The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-01-05
University Of Chicago Professor
Denounced BY Capitalist
SAYS SEARCH IS WAn1oM CRUELTY
ROBERT L. CLIFFORD DECLARES
EXPERIMENTS TO FIND SIXTH
SENSE UNNECESSARY.

CHICAGO, Jan. 5.-The experiment.
by which Prof. John B. Watson of the
University of Chicago is endeavorins
to prove the existence of a sixth sense
in animals were criticised yesterda,
by Robert l.. Clifford, president of the
Illinois Engineering company as want
only cruel
The matter was also brought to the
attention of John G. Snortall. presi
dent of the illinois Humane society
He spoke more guardedly, saying ii,
is hard to get case against these
scientific men,"
Mr.. Clifford, after quoting from the
report to the American Psychological
association of how Prof. Watson de
prived the rodents of their other
senses and how they still made their
way toward food,'' says:
Does this mean that the professor
destroyed the animals sight-their
eyes, their hearing. by cutting the au
ditOry nerves, their sense of smell, by
cutting the olfactory nerves. and their
sense of touch by further mutilation
of these living bodies?
FImsy Excuse for Cruelty.
"Such wanton inhumanity is daily
practiced on defenseless animals un-
der the f1imsy excuse of some so-called
discovery. Thus it has been definitely
demonstrated by vivisectors and ex-
perimenters that animals actually will
die if confined in an atmosphere of
poisonous gas; also that dogs will die
if deprived of food for a sufficient
length of time. All these and many
more equally useless and heartless ex-
periments are performed to discover
something which the daily events
about us constantly demonstrate.
For instance, that animals have a
sense of direction is proven by the fire.
quent mention of some dog which has
found it's way from Seattle, Wash,
back to Mendon, Mich, or from Hor-
ton, Kan, back to its old home in
Ohio. That other animals, as cats,
possess this sense of location is gen
orally recognized. LIE cat came
back is sufficient The homing in
stinct of carrier pigeons is well known,
also the ability of pilots and fisher
men to steer for home in fog and dark
ness without the aid of compass.
These instances, which might be
multiplied, are 100 times more con-
elusive than the cropping of poor.
mutilated rat which has been deprived
of every sense and function except the
primal instinct for food.
THAT an association with a high
sounding name should dignity such a
discovery and such heartless and
useless cruelty by giving it place on
their program when so many psychic
phenomena remain to be solved is sur
prising. The only discovery which
can be accredited to this experimenter
is a novel and inhuman attempt to
prove what every one in real life al
ready knows.
HAS not the time come when men
who are not deferred from the inflic-
ton of such useless and wanton cruel
ty to Gods creatures by qualities OF
heart and mind should be restrained
by law"
Sounds Cruel to ShortalI.
81 understand that Prof. Watson
says his rats are as healthy after the
various operations as before" said Mr..
Shortall. 81 don't quite see how that
could be. Local anaesthetics, of
course. could be applied. but certainly
there must be suffering after the eff
feet of these passes off. Removing
the eyeballs. freezing the feet and COW
ering the head with collodion can
hardly be anything else than an awful
ly cruel operation.
81 am not prepared to express an
opinion. though, or to define the So
ciety's attitude, until l know all the
facts. Whatever may appear on the
surface, it has not been absolutely
proved that there has been unneces-
sary cruelty. It is hard to get case
against these scientific men, anyway,
with the present Illinois laws.
1--WE don't care to pose as Obstruc-
tionists, either, but just how mankind
will be benefited by the discovery OF
a sense of direction in rats, don't
quite see.''