Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-06-04
REFUSE TO REScIND ORDER
DOGS WILL REMAIN MUZZLED UNTIL
THE 10TH INSTANT.
Motion by Mr.. mcfarland, President
of Board of Commissioners,
Voted Down.
Voted Down.

At a meeting of the board of District
Commissioners held Saturday afternoon
Commissioner Mcfarland moved that the
order issued by the Commissioners Decem-
Der 10, 1899, requiring all dogs for a period
of six months thereafter to be securely
muzzIed when running at large, be rescind-
ed. The motion. however, was defeated
Commissioners Ross and Beach voting
against it. The order will, therefore. re-
main in force until the 10Th instant, and 1t
is not improbable that 1t will be continued
after that date.
MIR. Macfarland's Statement.
In support of his motion to rescind Mr.
Mcfarland said:
From the day l took office l have been
urged daily by representative citizens TO
make this recommendation. l have taken
time to consider the matter carefully L
have procured all the information obtain
able, in addition to that voluntarily fur
nished me by the advocates and the oppo-
nents of the muZZling of dogs l have con-
suited official reports published In Great
Britain and other foreign countries. as well
as those published in the United States. l
have correspondent with experts in this city
and in other cities. and have talked with
number of them. The mass of data thus
acquired is so great that it is impracticable
to give even an abstract of IT,
Il therefore present my conclusions in
summary fashion, as follows:
First Although the experts, including
both physicians (and especially neurolo-
sists) and veterinarians. differ. it seems to
be clear that there Is such a disease as n.y.
drophob.a in man, although it is very rare,
and that there is such a disease as rabies
in animals. and especially in dogs, although
it is only less rare, at least in the form
which makes the animal affected bite other
animals or human beings. 1t is evident
that in their zeal to maintain theory those
who want the dogs muZZled have grossly
exaggerated the danger from hydrophobia
and rabies. and that they responsible
for much unnecessary alarm and apprehen-
sion in the community, which has been
more detrimental than the effects of the
rare diseases whose terrors have been used
to disturb the people All attempts to ex-
cite the city in this way should be frowned
upon But they are to be especially con-
demned when. in the present instance.
they are caused in part by pride in a
theory. and by supporters of institutions
established ostensibly for the cure of ny
drophGbsa in the name of humanity, but
which will not treat a case unless a pay
ment of from 800 to $3.50 at least is forth
coming.
Not n Preventive.
Second. Even If hydrophoba and rabies
were as common as they are rare. the re-
quirement of muzzles for dogs would not
prevent the spread of those diseases. Expe-
are those which have no owner. so-called
tramp dogs which come into the District
from Maryland and Virginia. or dogs be-
longing to persons who are unable or I'M
willing to care for them when they are
sick. and to provide them with license tags.
The licensed dogs are. as a rule. cared for
by their owners. and upon the appearance
of the first symptoms of sickness are
turned over to the veterinarians. They are
also the dogs who provided with muz-
ZleS when muZZleS required their
annoyance and occasional injury, although.
as a rule. they do not need them, while the
really dangerous dogs are almost never
muZZled. over and over again the unmuZ-
Zled tramp dog has bitten the muzzled house
pet. The cheaper muZzles excite the dog and
may make him dangerous. 1t is practically
impossible to muzzle all the dogs. 1t is
equally impossible. apparently. to impound
and destroy all the unmuZZled dogs. AS a
matter of fact, the poundmaster who has
only two wagons and seven or eight men,
can cover comparatively little of the sew
enty-two square miles of the District of
Columbia in day and II is notorious that
IN the late afternoon. after these men have
done all that is practicable as days work.
in many instances the muzzleS are taken
off the dogs that wear them.
The London Method.
"Third-The proper method of dealing
with this matter seems to me to be that
now employed by the city of London Eng
ittiiu' "Hith i'iuiitS an Jugs 10 TSSlS-
tered and furnished with collars bearing the
names Of owners. and also to be under
CONTROL and imposes a fine of twenty
pounds $500. upon any person keeping a
dog without complying with this regulation.
Our existing law, the act of June 10. 1873
provides for substantially the same thing
by requiring that dogs shall be licensed
stall wear collars and license tags and
that owners shall be fined for not comply
inG with the law, although the fine is only
from five 10 ten dollars. This act also CON
tains the authority for the Commissioners
TO issue a muZZling order in their discre-
ton, which never has been exercised in the
twenty-five years since the act was passed.
except in last December. The law provid-
ing for filming the owner. and impoundng
and destroying the dog, when license and
tag and collar have not been provided II
thoroughly enforced, would result in the
diminution. If not the disappearance of, the
class of the uncared for. and. therefore,
dangerous dogs without Interfering with the
dogs that are cared for. and, therefore, not
dangerous.
Qualification for Resembling.
1.-The technical ground for the issuance of
the muzzling proclamation of December last
under the language of the act of 1873, was
that tho Commissioners had good reasons
for believing that there was "A mad dog
dogs in the District of Columbia. In as
much as there Is no more reason for be-
lieving that there is a mad dog dogs
in the District of Columbia now than at any
time between June 10. 1878, the date of the
approval of the act, and December 10, 1899,
the date of the proclamation. there is ample
justification for resembling that proclama-
ton. If new proclamation of similar
tenor ought not to be issued now and of
this l am confident. the old proclamation
ought not to be continued in force even to
June 10, 1900. the end of the period Of six
months for which it was issued.
After the matter had been decided. Com
missioner Ross moved that there be entered
upon the minutes of the meeting report to
the District health officer by Prof. Salmon
of the bureau of animal industry, which re-
port shows that the bureau found last month
In the bodies of two dogs killed here unmis-
taxable evidence that the animals We're at
the time of death suffering from rabies.
Protest From Senator'S.
Just as the Commissioners We're leaving
the board room at the close of the meeting.
petition. signed by Senators Cockrell.
Carter. Hale. T. c. Plat, Rawlins and
Bacon was presented prayinp that the