The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1875-05-05
1 BEECH CREEK JERKER'S
WHISPER
What He Thinks of the .esDOrg
Law" and How He Happened
to Think About 1t.
The Difference Between the
"Jerker' and His NeighbOr
Jones.
Some Of Hts Calculations as to
the Cost to the State Of the
Present Canine Population.
An Interesting story Admirably
Told.


@ Told. s-.
To the Editor of the sGorristown Gazette:
| / want to whisper a word or two
into the ears Of some of those gen.
tlemen who are so mad about the
I"Dorg tax" do not own a I" dorg''
lam too poor. / keep two pigs,
and it is about all can do with the
assistance of Jane, my wife, to pick
tup scraps enough TO feed them, with,
out any dorg.
/ Since the passage Of this law l
have been hearing a great many vot-
ers cursing those members of the
Legislature who voted for it; and
have been led to inquire into the pro-
priety Of keeping dorgs, and taxing
dorgs. Hs .s9 o.
My neighbor Jones, like me, lives
on rented land. He keeps, hower-
er, two dorgs, yaller cur dorg and
fiste. Little John, my oldest boy,
went O. er there last week to get my
rake (which Jones had borTowed) and
the fiste jumped out after him. John
hit the fiste with a stick, and this
made 10, his second boy, mad. and
he and John had fight about it,.
John licked 10 and JOS mother got
mad about it. She and Jane had q
real old quarrel about it the next
day. | am very sorry, for Jones is
a good nejgbbor and regret there
bshoalte be any difficulty between us.
+ But it sets me to thinking;
have been counting up what it
costs me to feed my pigs, and Jones
to feed his dorgs; and | have come
to the conclusion it costs Jones the
most. | am satisfied | can take the
slop and scraps and bread that Jones
dorgs eat, and feed two just such
pigs as mine all the year. My pigs
will make me from 500 to 600 pounds
pork, which at z cents a pound will
make from $50 to $40. They win
make nearly meat enough. for my
family. Jones had no hogs last year,
and has his meat to buy, and poor
fellow, / don't know how he is going
to make his crop and work ont by
the day for his meat. Now | think
Jones ought to kill those two dorgs.
But he won't do it. He is working
for Col. johnson this week helping
to plant corn, to get two dollars TO
pay the dog tax. You ought to hear
him cuss.
Somebody out at Nashville sent
Col. johnson big book that shows
a great deal about Tennessee. My
boy john borrowed it, and was read
ing last night about there being 260,- /
600 families in Tennessee. l just
thought what an army of dogs i'll
they are as thick everywhere as they /
are about here. They will average |
at least two to the family. This I
would make $4,000 in the State. /
began to count what the dogs were
costing the people. | am satisfied
Jones dogs cost him five cents each
per day. This would be $18.25 each
per annum. This, for the 520.00
in the State would be $9,460,000 a
year. Then the sheep they kill, and
that they prevent being raised, l
have no doubt would be worth two
millions more. Then the time that's
wasted with dogs, hunting. &C., | ex-
pect would amount to another mil
lion. This would be over twelve
millions a year that the dogs cost
us. ] honestly believe they cost
more than this.
But Mr.. Butler said in his speech
here when he was summing for Con-
gress that it was the policy of the
government to tax Injuries only.
and not the necessaries of life. Now
if dorg amt a luxury only, and not
a necessary of life, then l am mis-
lakon. So l say the Legislature did
right to tax EN-. ] have been count
ing up little on this SCORE. There
was a great cry raised about railroad
tax. Hodges intimated in his circu-
lar when he was running for the Sem
ate, that he was for taxing the rail-
roads; and they say he did vote to
tax them as well as dogs. But they
say all the railroads in the State will
not pay more than 100000 State
tax. Now it is easy to see that the
dog tax will amount to twice that
muoh to the State, and as much more
to the counties. But between the
two think the dogs ought to be
taxed first. For certainly the rail
roads are q necessity.
My wife's uncle lives up in Mich
igaB. She gets letters from him.
He wrote us several years ago about
them passing law TO tax the dogs.
He was mad about it, and said they r
would elect anybody that voted for
it, and that they would repeal the
law. Bnt be has changed his tune.
He writes now that they have no
logs there but shepherd dogs; and
ne says there are just thousands of
,he finest sheep, and that they are as
gentle as cattle. He says everybody
s in favor of q dog tax now. So / J,
,hink it will be in this State in q few /,
years. ] am sure half the dogs in
his neighborhood will be killed this
spring, for how on earth the people
Who own most of them are to get
he money to pay tax on them
ant see for many of them have
lot got meat in the house for their !
,hildren part of the time, and have
rot paid thoir poll tax in years. ] :
zee they are indictahie il they dom
Jay the dog tax. an glad now
we got no dog. /
Please don't put my name In your ,
paper; for Jones and some others of
ny neighbors would lick me if they /.
NEW ] wrote this. +
Yours Truly, ~ /
Something always happens to spoil i
NV grand speeoh which a Detfoiter I