Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-06-14


Il shall not speak Of cruelty all the
time. for my subject is Blessed Are the
Merciful.' but / think an illustration
VIII best show why 1 chose this SUBJ
ject.
This winter 1 sent for a pamphlet
from the American Humane Education
Society, entitled The Cost of Your
Furs In Torture and Death There are
several Photographs of trapped animals
taken by an agent of the society re-
Gently returned from a two-mohth trip
through the deep woods. brave man
who was willing to endure the bitter
cold to show others how their furs are
procured. Each picture tells a story
Of indescribable terror: but perhaps the
one which seems most pitiful to me is
that of beautiful fox crouched in
the snow with the usual result, one
foot held fast by the cruel steel
Pictures Cruel Death.
All the spirit of struggle and resist
ance is gone out Of the furry body.
and this one Of Gods humber works
has settled down in despair Hungry.
thirsty and painracked. all alone in the
great white woods. 1t awaits the end. 1t
mentor has come, rejoicing at another
ma. The crouching figure does not
STR. All Is yielded to mans in
domitable will. The look in the eyes
tells this mingled with that expression
creature of its God. oh Lord. how
long" Then those eyes close in DEATH
when at last the heavy club descends
to dash out the brains. ending all the
suffering Of weary days and nights.
But the club does not come to bring
death to all The end comes very
slowly to the victims awaiting it.
Now why need there be all this
cruelty? Why is 1t that because the
al
for man he cannot live in peace?
do not think that God ever intended
that all animal life should be the
servants Of mankind, but that He in
tended the wild beast to live in his
own way.
Cites Possible Beauty.
I'VE would feel so much better IL
we knew that everything was happy.
How much more beautiful would be
the great white wood IL its blanket of
snow did not hide the cruel trap. an
evidence of mans treachery. ready to
grab the first creature in its path? If
there were no trap the wild mother
could go forth from her home in safety
to seek food for her young Return
ing. she could lie down and enjoy the
sight of her babies partaking of the
sood Wnicn they knew her mother love
More blessed is the man who stays
at home. realizing that he has harmed
no form of animal life, than the man
who spends his night thinking of the
tropny IN the wood. the tortured vic
tim of the steel trap.
The cruelties of the steel trap can
easily be stopped IL we would let our
consciences overcome the binding chains
OF fashion and of selfish desire I am
sure that most Of US have in our hea rts
a tender
unless 1t is kept aroused, some Of us
VIII forget Most of us enjoy the friend
snip or cat or dog, and we do not like
to see these pets cruelty treated. We
care for our live stock perhaps from the
points of view of real affection and a
sense of commercial profit. or perhaps
from the pure business point of view.
But the steel trap and the slaughter
house are so far removed from US that
we do not think of their victims. We go
on In our business and social life wear
Ing the furs and eating the flesh of these
victims. We pride ourselves on our gen
eral well-wishing for the happiness OF
animal life. but there are few of us who
go to any exertion to see that means are
taken to make animals happy.
Some of the Excuses.
'Irresponsibility. neglect and forget
fulness are excuses. We must think. We
should consider under what conditions our
luxuries and even necessities of life are
obtained. If they are wrong and unjuts
obtained. II they are wrong and unjust
forces Of our natures and say. mo, We
cannot and will not enjoy comforts OBJ
tanned through the suffering OF our TEL
low creatures.
And in the children and in the igno-
rant we should instill the lesson of hui
maneness. 1t is an injustice to them not
to give them the pleasure ofskindness
so that 1t will form a habit, and they
will think of nothing else.
1T is so easy to teach a little child
to be kind. Give a child a helpless kit
ten. Tell it that II kitty is not cared
for she will suffer. See the little one
cent way to attend to all the little ami
mails wants. 1t will soon learn its re-
sponsibility. Then, when the child
grows to manhood or womanhood the
thought of cruelty will not enter the
mind.
"Then there will arise a great multi
tude of kind hearts In defense OF ami
mails. But there must be great multi
tude. Of these in order to resist the null
titude of those who practice cruelty.
We believe that gradually. but surely,
the hard hearts will yield to the tender
ones. and animals will have their
rights. But moro than this. there will
not only be humaneness and Justice to
but our fellow-human beings
will also share in this spirit Of justice.
Speak Gentle Word.
Speak a gentle word OF advice to the
poor ignorant carter with the worn
out horse. Try to relieve the horse and
tell its owner why you have spoken to
him.
THE hearts of the ignorant will re-
ceive the lesson of kindness more read
lily than the hearts of those who think
learned.
FINALLY. let all of US who know the
cruel conditions existing try to prac-
tice kindness and resist evil.
And when you come to consider
the steel trap. oh, do, man blessed by
your God with happiness and the power
Of speech. think of the snow covered
of the wind whistling through
the bare trees. of the traps and of the
animals in them. moaning away their
lives in agony that you might enjoy
fur. Then lay away those furs, brave
ly make your noble resolution and
await your sure reward, for blessed
are the merciful'"
Supremacy Of Love.
Mr.. Coombs in his essay says:
What an incalculable amount Of pain
and suffering would be removed from
the world IL this great truth Of the su-
prenacy of love were universally realized
and worked out in daily life! What num- |
hers of people who believe themselves
religious and doubtless are to a certain |
axtent. would, il higher understand
ing were vouchsafed them. shrink in