The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-04-04

George W Evans, representing the mass
meeting of citizens held last Friday night
to protest against the muzzle law, called
upon the District Commissioners yester-
day and presented to them the petition of
more than 1900 names, requesting the au-
thorites to rescind the order of December
last. requiring dogs running at large tc
wear muzzles. In behalf OF the citizens
and members of the Humane Society Mr..
Evans addressed the Commissioners, taking
strong ground against the necessity for
the enforcement OF the order. and argued
in favor of the general proposition TO en-
trust the care of the District dog pound
TO the Humane Society Mr.. Evans SAID;
"A mass meeting of residents of The
District OF Columbia was held at the Ma
tional Rifles Hall. March 80 to take action
and formulate a protest against further
continuance of the proclamation of your
honorable body, issued in December last,
requiring that all dogs running at large
in the District of Columbia be muzzled for
4 period of six months was unanimously
elected chairman of the meeting The
accompanying petition, signed by nearly
2 900 citizens. taxpayers and friends Of the
dogs, was presented and adopted. and ]
was instructed to present the same at once
10 your honorable body for appropriate az:
ton. The petition speaks for itself; it is
an earnest protest against a further con-
tinuance of the proclamation aforesaid
and respectfully pleads that the proclama-
tion be rescinded. II was the sense of
that meeting that the same authority Of
law-section of the act of June H. 1875
Vol.20, L. S. S. page ia. grants you the same
powers and discretion to annul the pro-
clamation as il gives TO you the right TO
issue it. The whole matter is largely dis
cretioDary with you.
Also resolution was unanimously
adopted expressing II as the sense of the
meeting that the pound be placed under
the control and management of the HUI
name Society. as II is in other large cities
of the United States, thereby insuring tC
the unfortunate animals impounded more
humane treatment recommendation to
that effect was adopted.
1t was also further resolved that ii
was the unanimous opinion of the meeting
that under the law quoted by the Commits
sioners to the chairman Of the meeting.
Mr.. George W. Evans. the act of June 10,
1878. no authority is given the Commits
sioners to exact a pound fee OF 81 from the
owner of a duly licensed and tagged dog.
when redeemed from the pound. the same
having been captured unmuzzled Sec
tions 9 3. 4 G. and of the act OF June 10.
1878 substantially guarantees protection
to the owners and their dogs after having
paid the annual tax license of 50 and
placed upon the neck of the dog his collar
and tag. Section 4 of this act permits the
dog to run at large when so tagged and
makes anyone killing such dog liable to a
civil action for damages. Section S prac-
tically covers the same point and provides
& penalty for stealing or capturing a
licensed dog.
1T was further resolved that when an
unmuzzled but properly tagged dog is i'm
pounded the pound master under the di-
rection of the District Commissioners,
shall so advertise the impounded dog for
a period OF three days at least giving a
description of and the breed of the dog
and the number of the tag on the collar;
and that should the owner call for the
same and present his tax receipt the dog
shall! be released to the owner without
cost for redemption
In conveying to you, gentlemen. the
expressed wishes OF the meeting of the
friends and owners OF the dogs. ! wish
further 20 state that this dog law was en-
acted in 1878, now twenty-five years since
and that you are the first of the District
officials to ever bring into play section
of that act. commonly known as the muZzle
section. Your predecessors have evidently
never deemed IL necessary to enforce such
a cruel and unnecessary act and have be-
lieyed. as your petitioners now believe,
that TO have enforced It would have done
much more harm than good. To muzZle
dog infiicrs positive cruelty upon the an
imal. and does more to drive il mad than
any other torture that can be devised.
ig n y
a strap muZZle or to shut up his mouth
and cross his eyes with the wire muZZle.
Both are an instrument OF fendish tor
ture. The dog breathes, perspires, and
pants through his mouth, and il is con-
trary to the laws OF animal nature that
this organ of its composition should be
closed. As the warm season approaches
the dogs should not be deprived of the
opportunity TO pant with their mouth open,
or to quench their thirst by tapping water
at the fountains, placed by the Humane
Society. in many parts OF the city. for the
poor dumb beasts. With the muzZle fixed
tightly on them. as required by your or
der, they cannot lap the water conse-
quently they suffer untold misery. enough
to drive them mad.
Il may add. in closing my argument.
that hydFochGbia, if it has ever existed
| here, and | candidly believe that it has
not, was not nor has IL ever been in my
judgment epidemic in form. We may have
had a sporadic case annually OF rabies.
here and there, In the District of Column
bia. believe. however. that such in
| stances have been more epileptic and min
| eral poison cases than otherwise When
| you consider for a moment that with an
/ averabe annual population Of from l. 600
| to il 600 dogs. you have so few cases of
! dog bites. and not more than ten developed
cases OF sO-calied rabies this wear Can
| you not make up your minds to believe
that your dog muzzle order is absurd and
| unwaIranted under the circumstances?
1T has been contended by many physi-
| clans and scientists that there is no such
| disease as hydrophobia. or rabies, as il
| is more correctly called. | fully agree with
them. especially in the case OF female dogs.
| that have never been known to have gone
| mad. Not one person in a thousand bit
ten by dogs is in any danger OF II, and not
one dog killed among 500 supposed mad
| dogs is really mad. The word hydropho-
! bia is a missioner, for a mad dog has no
| fear of water, and Will run through a
| shallow pool without the slightest hesita-
| ton: the fear s that of drinking water.
or of swallowing anything either fluid
or solid, as the attempt is almost certain
| to throw the sufferer, man or beast, into
| spasms. The only way of transmitting
| hydrophobia Is by inoculation; that is by
| the introduction of the virus into the
body through a wound of the skin OF the
mucuous membrane. The most usual way
| for this rare event to occur, is of course,
! through the bite OF a rabd dog, cat. or
other animal. But not every bite. even OF
genuinely mad dog is followed by hydro
| Phobla.
"What have said here is to impress