The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1902-02-13
Strange Legislation is Suggested to
the WOman's Club by Maine
Correspondent.
CLUB WOULD PROTECT THE BIRDS.
Woman Are Asked to Use Their Influence
For Bill to Put Tax of One Dollar
on Common House Cats.

The Woman's club, which recently
gained considerable fame throughout
the State on account of its efforts to
entice song birds to Kenosha, has been
asked to further the movement for the
protection of song birds and at the
last meeting of the club letter was
presented asking the club to favor a
bill in the Wisconsin State Legisla-
ture providing for the taxing of cats.
This is in the same line as other
laws for the protection of birds. The
request to the club came in a letter
from a man in Maine who had been
attracted by the former action of the
club. In the letter making the strange
request the party says: 81 cannot say
that I approve of the method the Ke-
nosha club has taken of attracting the
birds to door yards for food and water,
unless the house cat is first taken care
of. This plan is rather suggestive of
the spider and the fly for the cat is
busy the greater part of the time do
ing what she can to exterminate the
birds.'
The letter proceeds to quote statistics
to show that IN many places the COM
mon house cat has been the worst
enemy to the birds and that on the
Island of Aida bra, northwest of NADIA
gascar, the cats have succeeded in
driving the birds completely from the
island. Similar conditions prevail in
other places and through the work of
the house cat the number of birds in
the United States and in Wisconsin
is being reduced each year.
In concluding the letter says: "Now
in view of these facts is it not high
time for the people to awake and adopt
heroic, stringent and prompt measures
of protection? The birds are the farm
ers friends and whatever helps the
farmer helps every one either directly
or indirectly. My object in writing to
the club is to suggest the Importance
of agitating the questioned showing
up the depredations committed by the
house cat and hoping that some remedy
may be applied before 1T is forever too
late. would suggest that bill be
introduced into the Legislature of your
state providing that tax of one dollar
be placed on each house cat just the
same as some states have taxed dogs.
I would also inf1ict severe penalty on
any one killing a song bird"
The man who writes this most origi-
nal proposition is Edwin S. Owen and
he claims that his interest in the pro-
lection of Wisconsin birds has been
brought about wholly by the purusal
of a statement of the plans of the
ladies of Kenosha.
The members of the club have not
as yet decided to take up the tight
against the house cat. A few of them
have been considering what such a
fight would mean and it has been
demonstrated that the bill would bring
into the State sufficient revenue IN each
year to more than provide for the ex-
penses of all the institutions of learn
ing and reform. It is estimated that
there are fully four thousand cats IN
the city of Kenosha and at this ratio
there would be more than seven hun
dred thousand cats in the State subject
to the proposed law.
Some of the ladies are in favor of
presenting the matter to the State
Federation of Woman's clubs, but as
Kenosha has the only cat kennels in
the State others feel that it would be
working against one of Kenosha's
most thriving infant industries and
have advised delay.