The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-12-15
He Plainly Accuses the Doctor of Mis-
representation and Of Violating
Professional Ethics.
EXPERIMENTATION ON ANIMALS
HE DECLARES 1T TEACHES LITTLE
OF HUMAN BEINGS.
Extreme CrueIties Practiced by Vivf-
sectiOnists-DOubts that the Doctor
Saved Midshipman Aiken.

member Of the medical profession, tonight
gave out the following letter in reply to
the published letter of DR.. w. w. Keen.
of Philadelphia sent him a week ago. under
date of Saturday, Dec. 13:
Dear Sir-Reviewing your letter of Dec.
s. which you gave to the press of the United
States respecting your success in the case
of Midshipman Aiken, / note four points:
"First-That self-advertisement is prohib-
tied by the ethics of our profession.
'Second-That Misrepresentation is for
hidden by the ethics of mankind. No meas
ure that would prohibit vivisection. or pre-
vent any Of the experiments which you
claim were necessary to give you the
requisite knowledge in the Aiken case, has
ever been introduced by me in the Senate;
nor has any such legislation been recon-
mended by me to the Senate. Your state
ment that 1 have been engaged in efforts
to secure inhumane and cruel legislation
is without the slightest warrant in fact l
have been engaged i'm efforts to secure hui
name legislation that would prevent cruel
ty. The bills which L have favored would.
If enacted. only regulate vivisection in the
district Of Columbia, so as to prevent adj
mitted cruelty, and should have the sup
port of every humane person.
'Third-That your argument turns en-
tirely on an assumption, which cannot be
| maintained, namely, that the localization
of the functions in the brain of man has
been determined by experimentation on ami
mails. The brains of animals differ from
the brain Of man and also differ from one
| another, so that stimulation of a certain
part of the brain will produce a certain
| enect In one animal and another effect in
| another animal. Long history of expert
ment on the brains of animals, has shown
| not only that 1t is not safe to reason from
| the brains of animals to that of man, but
that such reasoning is not safe as between
| the brain of one animal and that of an
| other. 1t has been general, with animal
experimentation, that when such expert
ment had established a fact with regard
TO any species of animal, the next thing
| was, now, let us see If it is the same in
man. The experimenters, therefore, saw
| by experiment in some form upon man,
| and sometimes the result was similar, and
| sometimes not. That such experiments
| upon man, as results of reasoning from
| the lower animals have been to a great
extent disastrous, is certain, for it is the
| testimony of great surgeons and physiol-
ogists. By experiment upon man / mean
| in general operations upon human beings
with the expectation that they would have
| the same result as they had with animals.
| ALTRUISM IGNORED.
"Fourth-That you ignore, in your direct
| appeal to selfshness. that altruism which
is the principle of moral progress. To prac-
| tice cruelty, even in the hope of helping
humanity, is TO hurt it and to delay the
advance OF civilization. Recurring to the
| suggestion already made that have not
| introduced into the Senate nor advocated
any bill prohibiting vivisection, / beg to
say that the purpose has been to regulate
the practice, thereby removing from it the
inhumane' and cruel features which have
| shocked the moral sense of our people. You
| Will doubtless recall the fact that when
| you gave testimony before the committee
on District of Columbia on the 21st day Of
| February, 1900, / asked you il you thought
it improper for Congress to enact a law
| saying that a dog or horse should be put
under the influence of anaesthetic before
| being cut TO pieces or the nerves torn from
the brain, and that you promptly replied
| Il think II would be most unwise legisla-
tion.' In view of that reply, think that
your charge against me that L am engaged
| in efforts to secure inhumane and cruel leg
islation should be withdrawn, and especially
so when We have undoubted testimony to
| the fact that one experimental is in the
| habit OF plunging dogs for thirty seconds
into boiling water; that another fastens a
dog to the dssecting table. and, discarding
| the use of anaesthetics, stands above it with
large empty stone bottle with which he
| strikes with all his strength a dozen violent
| blows the head; while the same expert
menter says that he dislocates both the
shoulders. doing it with difficulty. Another
experimenter claims that he has 'conse-
| Grated more than eighty large animals,
mostly horses and mules, to the EXTREMIST
torture possible, not, he expressly tells U.S.
to solve any problem in medical theory, but
simply to see what degree of pain can be
1 nd
Another still says that he has invented a
new machine which he calls his 'tormentor,
and in this fiendish device, which had first
been quilted with long, thin nails animals
are moved about, racked with torment torn
and twisted, crushed and lacerated, hour by
hour, until crucified nature cOpld not longer
endure. and death comes tardy release
That experimenter says: can take an
ear, a paw, or bit of skin of the animal.
meath the teeth of the pincers; 1 can lift
the animal by the suffering part; / can
tear it or crush it in all sorts of ways and
he adds that these experiments are re-
peated day after day, with much delight
and extreme patience for the space Of a
year.
barous practices brings me under your con-
demnation L am willing to have the case
submitted to the judgment of the Ameri-
can people.
YOUNG AIKEN'S CASE.
Are you sure, sir. that you saved the
|
clots frequently absorbed by the processes
of nature, and is it not fact that i'm many
such experiments death has resulted be-
cause of the operation? Your claim that
you located the blood clot because of ex-
periments upon animals may or may not
be true. as we have the highest possible
authority for believing that such expert
, | ments are often times misleading and abb
| solutely without value. You are doubtless
| | well aware of the fact that many distin-
. | guished scientists have asserted that ex-
, | periments on animals in the matter of To-
. | calizing brain functions have led to moth
ing of value, inasmuch the human brain
| | differs immensely from that of the highest
. animals. Professor Terrier has asserted
that the greatest disagreements imagina-
BILE exists among experimental physiolo-
gists on that point. adding. 1t seems 10 me
. a matter OF essential Importance that In
, generalizng to the functions of the cere.
bral hemisphere We should be careful lest
the hypothesis we adopt however we'll /,
) may seem to accord with the facts of ex.
) pertinent on the order of animals should
/ not stand in fragrant contradiction to facts
equally well established obtained by ex
, periments on others
, ION the general question of the value OF
. vivisection. which have never undertaken
! | TO interfere with, when humanity prac
ticed. IL may be well for me TO say that
Z am fortified I'm my opposition by the opin
; | ions of many OF the leading scientists OF
o~ra fx,nlx Afpo ~