The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-05-24
THE DOG QUESTION.
Are Dogs Property in South Carolinap
Gyeenville Ne,cs.

lie Ne,cs.
to everybody. Dogs seem to be 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
dency-to be the origin Of the saying
| that a man has gone to the dogs.
When he is absolutely ruined and
penniless ne begins to acquire and at
tract dogs. In some experiences in
distributing public bounty we have
found family Of seven needing cloth
] ing, food and fuel and with the barest
/ apology Of shelter happy in the pos
! fession Of fourteen dogs representing
fourteen separate and distinct varieties
Of eccentric and obscure ancestry. A
familiar character in the streets Of
Greenville is an elderly woman whose
| weekly rent is 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
ling animal, within our knowledge Of
her, has been the mother Of thirty odd
interesting dogs, most Of them white
andswith sore eyes and tendencies to
snap at the public. Are these. prop
erty? IF it is so decreed by the Su-
preme 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
sortment Of their bowling, yelping,
swapping, furtive train about them.
and move over the State line to escape
the sheriff. For if a 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
(which will make the sheriff S Of
fee 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
|.amusementsa and enrichment, by enact
mentof the legislature.
There is unusual activity in the dog
market in Greenville just now. The
soldiers caused the boom in this direc-
l.tion. A most remarkable collection
I;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
were idle men to play with and other
idle dogs to.6ght 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 thefrisking fee and the bench
legged ours, the rabbit chasers Of sum-
mer and incorrigible loafers Of winter,
dogs which take back tracks and tree
wrong, misft hounds which can not
smell anything less pungent than a
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? Do they know dog
when they see'onc? Do they under
stand the fine determinations as
among dogs which have purpose, sig
ni6cance and worth and those which
.are.just dogs?
o-~---------
Are you going to be an old maid
now, Ethel?" asked the young lady's
10-vear-old sister. HWhy. certainly