The Saint Paul globe., 1897-05-19
THE DOG SCARE.

INS Sld luduS OtlOIS Lie SOui1-
Gil committee the other evening is liter
ally true, that the publication Of sensa-
tional newspaper articles about the
prevalence of rabies and the danger to
the public from mad dogs in this city
has caused more apprehension and
actual suffering than could result from
actual cases Of hydrophobia in the
course of a century. This precious
council of ours has a soul that does
not rise above considering how best
to veX and harass man and beast. 1t
is not able to give us street railway
connection with the union depot. 1t
is not able to decide even upon what
route it would prefer for direct COM
munication with Merriam Park, al
though the problem is simplicity it
self. 1t is not able to pass upon ad-
vantageous propositions relating to the
leasing of the public levee and the set
tlement of veXatious litigation. 1t is
not competent, in a word, to deal with
any business problem relating to the
public welfare, however simple 1t may
be- All that it Is equal to is passing
ordinances against harmless animals
and riders of the bicycle. In this de-
partment it finds its level and has had
NO equal and few competitors.
We have no hesitation in saying that
the muzzling Of dogs during the hot
months of summer is a bit Of unadul-
terated and causeless cruelty unworthy
of any civilized community. 1t is in
defensible even from the point OF
view of those who have accepted man
ufactured scares about rabies for cases
Of the disease itself. The truth is that
existence anywhere and at any time
is denied by many medical authorities.
Admitting, however, that there is sucn
q. thing. and even admitting that there
have been two or three authenticated
cases of it in the past year or two In
st, Paul, that furnishes no ground
whatever for the action that has been
taken. The latter is about as sensible
as it would be to forbid steamships to
cross the Atlantic because shipwrecks
sometimes occur, or to provide that I
every citizen of st. Paul should wear
a strait Jacket about his ordinary busi-
ness concerns because men do occa-
sionally go insane and inf1ict personal
damage at such times upon those whom
they meet
Assuming that rabies exists and that
sporadic cases of it are likely to occur,
there is no remedy short Of the abso-
lutte extinction Of the whole canine
race, except to use ordinary caution
To compel the muzzling of all dogs
during the hot months of summer is
not preventive, but, on the contrary,
in addition to being a barbarous and
inhuman practice, it is guaranteed by
every competent authority to be
provoking cause Of rabies itself. AS
far as it could the city council that
passes ordinances has been engaged in
promoting rabies, If it is possible for
such a disease to exist. To curtail the
is an altogether different proposition
that is invariably mixed up with the
mad-dog scare. It would be good
thing to have a lot of the homeless
the streets put out of the way. To do
that it is proper that all dogs should
be licensed, that the license fee should
be vigorously exacted, and that un-
licensed dogs should be gathered in
and put to death in a merciful manner.
Against this there Is no protest on any
side that we know Of.
But the execution Of such an ordi-
the provision requiring dogs to be muz-
zled That is utterly wicked and inde-
fensible, and the cause Of our dumb
friends cannot be too earnestly plead
ed; the cause Of humanity against mere
wanton willingness to inf1ict pain. The
sufferings of muzzled dogs and the
sufferings of timid and nervous peo-
pie, who have been made to believe,
without any ground for 1t whatever,
that they cannot walk the streets with
out taking the chance Of assault from
a rabid beast, and who regard the ap-
proaeh of any dog with more terror
thlsanstftleAy than they would the appearance Of a
highWayman with a slung shot, are
the price that we pay for newspaper
sensationalism and legislative stu
pidity.
MORAL TRAINING IN SCHOOLS.