The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-20
Worthless Dogs Must Co. Says House.
MASTN MEASURE IS PASSED
Solons Quit Being Funny Before
 Dill is Disposed of.
Unattaehed Canines Have Driven PeO. Dle From the Sheep Business, Kill Mueh Game, and Are Menace
 On Public Road.

For the purpose of killing off thous- ands of worthless dogs. and to encour- oge the sheep industry in the State. the House yesterday passed a bill which places a tax on every dog in the State and gives authority for the slaughter that tax.
 The sponsor for the bill is Hon. P. B. Mastin. of Montgomery County. who made a strong argument for its passage. When the bill first came up tn the House for its third reading. the members treated 1t as a joke and began having a great deal of fun at the ex- pense of Its author.
 Before MT. Mastin was through speaking, however. the members be- came convinced that they had anything but 3ocular measure to contend with, and by the time that others had shaken on their timerity and spoken in favor of the measure. they earnestly believ- cd that he bill was one of great i'm portance.
 Several of the speakers told how the sheep industry had been practic.. ally driven out of the State because of the thousands of worthless dogs that were permitted to roam at large and worry the sheep to death.
 The members were told that they had passsd laws to protect the game of the state that worked so much harm to the game or that destroyed as many birds eggs as these same dogs. They were also reminded that it was unsafe for dark because of the attacks of these same animals. In the end the House became convinced and adopted the measure.
 themselves from the jocular feeling and many of them asked the privilege of explaining their vote. Nearly all of these explanations were in a humorous vein.
 The Mastin bill imposes a tax of $1 . head on all dogs of the etate each year. Pups under 1 months of age are exempt from the tax. The proceeds are to be devoted to a fund to reim; purse the owners of livestock killed by dogs. any residue on the 1st day of March each year being turned into the school fund of the county.
 stsaxaii read from the Constitution which said man must not vote on a measure in which he Is personally in tsrested. Under that rule. hS said. he cause he owned a dog. The Speaker agreed with him, whereupon MT. Stea- gall said he hoped the House would vote the bill down. He didn't want to see the members vote for a meas ure which would render it impossible for him to hold office again in Ala bama. -.
 MT rughston wanted to know if. there was anything in the Democratic platform about a dog law.
 Mir. Mastin said he knew it had been customary to laugh at such a bill, but he thought that time had passed.
 He argued that these worthless dogs destroyed oIrds eggs and did more to kill game than anything else. that they were a nuisance to anyone driving along a country road.
 The effect of the bill would be to destroy hundreds and thousands of worthless dogs. and If the members of the House passed the bill they would be proud of it a few years from now.
 He declared that if the dogs were killed off. people could raise sheep, which they could not do now. If this bill were passed 1t would kill off from 500 to 1000 fin Montgomery County
 MT. Pitts. of Dallas. said he loved a dog. but if any man had a dog that he loved he ought to be willing to pay 3 dollar. The worthless pack of dogs. however, he considered ought to go and that the House could not do better than kill them off by taxing them.
 The Imaginable feature changed and the House began to take the matter ser iously. MT. Lancaster took up the cudgels for the bill. He told how he was driven out of the sheep business by the dogs. In the last year. he said six people had been sent from his county to Atlanta to be treated for rabies. His peaple he said. had asked him to introduce a bill to this effect but he had told them the House would consider it a joke.
 MT. McCrory spoke in favor of the bill. He. too. said he had been asked by his people to introduce such a bill because the dogs had driven the sheep Industry out of his county
 The bill was passed by vote of 49 yeas to 2S hayes