The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-09-18

Special Foreign Service
BERLIN, Sept. 17.-There is a
growing tendency to credit animals Of
al, kinds with moral and intellectual
qualities like those Of human beings.
In the infancy of the race, men were
accustomed to think of animals as al
most on a level with themselves in all
kinds of intellectual and moral capac-
ity.Y And children reflect this condi-
ton of mind by imagining their pet
animals to be capable of understanding
ali Stheir thoughts and wishes. The
whole class of fables and childrens
stories illustrate this naive condition
of the early human fancy The unciv-
iliZpd man and the child find no diff :
Guilty in conceiving their familiar
Guadrupeds talking, behaving and eat
ing quite in human fashion. AS the
race grew in intelligence it began to
think of the lower creation as further
removed from ITSELF Proud of its at
taininents. it arrogated to itself the
exclusive possession of reflection, rea
SOM and voluntary choice. The final
expression of this disposition was the
plliloSOphic doctrine of Descartes that
animals are without soul and con-
seriousness. their seemingly intelligent
actions being simply the result of d
nicely contriyed' piece of bodily mech
X.
It3is not a little curious that modern
science is doing much to upset this
view Of the animal world so fiattering
to mans self-conceit. Closer and
wider observation of the habits of ami
mails is bringing to light here and
there indications of a degree of con-
scious intelligence which may we'll put
to shame the so-called nationality of
many members of our own species. The
doctrine Of evolution plainly suggests
that in animals are to be found the
germs of mental qualities previously
supposed to be mans exclusive pos
session. Darwin has taught us, for
instance. that certain birds display a
considerable amount of taste and skill
in the matter of decorative colorins,
and it is a we'll known fact that many
ANIMAL lnanifest a striking delight for
music.
Serious and close observers of ma
ture have described acts of punish
ment dealt out by animals to each 9TH
er r. The cat will box her kittens when
they play too long with her tail, and
the mother hen will separate her chick
ems when they get into fight, ana
sometimes peck one. or both of them,
on the head, as much as to say,
Ihere. don't you do that again." The
rooster in the same way will separate
two hens when they are fighting. Only
q ssi'cA WING oSO COuutTN uOcIOr
wrote TO a city paper. giving his name
and address. and telling of a regular
trial by jury" the condemnation. and
the execution Of a crow by body of
his fellow crows, which he had wit
messed. And Darwin. again, tells of a
baboon which examined the paws of
the cat that had scratched it, and then
deliberately bit off the nails. On
some other occasion he describes how
a cat taught her young by putting
her paw into the mouth of a narrow
milk jug and then licking off the milk
and how soon the kittens learned the
same trick. This is only a small selec-
ton from hundreds of well authenti-
Gated cases tending to prove that some
animals are endowed with some degree
of intelligent thinking. But the most
forcible proof of this much discussed
theory is being furnished just now
IN one, of the northern districts of Ber-
lin. where the much-talsed of think
ing horse is performing marvellous
feats of intelligence in the presence
of thousands of spectators.
Der Kluge Hans" (Smart Johnny