Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-05-13

destroyer Of men. Nero, the Roman
demon. became the inhuman monster
he was by first. as a boy. learning TO
take pleasure in the sufrerings OF bis
nursery pets. Every man takes upon
himself the heart OF a savage animal
when he abuses the helpless dumb
brutes that God gave to him as de-
pendents.
Cnuse OF Moral DcEeneracy.
What is today one or the chief causes
of the moral and spiritual as well as
the temporal degeneracy Of Spain2 Ii
is without doubt due to the bestial and
brutalizing tendencies of the merciless
bulltight. When on the Sunday follow
ing Easter and on subsequent Sundays
the 1000 spectators gather about the
arena of Seville or the 1880 watch
the arena Of Madrid and the 1900 en-
circle the arena of Valencia, they are
glorying in the vice which has been
the moral and spiritual death OF their
country. These Spanish bulltights al
ways take place on Sunday because
they are held TO be the sacred national
game. A famous American traveller
tells us that at each bullhght between
six and eight of the fiercest kind of
bulls and from twenty to forty horses
are killed. The waving OF the red man
ties, the shooting OF the darts, the are
ma soaked with blood, the screams of
the dying horses dragging themselves
around, sometimes with their entrails
I'm null vi Of n cd
the mad charges of the enraged bulls,
combine TO make n scene OF horror In
describable and one which 1t is Inn
possible for the civilized American to
fully grasp. When the famous Francis
CO Romero de Runda taught the Span
ish people how to scientifically abuse
and madden and torture to death a
four legged brute he made Ii possible
for the people themselves, by looking
upon such scenes of horror, to become
worse than brutes. No human being
can be unmerciful to q beast without
himself after awhile growing mercl.
less in his dealings with his fellow
men.
Trained by Kindness.
The Humane Society OF America, in
teaching man to be kind to the dumb
brute. has a second practical mission
1t teaches that harshness and bitter
ness and cruelty do absolutely no good
in the training and the true subjuga-
ton of an animal. A cruel master
never was able to get the best results
out of a horse. Blows and kicks and
cuffs only make q stubborn horse the
more stubborn and the balky animal
the more set in his traces. ] never
learned this lesson in a more impress
sive way than when passed two sum-
mers almost within a stones throw OF
one OF the best stock farms In this
country. What magnificent animals
those were! Racing horses were not
raised there. but the best blood for
carriage horses and roadsters of all
sorts. Their clean limbs. their fash
ing eyes. their high strung. nervous
organization, made those animals the
pride Of almost every stable they en-
tered Yet the whip was never used
upon them. They were trained almost
entirely by kindness After the colts
had been allowed to run In the fields
for about three years. always. however
being petted by their owners. they
were ready for the harness. The first
day on which the bride was put upon
them a strap was fastened on the fore
hoof TO teach them that they must
mind. That was all. After the first
two or three days the horse learned
that IL he plunged the strap would be
applied 20 raise his forefoot and keep
him on three legs. Having learned
the lesson he ceased TO plunge. and the
use OF the strap was discontinued.
Then these colts were quietly hitched
by the sides OF the older horses and
driven out TO pillow. The drivers new
er Jerked them, but always talked
kindly TO them and coaxed them. And
though those horses seemed TO have
within them all the pentup ambition OF
Jobs war charger, smelling the bat
tie from affair."" yet in the hands OF
their kind masters they became gentle,
lovable and docile.
Power of GentIeness.
An old. grumpy, dyspeptic philos-
opher once said, 1.-THE more / see of
me the better l like dogs" That IL
not my idea. But the more I see Of
dogs and horses and cattle the more I
think they are like men. Supposing
you were a horse hitcbed TO q carriage.
Supposing every time you made q mis-
step there was whip like O knife
ready to cut into your skin, would not
your nerves be continually unstrung?
Would you not always be ready TO
jump, to shy and to rear? Surprising
N n CT nj xx-ith Al
TO halter and the hostler wanted you
10 move over TO the other side of the
stall. and instead Of placing his hand
gently upon you and saying quietly.
Now move over" he gives you a saw.
age kick in the stomach or a cuff upon
the side Of the head that made your
ear ring and your brain dizzy with
pain. What would you do? Would
you bite and kick him IL you got the
chance? ! doubt whether human M.
ture would be as long suffering as
equine nature under such provocation.
But If every time that hostler came
around you got caress. or a piece OF |
apple every time he applied the curry.
comb, and a kind. reassuring word |
every time shrieking engine came |
past, think that hostier or driver |
would be loved and trusted and obeyed I
Just as my little child has. through my |
kindness, learned 20 love and trust and |
obey me. "The more l see OF men the |
more love dogsr' oh. no: the phIlos- |
opher was wrong. But the more you |
see OF horses and dogs the more you |
ought to learn to treat them with |
the same gentleness with which you |
should treat your fellow man. Curses |
and blows and yells and grcwls never |
made a nervous horse trustful or an |
obstinate horse docile. Kindness will |
win submission in an animal. where |
terror and fear can never produce Il.
Justice For the Brute.
The Humane Society OF America de-
a. l. l.....A -.