The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-12-17
Midshipman Aiken and Vi,iscction.

To THE EDITOR op THE SUN-Sir' Since
the recent publication Of DR. Keen's open
letter" on viviseCtion tho public prints have
been filed with statements editorial and
otherwise. which the rational mind would
hesitate 20 ascribe TO sensible beings did il
not know how prone poor. shortest L hted
human nature e. TO Jump at conclusions and
to ignore great things in it. anxiety to realize
small benefits Or Keen tells us. In brief,
that were Il not for the vivisect ion Of animals
he would have been unable 10 locate the clot
of blood in young Aken's brain. and 30 to
save his life While bowling to the doctor :
skill asa surgeon, would saw that any one at
all conversant with the facts knows we'll that
Dr. Keen here makes use OF a certain small
amount OF fact to carry along n great amount
Of grossly erroneous statement. We will
accept a true that as Or Keen claims. he
would have been unable to explain" the
SYMPTOMS II he had seen the case before
1855" but that the knowledge which science
az present possesses regarding brain loCali-
Zation" was gained by animal experimental
ton. "a he inferentially states. is far from
the truth 80 indeed it Is the opposite of the
truth Many years before the famous ex-
perimeuts Of Dr. Ferrier on the brains OF ami
mails. and many years after. as well. sur geons,
bv comparing the brains OF patients after
death with symptoms. such a. paralysis.
occurring during life. had arrived at a definite
toms and injuries TO certain portions OF the
brain. So te-tiiies Jane. Whits"n. lecturer
on anera'iye surgery ;, Mqn nS9o '2Tl~s.
ia, g. 1885 II i also we'll known that opera
tion- upon the head and brain have been sue
ceS.fullv performed by savage races in CEN
Moreover, what. j. true OF an ANNALS brain
cannot be depended uuon as n. guide TO the
cot Of Paris, in tn" August. isss. Forum. in an
article, TIL" Topography of the Brain: In
Srin = above n ,mo T@ S,GT irSm
~arv in drawing iuierenoc- from animals to
man The results Of experimentation, how
ever ingenious, can civ" only prrIump,ions
onstration And Prof, David Fsrri"r him
self in his Functions of IN" Brain" indor-es
questionable to the application to hnma
beings of such animal experiments The
same Prof ferrier confesNcs ,Br'hSh Medical
JoUrurl oct |. 1888 that the treatment OF
iutracranial tumor~ forms rather \ m"lan-
Cholv chaptor in therap"u'c1. A. the recent
holm V OF R"rin n declared that brain iocaiiza-
tion j. often most doubtful" and hat fire.
ouently II j. impossihl" TO discover on which
looked Tor" and he was confirmed in hi'
statements by DR.. B"rgmann OF Berlin
sGicnt;ts know little enough, All Is re-;
but what has been gained in that direction
by animal expermentation is comparatively
claim that no "rcsult.' whatever have been
gained bv yivis"Ction. th"y claim rather that
In compari-on to the t"rrlhl" cost OF this un-
scientific method cost In time. energy. moral
deterioration and the suN"rtngs OF sensitive
creaturrs-it il but drop in the bucket |
say "unscientinC" advisedly. for nothing can
IGNORES both the vast differences bet ween
species. and also the extremely abnormal
condition of the subject eNperimented upOn
Anti-vviSeCt ioni>tS do not deny that some
thing l. occasionally Numbered upon by even
this method it would ba strange II this did
not occasionally happen: what they claim is
that III" same amount of energy directed into
enc", and uncursed by cruelty, would ac-
compli-h result a houSand- fold greater
To those who will ponder. an edfyng
feature OF this question l. found in the SUI
prone contempt manifested by the apollo
gi~ts of vivisection for the great moral prin-
ciples involved. which form the real quest ION
al issue: as II, forsooth, any cruelty perpe-
i only bringing gain to the perpetrator!
such arguments are a traveSty on all ethical
principles and make a lsu ching stock of our
sermons on kindness Justice and compass
sion IL j. strange that such arguments do
not indicate TO tn" public mind the real moral
It that so many people. editors and others,
who call themselves humane" will ga gerly
jump al. an opportunity to defend the cruel
usage OF their humber fellow creatures on
the ground OF results, but at the same time
are 80 reluctant to question, on the side OF
compassion, whether there Is not way to
arrive al those results" more consiste nt with
the proud claims OF twentieth century civil
ization j. NJ GREENE
Corresponding Secretary. tho New England
viviscc ion Sociaty
BEACON STREET, BOSTON.