The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1906-04-28
HAS THE HORSE
Power of Reason, Considered
by q Writer.
Jim Keys Spelling and Arith-
metic Analysed.


portance from Il moral and religious. as
we'll as from Il scientific standpoint,
says III. e. in The Catholic Colum-
bian. The dog. elephant, seal and at
least several other of the irrational ami
mails are superior to the horse In ami
NAL intelligence. If the horse is "a
1iona then the animals just mentioned.
besides at least one hundred others are
also rational.
Now, if these animals possess the
power Of reasoning. it follows that
merely by animal instincts. but also
by reason. If this be so they possess
free will. and their good actions merit
reward and their bad ones punishment
from the Creator. Now the good ami
mails are not all rewarded in this life.
neither are all the bad ones punished:
future life for them and. therefore.
souls.
If they have immortal souls they
are but little inferior to man. the
difference being only in the form of
the body. The difference between eat
ing IL man or one of the lower ami
mails would then be slight. and we
should all become vcgctari;ns.
Christ was not Il vegetarian. and
t.,uvht that the animals vnrc made
for the proper use Of man.
The various attempts made recently
t" prove the reasoning power of the
horse are directed against Christianity
aud in favor OF Buddhism and inlidelity.
The horse has been chosen for these
tricks rather than the dog. which is
far smarter. partly on account of his
being a large. handsome animal and IL
general favorite, but mainly on account
of the position Of his eyes on opposite
sides of the head which enables him
to look in opposite directions at the
same time, ana even see almost directly
behind him. without turning his head.
made by his trainer whilst apparently
looking in another direction.
The horse that has attracted the
most attention in this country is called
Jim Key. He was exhibited at the ST.
Louis exposition ANA is now touring the
country and drawing immense crowds
wherever he appears.
The following remarkable statements
concerning him appeared over the sig
natures of a large number of princi-
pals of public schools and clergy
men Of Cincinnati:
We take pleasure in tcstifying that
Wonderful Jim Key does all that is
claimed for him. and that there is to
the best of our belief. no deception. but
Jim really reasons does nj, hut
'''N Ill "ofds actually reads
Spells writes, counts, figures
almost human horse"
The public school children Of this
city and Il number of other cities wcr.
dismissed from school the past VIM
ter that they might attend the perform-
ance.
This trainer claims that Jim is the
equal in education Of the average
school boy of twelve years and that
ne can spell down any class of bows
usider fifteen years of age (Which he
actually does with the help of his
'r;''ner). He also claims that he
taught the horse all he knows in seven
years.
Now this would indicate the horses
brain to be somewhat superior to that
of man: since Jim invariably ont
SPelied boys OF fourteen. and he llai
moreover to learn the English Ian
Guagc during those seven years, while
the boys started school at five or six
years. with considerable knowledge of
English. The problems solved by him
in mental arithmetic were also remark
able.
The other little tricks performed by
him are of no consequence. but his
spelling and arithmetic are worthy of
consideration. especially in view of the
endorsements above mentioned
framework near the rear of the
stage, about thirty feet from the audi
cnce. contained one above the other)
five horizontal bars of wood. which
supported the letters of the alphabet
and numbers up to 80. in an upright
position. These rows were about fiji
teen inches apart and the letters were
some distance apart III the rows. There
was also a support at the front of the
stage, in which an assistant placed the
letters and figures as they were brought
forward by the horse when spelling
words or solving problems
The trainer himself remained ut the
rear of the stage facing the letters o,
numbers (whichever he wishes the
horse to take), with his back and left
shoulder to the audience, to cOncea
as far as possible the movements OF his
right hand and short whip, which were
almost in continual motion. He invari.
ably stood at the horses side, in thi.
awkward and unnatural position. whel
the latter selected letters or numbers