Middletown transcript., 1875-03-06


items above cost the people Of the
United States each year:
Keep of s, ,ooo, 900 dogs at $lO
each, ........................- $50, 900, ,OoO
Again by substituting hogs in
place Of dogs for the value
in pork would be, ............ $4,000, 600
Amount Of loss Of 100000
sheep at SIS each, ..........- 1000, 900
SOS, ,o0o, 600
Does it pay to sacrifice such an amount
for the services we get from dogs Now
have shown that by keeping the dog
we will lose nearly one hundred million
dollars each year. Not to say any
thing of the valuable lives lost every
year from the bite of mad dogs. to-
gether with the anxiety caused to our
people.
It is but q few years since single
mad dog in New Jersey, bit and caused
the death Of $1,000 worth Of cattle, ex-
elusive Of sheep. Some six months
since bought small flock of sheep at
S2.1O per head. To-day the wool upon
them is worth $l.75 each, and l have
lamb for every eve. My lambs. tax
ing the past ten years as criterion,
will, in few months, be worth S.
each, and with good feeding, my sheep
will, in short time after, be worth for
the butcher IS each or in other words
shall be able to realize $11 Is for an
OUTLAY Of $2.10 and the keep of one
sheep and lamb less than one year.
Yet with this shown profitable result,
our people are afraid to undertake to
90 into the culture Of sheep for the rea-
son they are afraid Of their destruction
by dogs. Having been located. at
Newark, for near thirty years, and
during that time have had hundreds of
examples Of the proftableness of sheep
culture related to me by men who have
brought their wool to our mill for sale,
and in almost every instance where the
dogs have been kept out Of their Aocks
they have never realized less than 100
per cent. upon the cost Of their sheep
And when asked, why do you not keep
more sheep? the answer was in all
cases, we are afraid to have too much
capital invested in them for fear OF
their destruction BY the dogs. can
not see the justice in my neighbors
keeping dogs to run over my property
and destroy my crops or my live stock
and can get no redress under the ex-
isting laws. My cattle, hogs or horses
are not even allowed to trespass upon
the public road much less upon my
neighbors without my becoming liable
for any damage they may do. Quite
number Of taxpayers and land owners
Of our immediate locality signed petit
tion, to the number of seventy odd
names from our two, school districts, for
the enactment Of a law requiring dogs
to be registered. The bill passed the
House of Representatives with onl,
three dissenting votes but when il
came into the Senate it received but
single vote, and even that voter had
used his influence to kill the bill before
it came to vote, that is if the person
who voted for the bill can be believed,
for be said that be killed the bill for
the simple fact that he thought it was
my bill. Now, what must we think of
II was going to say man, (but no I
will not, for such thing is unworthy
Of the name Of a man, who for the
purpose of venting his spleen toward
me would make whcle community
suffer for my miss-deeds, and at the
same time the persons whom be makes
to suffer are the very persons who.
many Of them. were most active in
securing to this thing the present posi-
ticn it occupies, and this is the way
constituents are rewarded for their
labor, time and money spent to elect
such things to Office. Some Senator's
objections to voting for the bill, was
that it might get into the newspapers,
and the people would say that if there
vas nothing better to legislate upon
than dogs, that the Legislature had
better adjourn and 60 home, and save
the peoples money. Would it not have
benefited our people more to have had |
this law passed, and to have had some
protection to our sheep from destruction
by dogs; so that We might make the
most out of our farms rather than to
have money taken out of the farmers
pockets to pay for such legislative jobs
as fixing up or renewing indexes The
present law taxing dogs is of no ac-
count. to repay the farmer for loss of
sheep killed: for if the tax was all
collected it does not as gen.