Life, 1916-03-16 · page 42 of 44
Life — March 16, 1916 — page 42: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"The Muzzling Humbug"** is an opinion piece criticizing mandatory dog muzzling laws. A physician argues that rabies is extremely rare (he claims not to have encountered it in 40 years of practice), making muzzling policies an overreaction driven by public hysteria rather than scientific fact. He contends muzzling is cruel—dogs need mouth access to cool themselves in heat—and cites the American SPCA superintendent's affidavit: 30,000 dog bites in New York with zero resulting rabies cases, suggesting officials are needlessly alarming the public about a non-existent threat. The piece reflects early-20th-century skepticism toward public health regulations, presenting this as "silly-pated officials" manufacturing fear. Modern readers should note: rabies is actually fatal once symptomatic, making prevention (including muzzling) medically justified—the author's statistics, while intriguing, don't negate the disease's danger. The rest of the page contains advertisements for car seat covers and player pianos.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Muzzling Humbug The idea of muzzling dogs in order to Prevent the spread of rabies has become a sort of fetish in the minds of various city, county and state officials. We have watched, as a practicing physician, for over forty years, for a case of hydropho- bia and have failed to find it. As a hu- manitarian we have had control of pub- lic dog-kennels, involving many tens of thousands of dogs, and have failed to find a case of rabies, We are free to confess that we believe that such a dis- cuse exists. It is simply rare and unus- ual, and silly-pated public officials have been keeping the public stirred up over the question of hydrophobia, we believe, in a very unjustifiable way. In the first place the muzzling of dogs is cruel and ineffective. A dog perspires only through his mouth, and needs to have the use of that in hot weather in order to live at all. Superintendent Freel, of the American S. P. C. A, of New York City, recently made an affi- Seat Cover Prices Down 50% Give your car thar ouch touch of refinement, luxury and distinction sav added 9 as to any car by Globe Seat Covers. Don’t pay high prices or have Seat Covers made to order. than all others—50% less for Seat Covers guaranteed Buy | Direct—Save Half Here are examples of how we undersell others: $40 Chalmers Seat Cores $20; $5t Hone $25; wo Caditacs $20: $20 Buicks laxwells Other tion SiS Neud ore soo nie nade ae Every Car Needs Them! Save leather opbolery” preserve «si Me. elasiciy, comfor, Easily cleaned—protect clothes against soi —ne alcerarions—no mastakes. any model of any car. waterproof and washable materials with Globe Seat Cover prices are actually 50% lower equal in every way to the highest priced kind. Perfect Fit For Any Car Globe Seat Covers are made from correct patterns. We guarantee oerera | fi for Write For Samples ‘Sendname, modeland year of your car for prices and 15 samplesof handsome Seat Cover Book hen you order we will ship on approval—you pay if satisfied. GLOBE SEAT COVER CO,, 33 Hamilton Ave., Racine, Wis "fader rrcmiee Don’t pou sometimes wish that pou, yourself, could bla the music that pou lobe? OU hear it at-the Opera, the Concert, at some dance or other social function—perhaps you hear it played by some mechanical | instrument—it echoes in your mind, you find yourself humming it; but you have no way to give expression to your musical instincts. She Angelus Biano- Was just made for you F you could rub Aladdin's Lamp you could not more perfectly satisfy your desire. The ANGELUS provides the marvelous facilities that need only the TOUCH of one who FEELS THE MUSIC, to bring it from the singing strings of the piano. There is no puzzling among notes and keys—the Angelus does all that for you; but the entire ARTISTIC CONTROL—the delightful retards, the soft touches of the ten- der strains, or the swelling power of the higher notes and the sharp, crisp, bell-like She Milcox-B-Chite-Co-2 She Wilcox B White Co Bites Please send me Illustrated Book- let about She Angelus Piano and the name of Angelus dealer nearest my home: Name. tones—depends entirely upon the feeling and the desire of the performer who plays upon the Angelus. If you ever desire to play REAL MUSIC YOURSELF. you willbe delighted to know davit that the employees of his Society who have had charge of dog license work in Greater New York during the last twenty years have received, approximate- ly, thirty thousand dog bites, without a single case of hydrophobia resulting, and yet Commissioners of Agriculture and public health officers in American cities are worrying people to the point of in- sanity lest the bite of their family dog should produce hydrophobia and result in a horrible death. We cannot escape the conviction that the attitude of these officials in regard to this matter is un- scientific, unreasonable and unjustifiable. —Dr. Wm. C. Stillman in National Hu- mane Review. Diplomatic Fashions Knicker: What are the prevailing policies? Bocker: Frightfulness and writeful- ness.—New York Sun, about the Angelus Piano. WRITE TODAY for handsomely illus- that will tell you about the s that distinguish the Angelus, and also learn where you can see and hear the iearuciea itself. Use the COUPON below. Meriden- Conn TSA PETER J, CAREY, PRINTER @e BILTMORE Where the social life of New York centers by day and evening close TO ALL THEATRES AND SHOPS comicbooks.com