Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-03-10
TRAINED BY CRUEL 1Y
AZ mails, as a Rule, Taught Tricks
Through Torture.
KINDNESS IS NOT a cT0R.

klNUNESS is NOI a FACTOR
The Result Of the Methods Employed,
Says an English Writer, Is the Tri-
urnph Of q Brute over 4 Brute BY.
Patient and Persistent Cruelty.
Il have m old fashioned belief that
one should never make damning
statement unless he Is prepared to-
prove it up to the hilt. And so / am
confronted at the outset with an al
most insurmountable difficulty to the
layman who would accurately Inform
himself of the methods Of animal train
Ing there is opposed q bulwark Of con
cealment grim and silent AS the great
wall Of China, s writes w. Raintons
Clarke in the Manchester Chronicle.
1.-THE glib assurance that it is all
done by kindness has become by
word. No true lover OF an animal be-
lieyes 1t, nor could any reasoning crea-
ture, lacking that particular affection,
II he will carefully examine such facts.
as are obvious. . N. fsSs.
Granted there are animals Of ex-
treme intelligence and ductability.
Granted there are men and women OF
extraordinary Influence over birds and
beasts. The best these twain can
achieve in combination does not pro-
duce an effective stage show, nor can.
one-hundredth part Of the entertain
ment' provided by the trainer be
5ascribed to his abnormal ABILITY or to
the especially acute intelligence Of his
pupil. It Is more probably the tri-
umph Of brute over a brute by pa
tient and persistent cruelty.
ghe public judges by what 1t sees
on the stage and remarks In admira-
ton and approval. that there was mo
sign OF q whip An animal exhibitor
who was avowedly cruel would be
pretty low down in the ranks Of show
men. own particularly ferocious
looking bulldog who goes crazy with
delight at the sight Of a whip. 1t has
been his pet stoy for years and means
the beginning Of romp. On the other
hand, q movement OF the trainers I'm
ger almost imperceptible to the audi
dence may suggest to the powerful
Imagination Of the animal fiendish tor
ture. 1t may recall the hot irons, the
agonizing Utilization Of b nerve. 5
.Such appeals to the memory are, In
truth, the stock in trade Of the animal
trainer. What the wretched creature
has gone through during months Of
daily preparation can never be known,
1 for the work Is carried out in secrecy
! and seclusion. There is rarely second
person present, and the brute cannot
speak. That is the most hideous factor
4 Of the case
There Is no concealment Of the fact
that the training Is apt to be hard and
painful and blow is not uncommon
from the most humane and patient
trainer, angered, it may be. by stupid.
i ty and characterization. If 1t Is So
with the boy, what must It be with
i the brute?
There is no possession SO hideous
as that Of the triumph, even momen-
tarily, Of cruelty. Touch child, q
horse or a dog with whip and there
Is a hideous sense Of satisfaction, even
when the cause is righteous. The joy
4 Of inffcting pain is possible to the best
OF us and grows by what It feeds on.
/ Imagine the situation between q
coarse vulgarian and helpless brute
and you get the process Of animal
training.
Il have never known disinterested
member Of the circus Community pre-
tend that the education Of any animal
i was pleasant to the animal, and have
known them to speak with horror Of
1 the methods OF some trainers.
i 1T Is not very long since an athlete
snatched the whip from a well known
dog trainer on the stage Of q London
variety theater and soundly thrashed
him amid the plaudits Of the company.
Another distinguished professor is
blacklisted by one Of the largest syn
dicates for undisguised cruelty (off the
stage to his large and various family.
Two Of our best known managers alb
solutely refuse to deal with animal
turns and make no concealment OF
their reasons. And the editor, now de
ceased, Of an important professional
paper, for years refused to attend any
4 place Of entertainment where dogs OF
birds, or indeed any dumb creature
save conventional circus horses, APP
4 peared.
Cali these men knew what they were
4 about. Most Of the other performers
in music hall fight keep shy Of the
animal trainers The stage hands speak
with horror Of what they see.
The mortality among performing
animals IS perfectly awful. Ever SO
MANY are hopelessly injured in the
process Of education, and ever so many
jEsukcnmb to the dreadful life Of nightly
performances.
Whenever a case Of cruelty by q
performer comes before the courts one
4 10 amazed BY the ineptitude and fulfil
4 ity Of the evidence.
The public is Of course the maiI,
lculprit 1t wants the shows. and man.
layers provide them, though they must
be conscious Of the truth Of all have
written. They even assist In the un,