The evening times., 1900-06-16
THE CRY ABOUT WILD ANIMALS.
Mankind Benefited by Their DIsap-
Pearance From Earth
From the Kansas City Star-)

ltrom the Kansas City Star)
There seems to be considerable needless
regret and unjustified IamentatiOn over the
destruction OF wild animals II seems that
it was not enough that the earth should
lose in its infancy the wild brutes that are
known &c US only in their fossil forms
but later the moa. the aux, and the dodO
were exterminated Scarcely were these
cut OF the way when man turned his de-
structive energy against the buffalo and
the elephant. and bids fair TO remove them
from the earth Other beasts are marked
for the slaughter. and now there are en-
tire villages in India that have not a tiger
they can call their own. while a painful
lack Of bears and lions and panthers is
perceived in regions where their gracious
presence was once abGunding.
Various plans are proposed for preScTv-
ing TO the earth its remaining wild beasts.
but all the plans are impracticable because
il is not convenient 10 depopulate great
portions CT the earth. and I'LL them with
wild buffalo and wild elephants When
these animals are kept in small enclosures
they become tame and lose their charm.
The reason for the disappearance Of Wild
beasts is that the earth generally is bscom-
ing tame and domestcated- pasture and
plowed field for the use Of man cannot
occupy the space of a wilderness for the
use or wild beasts. One or the other must
give way. The harmless and necessary
sheep must be given scope and verge, even
though il may be necessary to kill to the
last specimen wolves of the vicinage
II has not been found that any loss or
suffering has been entaiIed on mankind
by the destruction of wild animals The
buffalo went in very good season His de-
parture was well timed with that Of the
Indian, who lived on him The money OBJ
tanned for his hide. meat, nd bones helped
put the white settler in he short grass
country on his feet The same rule prob
ably holds true in regard to the wild
beasts of other continents The ivory for
which the elephants are killed has doubt
less been of more value than the elephants
themselves. An elephant converted INTO
piano keys is of greater utility than the
same beast tramping and trumpeting in
the forest
TIE complaint that the work Of the
professors Of natural history demands the
p-e e.srys tion or restoration Of wild beasts
IS quite groundless. One stuffed elephant
| is of more value TO the cause of science
than thousand elephants alive and wild.
The one bison mounted by Prof. Dyche an
swers the purposes Of instruction for the
entire University Of Kansas A tiger
mounted in everlasting dumb show COM
bat with another tiger answers the pur-
poses of science quite as well as q live
man-eater lurking about the skirts OF an
Indian village to crush the skull and the
bones OF a wretched Hindoo.
The earth grows better and comes near
er TO being good place to live in as wild
and savage creatures disappear from IT,.
Long ago the perfect future was depicted
as the time when the wilderness should
blossom as the rose. Man grows infinite
ly more useful and agreeable as he gets
! further from the original wild mln- The
survival OF the fittest means the triumph
. Of docility.