Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-04-05
MUST BE KIND.
Government Will Stop Cruel Treat
ment Of Mail Horses.
NEW MEXICO INCLUDED.

Some time ago Secretary Whitehead
of the Humane society wrote to Con.
gresham Shafroth on the subject of
cruelty to stock in the service Of the
United States government. says the
Denver Times. The secretary referred
to davi in his possession showing
that horses employed in carrying mails
In h rural districts of Wyoming, New
Mexico and some parts of Texas, were
cruelty abused. The evidence showed
that in most cases the horses employ,
ed were bronchos that may be bought
for a small sum of money and the con
tractors cared little whether they died
or o They would drive them thirty
miles with mail and return without
giving them any feed. If they gave out,
others were used in their stead and the
worthless one turned out TO Craze
until the relay played out and in turn
these were brought back into service.
They got nothing to eat but grass and
there were times during the year when
they Gid not have a suficiency of that.
The afidavits also snow that in many
cases the animals suffer with sores on
their backs and shoulders. They are
required to draw heavy loads with raw
sore places as large as a mans hand
under the collar.
Mr.. Whitehead learned that nearly
all of the abuses occurred where the
horses were owned by the men who
held star route contracts. These horses
were practically in the employ of the
United States government and Mr..
Whitehead wrote to Mr.. Shafroth sug-
costing that in the contracts for star
routes a provision be inserted which
x.,@.,lI raa,frA 4hD aNoNro otor 20 nn rn
for his horses. He also wrote to the
second assistant postmaster general.
Mr.. Shafroth filed Mr.. Whitehead's let.
ter with the postofice department with
a recommendation. Mr.. Whitehead has
received the following letter from Sec
ond Assistant Postmaster General
Shallenberger to Congressman Sha-
froth which shows that Mr.. White
heads suggestion will be in due course
adopted by the p~ostofice department:
Postoficc Department, Second AS
sistart Postmaster General, Washing
ton. March II, 1e02.-Hon. John +.
Shafroth, House of Representatives.
Sir: Some time & you filed In this
office a letter addressed to you by Il.
K. Whitehead. secretary Of the State
Bureau of Child and Animal Protection
of Denver, Colo, in which he recited a
number of cases of cruel treatment or
the animals used in carrying the mails
on mail routes. and suggested whether
it would not be practical to incorpor-
ate in the contracts n provision requir-
ing that the animals be well treated
for their own sakes.
have given this subject some con-
s%ideration, and while 1t Is a question
as to how far the department can
properly go in a matter of this kind,
still | think it will be practicable to In
clude some provision In future adver-
tisements for mail service to the effect
that the horses and mules used In car
rying the mails shall be suitable for
the purpose and properly cared for,
and to impose some penalty for viola
tions of such provisions. Such provis'
ion could not, of course. be applied to
contracts heretofore executed. but IT
would be necessary to legin with some
future general advertisement Our
mex general advertisement will be
prepared some time during the coming
summer, and before it goes to press
further attention will be given to the
details of this subject. and | think we
shall find it possible to take some ac'
ton in the line of that suggestion
Very respectfully.
w. s. SHALLENBERGER,
Second Assistant Postmaster Genera