humane society has within the past
few days publicly offered a reward OF SO
for his Identification and arrest. There
may be such a person. but TO the credit OF
the race nc IL said. IL IL hard TO believe.
IL he exists and II guilty as charged I
hope that magnificent reward Will cause his
speedy capture; but IL must impress most
people that the amount Of the reward hard
~ sizes up with Afr. Iinrs munfhcent
expenditure or rhetoric aud inveetfve when
denouncing the deed In the Sunday Journal
/ am truly sorry he thinks me capable of
approving such an act. He probably
also thinks l am shocked at the size OF the
reward offered. III he does. he n right. for
once
A few more brief suggestions and I am
done. The horses mission" is limited TO
walking. trottlng. running. pacing and
drawing loads This COWS. TO give milk:
the hsIllock's. 10 stock "a meat market:
the dogs. 10 hunting. barking at the moon
and biting people without any shadow OF
cause. and the asrfs. lowell. principally
Kicking since the advent OF the trolley.
Can Mr.. ilin see much room for thinking.
In rach an environment
JOHN G. OCHILTREE.
Ind. Nov. -