The sun., 1907-12-10
Strange Conduct Of south Dakota.

Strange Conduct of South Dakota.
It seems to be the main business Of the
Legislature Of South Dakota to prepare
and pass joint resolutions memorializing
Congress about this, that and the other
thing, and most of the time Of Mr.. ID. d.
WIPF, Secretary of State Of South
Dakota and Keeper OF the Great Seal
thereof" must be spent in certifying
copies of these resolutions. An even
half dozen of these documents rlstled
in the Senate chamber last Thursday
and the memorial season was only begin
ming. Among these records Of Western
craftsmanship is a request to Congress
to pass an act requiring the telegraph
companies to transmit messages without
delay. This memorial is, we take IL, one
OF the few remaining memorials OF that
telegraph strike in which Omnifcence
took so effective and honorable part.
This is comedy or farce. and presumably
South Dakota knows it. but see how
quickly tragedy treads on the kibes Of
innocent merriment:
Whereas tho depreciation Of mountain lions
Is resulting in enormous loss the stock interests
OF the entire country and the extensive Efforts
made by the several States to e1termlna'e such
animals has been unsuccessful:
Therefore the members Of the tenth legislative
assembly Of the State Of South Dakota respect
fully petition the Congress OF the United States
TO snct Law creating bounty for the destruction
Of mountain lions. gray wolves, coyotes and all
other predatory animals, and approprlstlng funds
to carry such Law into effect"
South Dakota is suppo ed to be full Of
that exulting vigor denied to the ex-
hausted East. IL would be sad il South
Dakota couldn't hunt its own game and
had 10 have help from Washington.
Or are the gray wolves bowling and the
mountain lions roaring to have Senator
KITTREDGE and Senator GAMBLE shake
dice for their pelts? We can't believe that
South Dakota has so lost the breed Of
noble blOods that only Federal shooting
can protect it; and it's alarm about the
safety Of "the several States is clearly
burlesque or hypocritical No, 1t is plain,
and we hate to say il, that some accursed
malefactor has bamboozled the South
Dakota Lycurguses into committing a
grave and gross contempt Of the World
Werowance. By his spear and bow
alone do well brought up mountain lions
and gray wolves consent to fall. JACK
ABERNATHY may strangle "A tame wolfiing
in menagerie. Mountain lions, sur
prised by some strayed tenderfoot, may
die of fear and heart trouble. But
everybody knows that game is hard to
find, that mountain lions and gray wolves
are much rarer than the hunters and that
coyotes, protected though they are by
the monographs of DIR. G. HART MER-
RAMS nature students and the reverent
watchfIlness Of nature takers. are not
really doing much damage in the sew
eral States" New York and New Jersey,
for instance, complain but little of this
sort of vermin.
The President will attend to all the
mountain lions and gray wolves that
can be drlmmed up. To ask Congress
to meddle with them is and must be
intended as a keen personal insult, for
Mr.. ROOSEVELT is even mightier as a
hunter than as a ruler. The South
Dakota Legislature has been made the
victim OF particularly paltry jest. What
is the history of the wolf and lion reso-
luton? What malefactor of great
wealth has thus planted his javeln in
the innermost and tenderest bowels of
our American Robin Hood?