Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/720

* CBUELTY. 624: CRUELTY TO CHILDREN. CRUELTY (OF. cnialte, cruelte, Fr. viuuute, lioiu Lilt, cnidelitas, cruelt)', from crtidclis, cruel, crudiis, raw). The intentional intiiction of unnecessary pain. As a legal term it is used diictly in connection with divorce, with the treat- ment of children, and the treatment of animals. As a ground for divorce, cruelty is not limited to physical violence, although formerly it was thought to be thus limited. It is now held to include any unjustifiable conduct on the part of either husband or wife which so grievously woumls tlie feelings or destroys the peace of mind of the other as seriously to impair bodily heallli or endanger life, or which utterly destroys the legitimate ends and objects of matrimony. See Divorce. While the common law does not permit a child to sue a parent in tort for injuries intlicted l)y cruel chastisement, it does provide for the crim- inal punishment of parents guilty of such cru- elty, and courts of equity have not hesitated to take children away from a parent who abuses their persons or corrupts their morals. Cruel treatment of animals by their owners is not a criminal oft'ense at common law unless it is of such an aggravated kind as to amount to a nuisance. 8ee Cri'Ei.ty to Akimals; Cruelty TO Children; Hisbaxd and Wife; Parent and Child. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS, Prevention of. The earlier laws on this subject were not so much the outcome of humane principles as for the protection of animals considered as property. At the common law cruel treatment of animals by their owner was a criminal offense only wlien it was so aggravated as to be a nuisance. But the general tendency of the nineteenth century toward the organization of philanthropy was not slow to operate in this direction. England was the first country to organize (in 1824) a society for the purpose. Legislative enactments fol- lowed, and the statute of 1849 provides a penalty not exceeding £5 ( in addition to a further sum recoverable as damages by the owner) for any ])erson who "shall cruelly beat, ill-treat, over- drive, abuse, or torture' a variety of domestic animals. The movement spread to Germany. Franee, and the I'nited States. The first Ameri- can society was chartered by the Legislature of New York in 1866. chiefly through the efforts of henry Bergh ( q.v. ) . who was its president for twenty-two years. Cruelty to domestic animals is now punishable in most of the United States by tines ranging from $.5 to $100, or imprison- ment from thirty to sixty days, or both. The Ohio law, as amended in 1898, specifies cruelty by beating, mutilating, lack of good food and water, carrying in .an inluuuan manner, overwork, and crowded transportation. The New Hampshire law of 1897 gives the officer making an arrest the right to seize the animal, notifying the o ier, and to kill it it disabled, or to hold it as security for proper damages. The Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (founded 1867, incorpo- rated 1868) is generally accepted as a model. It endeavors to prevent cruelty by moral sua- sion and well-considered advice, rather than by coercion. It tries to educate vhei-e cruelty is due to ignorance, and thus attempts to secure the use of proper harness and bits for horses, and the abolition of the check-rein. A similar move- ment in England against the check-rein, excessive curbing, and the docking of horses" tails received great impetus from the hearty support of Ki«g Edward '!1., then Prince of Wales. The Penn- sylvania society was the tirst to provide (1874) an ambulance for the removal of disabled ani- nuils and a derrick with chain pulley and sling for hoisting animals out of holes. In several States the weight of a load which may be drawn iil)-hill is carefully regulated by the work of such societies; and homes are very generally estab- lished for stray dogs and cats, where the animals are painlessly put to death in case of need. Sim- ilar societies now exist in nearly every European country, in Algeria and South Africa, in Aus- tralia, and in Mexico, Brazil, and the Argentine i;e|)ul)lic. See Vivi.sECTiON ; Cruelty to Chil- dren, Prevention of. CRUELTY TO CHILDREN, Prevention of. Owing to the long survival of the Roman idea of parental power (.see Cruelty), and the compara- tively late growth of a tendency toward socialis- tic legislation, it was not until very recent times that organized effort in this direction became common. Curiously enough, the movement in the direction of organization, in the United States at least, did not take definite shape until eight years after that for the prevention of cruelty to animals. The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was organ- ized in Januarj', 1875, and within five years ten other societies followed, from Boston to San Francisco. As the movement grew, some so- cieties originally intended for the protection of animals added the care of children to their pur- pose. In other cases "humane societies' were or- ganized to cover both purposes. The total num- ber of societies in the United States in 1900 for the protection of children, or children and ani- mals, was 161. They were brought into close relations by the Humane Association (q.v.), which has included societies for the protection of children since 1887. As in the case of ani- mals, their work is two-fold — the promotion of better legislation in their field and the diligent enforcement of existing laws. They also investi- gate cases of alleged cruelty or neglect, and pre- sent to the courts such facts as they learn. The New York society exceptionally includes the investigation of cases of destitution. By the work of the agents whom it stations in all the magistrates' courts it has come to have a power- ful adviso^'v infiuence on the commitment of des- titute, neglected, and wayward children in New York City, thus affecting the lives, on an aver- age, of about 15,000 children. These societies in general are private corporations, supported by subscriptions, although in New York. Philadel- phia, and a few other places, some aid has been given from public funds. In the State of In- diana since 1889 boards of chifdren's guardians have been organized by law. which not only in- vestigate cases of cruelty and neglect and secure the punishment of the offenders, but also under- take subsequent oversight of tlie children. The Colorado Humane Society was made by the Leg- islature of 1901 a 'State bureau of child and ani- mal protection.' with an appropriation of $3000 per annum for two years: this, however, re- mains under private control, though three State officers are made ex officio members of its board of directors. Consult Folks. Thf Care of Desti- liite, Xefilfcted. and Delinquent Children (New York. 190-2). See Dependent Children.