The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-01-16

the saloon to a mad dog. There are
five ways of dealing with the dog: One
is to let him run loose and bite whom
soever he pleases; that is free whiskey.
Another is to tie him up with long
chain aud tax his owner $50; that is
low license. Another is to shorten the
chain and charge good round sum;
that is high license. Another is to drive
him out of town into the next town;
that is local option. But the only
effective way is to cut his tail off close
behind his ears that is prohibition.
This strikes us, on the whole, as a fair
statement of the case. Total suppress
sion is the only real remedy. The only
safe and sure way is to kill the dog.
But here's the rub: the majority of
those who make the laws don't think
so, and until we can convert them to
our way of thinking the dog must live.
In the meantime, what shall we do with
him? What is the part of wisdom in
the premises? Will the wise man say,
Because | can't kill the dog, l will do
my utmost to keep my neighbors from
tying him up and taxing his owner,
and insist on his running around loose
to bite and kill at pleasure until such
time as my neighbors will unite with
me to kill him? That hardly commends
itself as the course of good neighbor
and a Christian brother. Yet we have
considerable number of men that
claim to be both who tell us it is wicked
to tie the dog up, that the abomination
of denominations is to tax his owner, and
that there is no course for man of
principle between killing him outright
and letting him run at large. The man
of ordinary i" horse sense and not
too fine moral principles is likely
TO conclude that there is decided
gain in claiming the dog up; that
the shorter the chain and the heavier
the burden on the owner, the fewer
mad dogs there are likely to be in the
1 community. To be sure a good deal
of damage will be done, many val
liable lives will be lost, and all
this might so easily be prevented if
the majority would only consent to
make speedy end of the dogs. But as
they will not, the best thing possible
under the circumstances is to chain
them up. And then, is it not foolish
for those who are in favor of this sensi-
bic course to be wasting their time in
quarreling about the length of the
chain and the amount of the tax on the
owner? Make the chain as short as
public sentiment will permit Fix
the tax at as large figure as your
neighbors will agree to. Make the re-
strictions on the dogs activity as heavy
as possible. Reduce his power OF
harming people to the lowest amount
consistent with the enforcement OF
whatever restrictions are voted. DC
anything rather than allow the creature
to run about biting the brightest an6
best equally with the meanest anC
worst in the community. And ther
this is to be borne in mind: No one
who consents temporarily TO the tying
up of the dog, because that is the best
thing he can induce his neighbors tC
join him in doing, loses his right t.
agitate for the killing of the dog. He
can keep on at this just as well as i
the dog were running loose. He give'
up no principle; he is still free to main
tain that the death of the dog is thu
only thing that will make the com
munity safe, and to bring as many o
his fellow-citizens over to his way o
thinking as he can persuade. And a
the facts are all on his side, he will
persuade many of them, provided h
, does not so act as to convince then
that he is a fanatical, foolish fellow
J not worth listening to. That is wha
} he is in great danger of doing if he ad
vocates the policy of leaving the dog
: at large until he is allowed to dea
with them in the way that he is con
WINGED is best.-Nep York Examiner.