Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1899-12-01
RIGHTS OF ANIMALS.
Horses III Germany Must Not Be
Insulted.
Dogs In Rely ;uni tinst Have Seats In
Trains PAM Il Life of the German
Students t"rr--Docs - Better
Treated Than Children.

Students t"rl~-Dogs - Better
Treated Than Children.
While II is unfortunately true that
child i:fr j. iaii"itrly happier in the
Sem aarrar;t uri.:it and even in the
wilj / Afr.e', t!.an in the most highly
civ.li.-,d portions, Of Europe and Ameri
ca. writes '-Ex-Attachc" in the New
York Tribune, yet the enlightenment
and progress of :hc west, while they
seem to carry in their train fresh in
gcnuty of infant torture, lead on the
other hand to very marked improve
ricnt in the treatment of animals.
These are subjected by orientals to
much the same horrible cruelty as the
children OF the white races so often
suffer at ~ lands of their parents,
rci.I.r"s .-..i :cniors in general But
IN Europe and America domestic ami
mails are gradually acquiring an inn
portancc and Il consideration undream-
cd of save i'll those oldcn times when
they were worshiped as gods or adored
as saints.
On some future occasion l hope to be
pcIIllttCt VI OIdW d COutTdSC III tlcSc
columns between child life in orient
and child life in the occident, and to
demonstrate from personal experience
the superiority Of barbarism to civili-
Zation in that one particular. But for
the present ! will content myself in
dealing with the vast improvement in
the treatment of our dumb friends,
whom strangers might often be
tempted to believe enjoy the prefer
cncc over our children.
No one has ever heard of q man be-
ing imprisoned for apostrophizing q
child with some coarse, contemptuous
or insulting epithet, yet only a short
time ago the Berlin press contained the
record of a sentence of three weeks
imprisonment imposed on a stableman
employed in the imperial news of Pots
dam, for having addressed an insulting
epithet to favorite mare belonging to
the kaiser. Although this is the first
instance known Of man being actual
ly sentenced in regular judicial way
to imprisonment for the use of insult
ing language to a horse belonging to
the state, yet have often seen troop
ers in crack cavalry regiments of Eu-
ropean armies taken severely to task
and threatened with punishment for
talking roughly to their mounts, the
welfare Of which is subject of inf
nitely greater solicitude to the officers
than that of the men. For the horse is
worth so m lch to the national treasury
in cold cash. which the trooper is not,
at any rate in the countries where mil
itary service is obligatory; and, more
over, the advancement and promotion
of the commanding officer depends. as
a rule, far more upon the physical con-
dition of the horses Of his regiment
than Of its men.
This being the case, no one need be
astonished to hear OF one of the lead
ing Austrian sportsmen, Count Paul
Festetics, bringing legal proceedings
against Viennese sporting paper for
to his race-horse Thalany, the insult
consisting in a remark to the effect
that though the mare had won certain
stakes she did not deserve to take
them, owing TO the fact that her COM
petitors had run SO badly as to deprive
the victory of every atom Of glory or
merit. This is hardly . grave insult,
but the count thought otherwise and
demanded printed apology on behalf
of his mare, failing which. he has insti-
tuted the legal proceedings referred to.
1t remains to be seen whether he will
obtain decision in his favor, and no
one need be astonished if during the
course of the proceedings the mare her
self is subp9naed as q witness.
In Belgium the government, which
owns and controls the entire railroad
system of the country, has just issued
a decree which, as far as railroad trav-
Ell is concerned, places the dog on ex-
| actly the same level rs . grown-up
man or woman, and infinitely higher
than child. For whereas the latter is
entitled to half a place if under twelve
years Of age. dog has now a right to
full seat, providing he has his ticket
That is to say in compartments IL
| censed to hold ten travellers, If there
are eight adult human beings and two
dogs in the compartment, the latter is
regarded as complete" and no other
passengers are admitted, and if the
train happens to be full partly with
dogs and partly with human beings,
any additional passengers will have to
be left behind rather than that the dogs
should be forced to yield up their seats.
The government decree, however, con-
tains no intimation as to the manner
in which the canine travellers are ex-
pected to conform to the regulations
which prohibit passengers from putting
their feet on the cushions; and it must
be admitted that the seats Of railroad
carriages as at present constructed are
not suited to the dogs style Of repose.
Inasmuch. however, as the govern.
ment has already given him the prefer
ence over children by according to him
an entire seat, instead of merely half
of one. it is quite within the bounds Of
possibility that it may in course Of
time be brought to modify the cars in
such . manner as to add to the comfort
of the canine passenger at the expense
Of the human traveller.
VINO cotton AT A0ME