The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-02-20
PROPOSED BOUNTY LAW.

AlCAaGu ny LuC SCudJO ~COLlAl1lLlSc OA
stockgrowing and grazing and the
house committee on livestock and pub
lie ranges meets with the approval
of the men representing the import
ant industry for whose benefit it is
purposed to enact the measure into
a law. By the provisions of the bill
the bounty on wolves is fixed at IS
for grown animals and SO for coyotes
and wolf and coyote whelps, while it
also makes provision for the payment
of 81 for the scalps of bears and
mountain lions. e,,..F .
The feature of the bill that seems
to commend it the most to those inter-
ested in the subject is the provision
made for the appointment of bounty
inspectors, not to exceed ten for each
county, who shall perform their dut-
les without pay. 1t is made the duty
of the judges of the district court to
appoint in each county in their re-
spective districts three representa-
tive stockgrowers who in turn will
appoint the bounty inspectors.
Thus far nobody is asked to per-
form anything that a reasonable per-
pensation, but the same may not be
said as regards to the obligations inn
posed upon the men who are selected
as inspectors. Their duty, while prob
ably not onerous, is still exacting and
of a nature calculated to consume
much of their time and impose upon
them more work than most .men
would care to perform with no other
reward than the consciousness of hav-
ing done a duty redundant to the
communal good. By the bill they are
required to make minute inspection
of every skin presented to them to
see that it has not already done SER
vice as a medium of extracting money
from the public treasury; that the
scalp and ears, with the skin from
the entire head and upper jaw at
tached thereto has not been severed,
punched, patched or in any manner
marked" Next they must cut off the
head, '.just behind the ears" in the
presence of the person presenting the
skin and return the skin to the own
err, then, after a resident stock own.
err and taxpayer on livestock in the
has made affidavit that the
person presenting the skin did kill
the animal in the county and that he
knows him personally to be the per-
son he represents himself to be, the
must make a certificate to
the county clerk in which a full his
tory of the skin or skins is given,
which certificate is given to the scalp
hunter for presentation. Only when
such a certificate is presented to the
county clerk may he issue a second
certification that the party named in
the first is entitled to the receipt of
bounty Tor animals Killed.
But the Inspector is required to do
even more. He must keep a record
in a bound book of all skins inspect
ed by him, the date of inspection,
number of skins and the names of the
persons who presented them. He is
furthermore required to destroy i'm
mediately the pieces of skin severed
by him and to make their destruction
complete he is required to burn them.
On top of this it is his duty to make
a monthly report to the county clerk
and recorder in which he must give
the names of the persons who have
presented skins for inspection, the
kinds and number of skins presented
las to each and every certificate
which he has issued during the month
preceding his report"
From this it will be seen hal an
inspe~-sr will have anything but a
snap and that the labor and re-
| sponsibility of his position are great
er and far more exacting than those
required of some of the clerks to the
| different state boards and officials who
receive liberal salaries for doing com
paratively nothing. 1t is this part OF
the bill that may be open to objec-
ton and which may act in a manner
% make the law less effective than its
advocates hope. Men may be found
who are willing to assume the duties
and responsibilities of the position
of inspector. but there will be no wild
scramble for the position.
HONOR THEM ALL.