Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-05-26
viyiisection Bill
Faces Delay as
Hearings End
Careful Consideration
To Preeede Action,
Senator Smith Says

Careful consideration viii be
given the controversy over legisla-
ton for surrender of dogs for
vivisection here, Chairman Mar
garet Chase Smith of a special
Senate District subcommittee said
today. M
Some time may be necessary.
she said. :before action can be
taken on The bill, which provoked
a lengthy word battle during two
days of hearings. which ended
yesterday.
Spokesman for scientists and the
medical profession championed
the measure as needed for prog
ress In medical research. Dog
lovers bitterly opposed the pro-
posal. charging cruelty in the
laboratories and danger to pets.
Declining to comment on pos
sibie conclusions of her committee,
Senator Smith said some recon-
n1endations" were advanced which
seemed meritorious enough to be
followed. But she would not say
what they were.
One encouraging development,
Mrs. Smith said. was the promise
by some officials that laboratories
for experiments on living animals.
especially dogs, would be open
for inspection.
Record Kept Open.
The record will be kept open
until tomorrow night, Senator
Smith announced. for additional
'statments to be flied by those on
either side Of the controversy.
Thousands of letters were received
in the dispute, from all over the
country, she said.
The bill would authorize the
poundmaster here to make avail
able to licensed scientific and
medical institutions animals un-
claimed for at least 40 hours.
Health Department officials would
be given broad authority to in
spect and license institutions APP
plying for dogs and would estab-
1ish regulations to carry out the
act.
District Health Ofhcer George
c. Rutland assured the subcom-
mittee he would see that no
cruelty was permitted. But dog
lovers complained there still
would be danger Of abuses.
Many opponents objected to the
ls-hour limit, declaring this would
be too short a time.
Charges that cruelty is prac-
ticed In vivisection were strongly
denied by scientists, some of
whom said dogs are handled more
humanely. under anesthetics on,
operating tables, than in some
pounds.
=. Doctor to File Reply.
DR.. Charles r. Morgan Of the
Georgetown University Medical
School, chairman of the Commit
tee for Health and Research of
the District. was given permis-
sion to file a reply to charges
made Tuesday by DR.. Owen N.
Hurt of the American Antivisec-
ton Society Of Philadelphia. based
on scientific reports in scientific
journals. Dr., Morgan commended
DR.. Hunt misconstrued the reports
by not giving full information on
anesthetic protection given the
dogs.
Opponents of the bill, who COM
planned during the hearing they
had not been given sufficient time
to testify, were granted permis-
sion to file statements for the rec
ord. Senator Smith said the entire.
record will be considered carefully
by the subcommittee before any
conclusions are reached.
During the afternoon session,
Or. Frederick c. Fishback, a sur
eeon. formally filed with the COM
mittee the official Endorsement of
the bill by the District Medical
Society. He insisted that animals
used In scientific research are not
treated cruelty and that that such
research has contributed sub
stantially to lengthening life and
the arrest Of disease
Enumerates Benefits.
He put into the record a long
list of benefits to man" from
vivisection. They included anes-
thetics. cure of pernicious anemia,
use of insulin for control of
diabetes. bronchoscopy for remov-
ing foreign bodies from lungs,
advanced physiology, antibiotics,
knowledge of nutrition and vita
minis, and advances in surgery"
particularly in the intestinal tract.
brain, endocrine glands, lungs the
heart and vascular system.
DR.. Godfrey Woodland, phar-
macologist of the Food and Drug
Administration, stressed the need
Of animals in the far-fiung expert
rnents and tests required to pro-
tect the safety Of food and drugs
for both man and animals.
DR.. Karl Habel of the National
Institutes of Health. explained
advances made through animal
research in control Of rabies
among dogs.
Or. william r. Hewitt Of
Howard University presented for
the, Committee for Health and
Research q series of reports on
scientific progress. He praised not
only experiments on dogs, but also
the voluntary experimentation
self inflicted by scientists some
times with fatal results.
Other Doctors Testify.
Other testifying for the bill In
cluded DR.. Thomas M. Brown of