The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-02-13
BEWARE OF THE BILL.

There has been a warfare between
the sheep men and the cattle men for
many years. Their respective interests
seem to clash severely. 1t is as to
range rights that the quarrel chiefly
arises. Sheep spoil the ranges by eat
ing out the feed, cropping it so low as
to kill the roots. There is another
grievance against the sheep owners.
It is complained of by people all over
the territory in neighborhoods where
sheep herds befoul the streams.
The Herald has no disposition to in
jure the sheep interest 1t is valuable
to the territory in many ways. But
there are other interests which must
be considered as well, and justice
should be done to all. It is sometimes
difficult to determine where the line
between them can be fairly drawn.
Our legislators will have to look at
these questions without bias, and no
party feeling or difference should be
permitted to enter into their settle
ment
The law which is now in force to
protect the public from the evils re-
sulting from the herding of sheep near
streams which supply settlements with
water, is considered detrimental to
the sheep interest. A bill has been in
troduced to modify it in their behalf.
We have received a remonstrance
against the measure and publish it
here in full, as it points out some fea-
lures of the bill which appear to be so
hostile to the public welfare that they
should be closely investigated before
they pass into a law:
To the Editor of The Herald:
H. B. No. 45, relating to befouling of
waters, was introduced in the House
by Mr.. Johnson and referred to the
committee on public health and killed
by said committee.
Mr.. Johnson introduced another bill,
or either the same bill under a differ
ent title, namely H. B. No. Sc: AN act
to protect the raising of sheep, the
wool, cattle and farming industries"
This bill he had referred to the COM
mittee on live stock, for reasons / sup
pose best known to Mr. Johnson. We
will analyze and see what we have got
in this bill.
Under subdivision you can build
dipping and shearing corrals, wash,
dip and shear sheep to your hearts
content if it is three miles from a city,
town or village, and if the refuse and
filth does not run Immediately into a
stream used for domestic purposes.
Does Mr.. Johnson not know that the
sheep men are perfectly safe under that
clause if they do not happen to be
there in a rainstorm? They can pile
up all their filth and refuse
impregnated with scab and Cooper
dip in our canyons and on our hillsides
(Which all drains into our canals and
streams used for domestic purposes)
and when our snow melts and our
rains and floods assist us and carry
said offal and filth into our drinking
waters, then the sheep men are up in
safe distance outside the jurisdiction
of our courts.
Subdivision 4 allows herding, camp
ing, bedding on any of our streams
used for domestic purposes with same
proviso; that if it does not run inn
mediately into the water it is not a
criminal offense. In other words it
must rain or storm while the offense is
committed or the law is imperative, it
matters not if the filth is left on the
bed grounds from two to six inches
deep if they only get away before the
storm comes.
Subdivision 5 rather caps all the
rest, because if there was any whole
some clauses in the bill it makes it all
as under clause the sheep
herds can claim to be in actual and
bona fide transit in our canyons for
three months at a time, as during all
our high waters, which generally last
during the months of April, May and
June, during that time it is almost i'm
possible for a sheep herd to cross our
and herds on the south side
will claim they are in transit and want
to go north and are prevented from
by high waters, and vice versa
with the herds on the north side of the
streams.
Clause sixth makes it a misdemeanor
to violate any of the above acts. and
above acts are worded and drafted so
skillfully that for all intents and pt1r-
poses it will be next to impossible to
convict under the above acts.
Clause seventh repeats section 1854 of
compiled laws and all acts amendatory
thereto, which for us means this: That
all our wholesome sanitary laws are
With the adoption of II. B. No Sc re-
pealed. and with nothing to replace
them, we are left entirely at the mercy
of the sheep herds. Yours truly,