The Alaska daily empire., 1914-11-23
PURPLE CROSS FOR
 BEAST IS PLANNED

BEAST IS PLANNED | 
 Aa the white ship of morcg the Red Cross, has reached Europe with ita corps nurses and physicians to alleviate tbo ml8ories of the maimed and injured of the Europenn war what of Che unwilling belligerents of the wnr. the confiding dumb animals which arc dragging heavy siege and machine guns and commissariot bear ling dispatches and carrying cossaok l and chosseur Uhlan and lancer and i dragoon into the jaws of death? The query comes from London, where, un- 1 der the auspices of the Royal Society the Purple Cross Society is being or ganized to minister to the needs Of the horses and mules and dogs that can send out no cry of complaint from their torn and lacerated bodies as they lie huddled on Europes battle. field.
 soer War Wac Lesson.
 The Society of the Purple Cross is Of English origin but has many sym pathizers in this country Experience In the Boer War taught the English people that with society efficiently organized to care for wounded ami mals in war a large percentage of them could be cured. It is certain that great numbers of them could be put out of excruciating torture bg the use Of humane methods.
 In the pransyaal conflict tie blue book or the commissioners appointed to inquire into matters connected with that war recltes that of the 66e.757 horses, mules, and donkeys provided close upon 16,OOO horses were re- ported as lost on the voyage,9 and otl the others 100000 were "exponded In the war" and the Boer War was no more than a sklrmish compared with the war now in progress in Europe
 The results of this war taught the British War Office that the horse isl almost as necessary in warfare as the soldier. The promoters of the Society of the Purple Cross protest against 1 tho reckless waste of life, as D. Ear nest Bell, leader of Che Animals Friends Society of London, does in this way: "One can hardly realize that it is the bodies of highly organ ized sensitive animals that we are dealing with-animals on which we men have had to depend in all stages of our development from savage times and without which our present civili- zation would have been and would be to a great extent Impossible. In war fare, no less than in times Of peace, the horse is 8 necessary allay.'
 Anlmals Rishts.
 Efforts have been made to include animals in the humane provisions Of I Che Geneva convention that gave birth to the Red Cross Nothing substan- tial has come from them. But since then much haH happened Animal psychology has become recognized study the rights and claims of ani- mals have become much more ap- preciated and respected and laws re- lating to them have been considerably strengthened. Out of this propaganda too. has come the resolution of the Humanitarian League of England, pass ed unanimously. by the eighth national peace congress in May 1912 That . resolution stated that the congress- in view of the fact "that Che merci- ] ful provisions Of the Geneva sconyen- , ticn at present extend only to human combatants, and that the Red Cross anords no protection to those who would visit the battleiields to relieve or put at end to the sufferings of wounded horses and other animals em. ployed in warfare, respectfully request the British government to invite the other powers to widen the terms of the Geneva convention so as to pro- tect the veterinary surgeon, the horse ambulance, and such voluntary aid societies as may be duly recognized and authorized by the governments"
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