Evening star., 1897-05-13

ness rather tnan Egnt.
In Government Laboratories.
"All the reasonable objections to the orig
ina1 bill were met by the amendments
made by this committee before the bill was
reported in the last Congress, and it is the
bill so amended which is now reported TO
the Senate. But it is clear that every con-
cession to the opponents of this bill must
be absolutely useless until agreement can
be reached upon the great underlying prin-
ciple for which 1t contends. to wit, the right
of the government to govern the individual.
Shall the United States government exercise
the right to inspect laboratories where WV
isection is carried on in he District of Co
lrmbia? Shall it define the limits within
which such experiments shall be carried
on? These are the real points at issue. If
they were affirmatively answered by those
who are fighting this measure there would
be hopes of compromise, If a compromise
is needed.
Should there be no restriction placed
upon a scientific investigator in the pay
of the United States government, who in
the seclusion of his laboratory, in OF out
of official hours, desires TO subject liv-
ing animal to the utmost possible degree
of torment. for no purpose of usefulness
to it's kind to the human race. but sim
ply to test a theory or to crafty whim?
Not long ago there appeared in the Popu-
lar Science Monthly the statement that
very distinguished vivisector of Europe,
Prof. MantagaZza, intended to favor this
country with visit.
Prof. MnntaEaxza's Experiments.
Suppose him to visit Washington, and
to offer to repeat, for the instruction of
young experts in government laboratories
that series of experiments in causation of
pain which made him famous-or in
famous-wherever his name is known.
Should he be permitted to do so? Let us
glance at the work of this famous vivi-
sector as related by himself. He says that
he of n
scientific: it had no relation 10 the cure of
disease, and its method was the torment of
animals One of his devices was to nail
the feet of the animal, as I'm crucifxion
so that every struggle to escape would
only increase the agony; in his own words
to plant sharp and numerous nails
through the soles of the feet in such way
as to render the animal nearly motionleSS
because in every movement it would have
felt more acutely its torment TO exaS-
perate pain this ingenious scientist devised
machine which he styled his 'tormentor
With 1t, he says, 1 can take an ear, a
paw, or a bit of skin of the animal. and
by turning the handle squeeze it beneath
the teeth of the pincers; I can lift the AMI
NAL by the suffering part; l can tear it
or crush it in all sorts of ways One of
his celebrated scientific experiments was
upon guinea pig nursing its young: an
other upon a guinea pig IN an advanced
stage of pregnancy. But this animal, after
ten minutes of what the learned scientist
calls most atrocious pain went into con-
vulsions and became useless for expert
nfent.
Shall this great European physiologist
be permitted to repeat his experiments in
our government laboratories? Shall our
own vfviSectors be permitted to repeat
| them, or experiments like them. The op-
ponents to the bill apparently see no OBJ
| lection. This is matter, they say, for the
| experimenter himself to decide. Hut those
! who advocate this bill do not admit that
even the eminence or the qualifications of
Mantagazza justify him in experiments
| such as he has made. Even a man of sci
| ence must not overstep the boundary that
separates right from wrong.
| 1T is not to be believed that the pos
session of degree in science should con-
! fer upon any young enthusiast the right TO
| torture animals after the example of Man
| tagaZZa or others like him, and especially
| should they not be permitted 10 do this in
| laboratories supported by taxation of the
people of the United States, free from IN
| spection or criticism, free from account
| ability to public opinion; rec from the
| control or supervision OF representatives
| of the national government other than
| those who are officers of the particular
/ department under which the experimenter
| is employed
| Uselessness of Painless Vivisection.
| The latter half of the report is an abb
strait of an interesting book on "Bologi-
| cal Experimentation, published some
| months before his death by Sir Benjamin
Ward Richardson, MD. FRS, etc, the
| eminent English physician, surgeon and
| scientist, whose death last year was la
| mented by the scientific world, giving his
| reasons for condemning painful vivisec-
| ton as worse than useless, because detri-
| mental to the experimenters, as well as per
| picking and deceiving," in which he says
| Il never proceeded to any experiment on
| a living animal. though to the best of my
| ability doing everything possible to save
all pain, without feeling what 1 think is
| hn Sin
not alone in this particular Every person
whom have met pursuing the same line
| of research has acknowledged, when ques-
| toned, the same sensation"
Senator Gallinger concludes: This report
| can well be closed after such testimony
| Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson was a
| vivisector within reasonable bounds, but
above all. he was a physician. His warn
| ing to the profession that modern expert
| mentation tends to unfit the physician for
the practical discharge of his duties Is
worthy of serious thought, and he sums
up every contention OF those who support
this bill when ne says: Were l again tc
deliver course of physiological lectures
TO qualified hearers / should make the ex-
perimental demonstrations on living ami
mails as few and far between as was com
patible with duty. They would be excep
tional of exceptional, and painless from be
ginning to end Upon that testimony the
advocates of the proposed legislation have
won their case"
Advocates of the Bill.
In an appendix to the report, that will
make over a dozen printed pages, are giver
| the memorials and letters in favor Of the
| bill received since the former report wa:
made, headed by the memorial adopted by
| the American Humane Association at tn,
annual convention at Cleveland last fall
| Others advocating the bill are Profs. Har
| of Harvard, Corson of Cornell Bascom O
| Williams, Anderson and Wilkinson of tn,
| University of Chicago, DOgoe of the Uni
versity of Michigan, Abbott of Lelant
Stanford, the president of the Universit,
OF California, the president and faculty o
Stevens Institute OF Technology, presiden
Cochran of the Polytechnic Institute O
Brooklyn, the president and board of trus
| tees of Western Reserve University o
! Cleveland, the dean OF Colgate University. tn
: president of Iowa College, the president o
Geneva College, the president of Shaw
} University, the president of Morgan Col
lege, the president Of Central Tennessee
; College, the president Of Upper Iowa Uni
sity and other college officers, the bishop
Of Pennsylvania, Tennessee Georgia
/ Springfield and New Jersey, and the Hu
name Societies of Kentucky, Chicago
Georgia, Maine. Oregon, Nebraska. Yer
l mont, Tennessee, central New York. Al
bany, Columbus, Ohio: Peoria, ILL.,: Ia
| coma, Wash: South Bend, Ind. San Diego