THE CRUELTY OF THE FUR TRADE [To the Editor of
the SPECTATOR.] SIR,— -Will you allow me space in which. to acknowledge and answer the surprisingly large number of communications from Great Britain and the Dominions which have delighted me for some time past ? It is very satisfactory that nearly all my British friends ask the question, " What can I do to help ? " This proves that they wish to be constructive and not merely academic. I shall try to make clear the situation and suggest the methods which the Anti-Steel-Trap League regard as the best, consistent with attainability.
Firstly:study the subject, especially locally, so that in your efforts to assist you may make no wrong or even exaggerated statements, which always act as boOmerings. The naked truth in the matter of the torturing traps is quite sufficient, when fairly clearly presented, to persuade any right-minded woman or man. Therefore gather information which may be useful later if any action is taken in your vicinity. Secondly, do as much as you can, without making yourself an unmitigated bore, to spread the truth about this atrocity. , This League will be glad to send " literature " to any addresses sent it ; and thirdly, send any extra dollars you have " not working" this way ! Or, better, form some kind of a committee which shall use what money can be got to print and send out leaflets, &c. There can be no doubt that the repercussion of an energetic campaign in Great Britain would have an excellent effect on
this side of the Atlantic. . .
The question is asked, " Where can I purchase furs from fur-farms ? "
Answer : Look for the advertisements of these farms, which are to be found in many periodicaLs. I fear they are not very available to British readers, and I shall always be glad to send a few when requested to do so. In general it may be said that, though the " farming " of fur will in time be one of the solutions of the ftir question, at present furs from these farms do not represent more than a very small percentage of furs marketed. Most of these pelts are from foxes, and few of us can afford to wear silver or black fox fur. Here I may say that, though it is always a good thing to ask your furrier if he can guarantee that the furs offered come from farms, so that he will learn that people are demanding untrapped furs, nevertheless it is in the nature of things impossible, except in a few instances, for him to know whence his pelts come. I think that, if I were a woman, I would not wear any of the fashionable furs, those taken in steel-traps, until the steel-trap has been legally abolished, and fur has become, what we wish to make it, a legitimate article of commerce. This I say, though we arc not wasting our time in trying to persuade women not to wear fur.
Why do not women take pride in designing some kind of a coat with no fur on it ? It would seem that there is a wide field for their imagination, with all the fine woollens and coloured silks and other materials. Are women so devoid of imagination or so enslaved by fashion that they prefer to go on wearing a material which they abhor the use of, instead of revolting and easing their consciences ? I ask this in humility and not critically. There are some handsome fur-fabrics made now, but it seems futile to try to persuade people to wear them, because there can really be no denying that many real furs, when well cured and cut, are actually handsome and also warm. The standpoint of this League is very
simple.
Do away legally with all cruel ways of procuring fur, and then there can be no objection to it. In other words, do not essay the impossible task of changing human nature, bUt do the attainable thing that will do away with the evil. Pass a law against the use of all devices for the taking of fur which do not kill at once.
We come to an oft-repeated question, " Are there traps which kill at once ? " Yes, there are several, and, necessity being the mother of invention, there would be many others appearing the moment a law against the cruel ones was passed. The best quick-killing trap I know is the Elkins, invented by a Maine citizen, which is, in effect, a metal deadfall, composed of a bar of metal which falls upon the neck of the animal, killing it practically instantly, the " fall " being operated by strong springs.
Our British friends will be pleased to hear that it really looks as if we had set the world afire (I mean the Anglo-Saxon world) by our proofs of the awful bulk and the excruciating character of the steel-trap's barbarism. As a scientist of distinction has just written us, " After hearing your address I am more than ever convinced that you have started a great work which will certainly spread and grow, and finally sweep away the evil you combat. Let me tell you how I appreciate your courage and admire your determination. The most difficult part of your propaganda, I believe, is now over, and the movement will gather momentum." The last feature of this propaganda consists of moving pictures of animals in steel-traps which were heartbreaking to take, but which defy an answer. But the torch shall not fall from our hands. Help us.—I am, Sir, &c.,
EDWARD BRECK,
President, Anti-Steel-Trap League.
Army and Navy Club, Washington, D.C.
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