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Show FOR WOMAN'S VANITY BIRDS AND BEASTS ARE TORTURED TOR-TURED AND KILLED. Every Plume and Feather In Feminine Femi-nine Headgear Costs the Life of One of God's Creatures Christian Principle Involved. This Is an ago In which as never In any other, women nro coming before tho world as workers for reform. Thoy exhibit In an ever Increasing de-grco de-grco "tho dlvlno unrest," dissatisfaction dissatisfac-tion with wrong, dcslro to right It. But thero Is ono form of wrong-cruelty wrong-cruelty which women are not consistently con-sistently trying to romody. I say not consistently. The same woman who will Interfere on behalf of an overloaded over-loaded or Ill-treated horse, and who would perhnps rescuo a starving cat or dog, is often to bo soen with a flayed flay-ed nllvo seal's skin on her bock, anil on her head the plumage of slaughtered slaughter-ed birds. To all appearances unconscious uncon-scious of hor culpability, sho advertises adver-tises tho fact that she olthor will not road, or doos not regard tho statements state-ments so well authenticated, and In the crso of bird plumage sp wldwly and repeatedly published, concerning tho barbarltlos perpetrated In obtaining obtain-ing theso things. Last October Mr. William Dutchor Df New York city, presldont of tho National Association of Audubon Societies, So-cieties, mado nn address In Philadelphia Philadel-phia nt tho annual meeting of tho American Humano association, In which nfter mentioning what has been often ropentod tho fact that to obtain ob-tain tho whlto algrotto so largely worn, Involvos not only tho destruction destruc-tion of parent birds, for these plumes grow only nt tho tlmo of nostlng, but tho death of tholr young from starvation. starva-tion. Ho spoko also of tho brutal murder mur-der of ono of tho wardens In tho cm-ploy cm-ploy of tho association by a plume hunter at Oyster Key, Florida. This law breaker, for whoso nefarious trade fcathor wearing women are ro-ponslblo, ro-ponslblo, resented tho Interference of tho warden and killed him. Such women may now reflect. If they will, on the fact that the thoughtlessness and vanity of their kind have Incidentally Inci-dentally been tho moans of murdering a roan, nnd leaving his wlfo a widow and his children orphans. Thoy aro also responsible for encouraging a trade of tho most brutalizing tendencies. tenden-cies. No man can spond his time killing, kill-ing, with all the haste nnd recklessness reckless-ness possible, Innocont birds at tho nesting period, leaving tho young to starvo, without himself losing tho Inst remnant of feeling. Such a man Is getting tho education of a criminal. Women who wear tho products of his ' ovll work nro before God responsible, whothcr thoy think about It or not. Mr. Dutchor, In his address, spoke of tho killing of birds In goneral; tho utter folly of It on account of tho loss to ngrlculturo through tho ravages of Insocts; tho cruelty, nnd tho Impos-I Impos-I slblllty of oxlatenco for tho human I race wero It not for tho birds. Ho spoko of tho laws his association hns secured nnd Is aiming to secure, nnd thoro was ono at least of his hearers who hoped that tho day might speedily como when women cruel enough or heodlcss enough to wonr bird plumaro shall be, llablo anywhero to arrest and flno ns liw breakers. Millinery thnt costs suffering and slaughter, tho killing of God's beautiful, beauti-ful, Innocent nnd most useful creatures, Bhould bo condemned by Ostrich feathers can bo humanely taken tak-en from th hlrd, but thero Is reason to believe that even those are cruelly torn out In many Instance. women claiming to be civilized, and left to savages and barbarians. No really humane woman wnnts to wear even ns much as a chicken feather, because be-cause all feather-wearing tends to prolong pro-long the fashion. Ono of the most Incomprehensible things conncoted vlth tho senseless nnd cruel bird plumo fashion Is the stlonco of ministers of the Gospel. Why can they not seo that for n woman to deck herself with tho results re-sults of cruelty and brutality Is Inconsistent Incon-sistent with Christian profession? Thero Is a crying need that people In all the churchos should be told definitely de-finitely and specifically what applied Christianity is. Participation In cruelty Is a sin from which professing Christians aro far from being oxempt and it constitutes n serious and well grounded cnuse for criticism among outsidorB who are humane. They laugh at a Christianity which harps continually on God's mercy to us, but says little or nothing about the mercy which we, In consequence-, should show to every living creature. Can the Justice of this criticism be denied? M. F. Lovell, Secretary American Humano Hu-mano Association. |