The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-01-11
Frederic Haskin's Letter


Washington. D. c., Jan. To-
Much attention was attracted re-
Gently by . cartoon which depict
ed q fashionable woman clad in
furs caught in . steel trap and
dragging herself painfully across
the snow.
The Implication was. Of course
that the trapping of fur-bearing
animals is a cruel business, that
every woman who wears fur Is .
party to it, and that she ought
therefore to be put in a steel trap
herself il order to learn what it
This is the kind Of sentimental
ty that still makes q hit with q
large part Of the American public,
despite the, fact that it 10 as alien
to common sense and the facts Of
the case as a nightmare. 1t is in
the same class with the persistent
attack on the use Of living animals
for scientific experiment, which in7
wolves the sacridce. Of their lives.
The prevention Of this use of ami
mails In the preparation Of serums
and anti-toxinS alone would cost
Thousands Of human lives the first
year It went into effect.
The fallacy underlying all Of
these sentimentalities about the
killing Of the lower animals con-
sists In the failure to recognize the
fact that man is a carnivorous ami
NAL who lives by killing. and whose
only alternative is to be killed
| himself, directly or indirectly. 1t
is our inevitable destiny, as the
species OF mammal which domin-
ates the earth, to kill all other
living things in order to maintain
that domination. And it is our duty
as civilized men to kill as cleanly
and painlessly as we can. But the
sentimentality which shrinks in
horror from killing is q symptom
OF race degeneration. The senti-
mentalist who would abolish all
killing. lives only by the protection
of those who are not so squeam-
ish. II We all become sentimental
lists on the subject, the race would
soon disappear of the face Of the
earth. At least it would if We stuck
! to Cur sentimentality. As matter
of fact, we would probably revert
to savagery and recover our lust
for blood. ..-.
Is Trapping Necessaryi
1t may be objected that while
killing in general is undoubtedly
necessary, the cruel form Of kill
ing represented by the catching Of
animals in steel traps is not neces-
sary. But as a matter of fact il
remains necessary until some other
equally effective and more humane
way Of killing these creatures is
discovered. And not primarily be.
cause We need their fur either
The fur problem is rapidly being
solved by the raising OF fur-bearine
animals in captivity. Already
ranch-raised fox and skunk furs
are standard commodities, and a
great variety Of other fur-bearins
animals are being raised in small
but growing numbers. The ranch.
raised fur is better than the wild
fur. and it is bound to improve
enormously as the methods OF Sc.
lective breeding are applied te
these creatures. Consider wha,
man has done with the dog, produc
ing from one or two parent stock:
a great variety OF creatures, vary
ing size, form, color and coat
There is no reason to doubt tina
some OF the fur-bearers will b,
equally improved. The fur farmel
will put the trapper out Of bust
ness. The trapper will no more b.
able to compete with him than /;
man with a shotgun could compel,
as food-oroducer with the owne
of well-stocked poultry farm.
i Fur will then be produced hu
namely. at leastin appearance. I
given his choice. the fox woul'