Published October 10, 2021
By Beth Young
On 16 April 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals (ASPCA) was established in New York City under the leadership of
Henry Bergh. Less than twenty years later, a similar group was established in
Quincy, Illinois. Bergh was lauded for his efforts by Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow who referred to him as “…The friend of every friendless beast.” The driving force behind Quincy’s efforts was
Thaddeus Rogers, who was similarly honored for his service to the people and animals
of this city. His obituary referred to Rogers as “a man of generous impulse,” who
took every opportunity to help his community.
The Quincy ASPCA was established in
1880 and is one of the oldest in the nation. Its mission statement at the time
of incorporation was: “To provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty
to animals, to enforce all laws which are now or may be heretofore enacted for
the protection of animals, and to secure by lawful means, the arrest,
conviction, and punishment of all persons violating such laws.”
The provisions of the corporation
included the need for a board of six directors, a humane officer, and a legal
counselor. Of note was the listing of duties of the humane officer which
included assisting the secretary “with the matter of collecting dues.” Also, a bit unusual by today’s standards was
the cap the Society placed on compensation for the attorney; his fees were “not
to exceed $300.00 for any one year.”
From the beginning, the ASPCA
devoted its efforts not only to “dumb animals,” but also to victims of all
manner of human abuse. From its inception, the Quincy society worked with
similar goals in mind.
An example of this is found in the
September 7, 1882 Whig article which mentioned “the scandalous condition of
affairs that prevails in the insane and hospital departments of the county poorhouse.
“ The piece continues adding “the
members of the Humane Society who have the facts in hand must press the case to
a thorough investigation.” The article
closes by saying that the deplorable situation in this local institution is
“not a question of politics nor of dollars and cents, but a question of
humanity…the Humane Society did not begin its work a moment too soon.”
In another newspaper article of
that year, the role of the Humane Society was described as the “protector of society…on behalf of
some sick, suffering and cruelly-used child, or some poor, starved, overworked
and beaten animal.” It also noted that
during the previous year, the group was responsible for these actions: “59 horses and mules ordered out of work, 28
complaints of cruelty to children were attended to, 6 children were taken from
houses of prostitution, and 493 persons were admonished for cruelty.”
The Society’s 1885 annual report
stated that “… 22 animals were ordered out of work and 13 killed (euthanized),
4 sheep were untied, 88 people were admonished for cruelty, 16 families were
visited [and] 4 children were taken from their parents.” A sidenote from that same year indicated that
the Society had informed merchants that “they must use coops in delivering to
their customers fowls of any kind, as the law forbids them to tie or crossing
[sic] their wings on their back.” There
was also discussion regarding watering cattle in railroad cars. The result was
the acknowledgement that the “shippers generally give or send orders whether to
feed and water their cattle or not, and the men in the stockyards obey the
orders sent.”
Jumping to December 1891, the Whig
ran an article again about the management of the poor farm. A lack of funding
was discussed, and a plan was developed to improve the situation. If this plan
did not work, “it is probable that the Humane Society officers will give up in
disgust.” The newspaper continued “But while many of our citizens look to the
Society to correct all abuses and sometimes find fault because it does not act
promptly enough, few seem to realize that there is more or less expense
attached to the carrying out of all good work.”
The Board of the Society reminded fellow citizens that “the people of
Quincy should furnish the necessary money to pay the expenses of the Society
and the officers should not be asked to start out on a begging tour every time
they run out of funds.”
In the July 12,1892, the Whig
warned parents “not to abuse their children” and went on to specify that 155
drivers had been “warned and compelled
to warm and keep their teams out of cold water.” Four hundred one owners were also
“reprimanded for overloading their teams and many loads caused to be
lightened.”
An interesting item in the April
10, 1897 Whig informed readers that the Humane Society was involved in “sending
trained nurses among the poor.” The
article continued by noting that this support “proved most satisfactory and
beneficial” and that these efforts were “educating poorer families regarding
the care of the sick, the preparation of food and methods of proper
sanitation.”
Closing out the 19th
century, the Humane Society added another program to its offerings. In 1898, the
Society voted to send copies of the magazine “Our Dumb Animals” to every school
in Adams County. The subscription information to the schools included the
suggestion that “selections from them will be read to the pupils, and in this
manner humanitarian principles will be inculcated in the minds of the rising
generation.” At that time, this involved
22 townships with approximately eight schools each, or over 175 copies of the
publication. Also, that year’s annual report specified that “12 persons
reprimanded for throwing nails and glass in streets and alleys.”
The dawning of the 20th
century called for the Quincy Humane Society to continue to deal with all
manner of human and animal abuse, as well as some societal behavioral issues, a
trend that was to continue until the Depression and the resulting social
programs of the 1930’s.
Sources
“Annual Report.”
Quincy Humane Society. 1897.
“For the Sake of Humanity.”
Quincy Whig
, October 5, 1898.
“Humane Society.”
Quincy
Whig
, September 7, 1882, 4.
“Humane
Society.”
Quincy Daily Journal
, January 21, 1885, 1.
“The Humane Society.”
Quincy Whig,
June 4, 1885.
“Humane Society.”
Quincy
Whig,
July 12, 1892, 8.
“The Humane Society:
Proceedings of the Regular Quarterly Meeting.”
Quincy Whig,
April 10, 1897.
“Humane Work.”
Quincy
Whig
, November 22, 1883.
“Meeting of the Humane Society.
Quincy Whig,
June 4, 1885, 1.
“Quincy Humane Society.” [Unpublished papers]. Historical Society
of Quincy and Adams County.
