The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-05-24

HrrenriNe .Ncn.s.

to everybody. Dogs seem to be a re-
sort of desperation and to gather and
cluster and increase about the home
OF utter, barren absolute poverty. We
have always thought this curious ten
dcncy.to be the origin Of the saying
that man has gone to the dogs.
When he is absolutely ruined and
pcnniless he begins to acquire and at
tract dogs. In some experiences in
distributing public bounty We have
! found a family Of seven needing cloth
J ing, food and fuel and with the barest
| apology of shelter happy in the pos
fcssion of fourteen dogs representing
fourteen separate and distinct varieties
of eccentric and obscure ancestry. A
familiar character in the streets of
Grecnville is an elderly woman whose
weekly rent il twenty-five cents, which
she acquires usually by forced loans
from the Greenville News Office. She
has personal staff of four dogs. TWO
of them females with most amazing
capacities for reproduction-one Of
them very small and white and with
chrOnically sore eyes. This interest
ing animal, within our knowledge Of
her, has been the mother Of thirty odd
interesting dogs, most of them white
and with sore eyes and tendencies to
snap at the public. Are these prop
erty? If it is so decrced by the Su-
premc Court the increase of values for
taxation in the State will be enormous,
but there will be no corresponding in
crease OF revenue. The people who
do most laboriously and affectionately
acquire dogs will never yield up those
possessions. They will rather call
the miscellaneous and variegated as
sortmcnt of their bowling, yelping,
swapping, furtive train about them
and move over the State line to escape
the sheriff. For if dog is property
he must not be destroyed. When
taxes on him are not paid he must be
seized in dueuform and course of law
and offered for sale and if not sold bid
in-which will make the sheriff Of
flee JOY and be delightful for the
State. We suggest that if the Su-
preme Court decides that dogs are
property, all dogs seized be turned
over to the Supreme Court for it's
amusement and enrichment, by enact
ment of the legislature.
There is unusual activity in the dog
market in Greenvillc just now. The
soldiers caused the boom in this direc-
tion. A most remarkable collection
of dogs Of varying sizes and many de-
grees, and some of them representing
in one individual every kind Of dog
that was ever invented or heard Of,
gathered about the camps where there
we're idle men to play with and other
idle dogs to fight with and unlimited
supplies Of. free food. Now they are
left forlorn and stranded and are wan
dering about-the riff raft and tramp
elements of the dog population of
three States. Are these property? IF
so, whose? Have the titles to them
passed to the United States from the
mustered out and gone soldiers?
Are the frisking fee and the bench
legged ours, the rabbit chasers Of sum-
mer and incorrigible loafers of winter,
dogs which take back tracks and tree
wrcag, mistit hounds which can not
smell anything less pungent than
bacon rind. settlers and pointers which
sulk and wag their tails amiably and
helplessly when they are supposed to
be hunting are all these property?
Are any members Of the Supreme
Court dog men? 10 they know dog
when they see one? 10 they under
stand the fine determinations as
among dogs which have purpose, sig
ni6cance and worth and those which
are just dogs?
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