The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-01-27
NO GUN LICENSE.
Western Kansas Representative
Defeats Proposed Bill.
Purpose Was to Extend Opera
ton Of Game Law.
BREAKS ON RABBITS
Short Grass Legislators Feared
1t Would Protect Pests.
Wanted Instead Bounty on Jack
Rabbits and G0phers.

Twice in one short session the lines
were sharply drawn between the east
ern Kansas contingent and the shor.
grass delegation in the house Satur-
day, where the whole afternoon was
spent in committee of the whole, with
Guyer in the chair. The charge of
sectionalism was SO fatty and fire.
Quently made as to suggest that re-
vival Of the old project to make two
states out Of one. at some time in the
near future, Is not altogether an i'm
possibility.
Tradition has it that one of the early
wars in which this republic was In
dent as a pig breaking through the
garden gate of its owners neighbor.
and the division Of the Sunf1ower state
may yet be due to a clash between the
pest of western Kansas. and the pocket
gopher, whose sworn foes are of the
great alfalfa belt. A grievance of
minor Importance Is complained of by
the western men, an alleged attempt to
deprive them Of the right to bear
arms. guaranteed by the constitution
itself. without first taking out a Ii
cense. The western part of the state
is declared to be simply overrun with
rabbits, particularly jackrabbits. who
are wrecking fruit orchards almost as
fast as they can be set out, and in some
sections faster. That it should require
license to go after these pests SEEM
ed as absurd to the sufferers as 1t
would be to lay a similar restriction
about the killing Of a rattlesnake. and
they were free to charge 1t up to the
desire to swell the gun license fund,
from which 40 per cent Of the receipts
ment of the bounties.
The sectional differences displayed
themselves most prominently in the
the payment of a bounty on pocket
gopher, ground mole and rabbit scalps,.
and to require a license to carry a
gun, without which, was not permit
ted to shoot any wild animal or bird
except on ones own premises. 1t was
promptly moved to eliminate the rab-
bit feature by striking out section 2,
then to strike out the enacting clause,
and A, covering both Bunny and the
gun license. The latter motion pre-
vailed in the end, but not until the
whole subject had been thrashed over
violence. and the bill was recommend
ed for passage as amended.
In the course OF the debate 1t was
stated that the absence of a bounty
on rabbit scaIDs Is taken advantage of
by hunters to kill quail and other por-
tected game. One hunter went out
and first killed his rabbit. which he
put in his pocket. He next ran across
a covey of quail, almost in farmers
dooryard, and one successful shot
brought out the indignant owner. The
nimrod. who had pocketed his quail,
hastily held up the rabbit. with. I've
killed him. Mr.. Farmer!" "Al right"
said the pacidced agriculturist "go
ahead and kill EN- ALL and the hunter
went ahead and, unmolested, killed all
the quail he could find.
Bird of Shawnee. who drew the
original bill, explained that it was aim
ed exclusively at the gopher and
ground mole, and that the objection
able sections were supplied by the
committee on agriculture. though he
admitted that rabbits are becoming
set on their heads.
Wells Of Graham declared that the
whole object of the bill was to increase
the revenue under the game law and
to injecting rabbit" into every bill,
and to offering a bounty for the scalps
kind.'
his experience: He put out bill of
$138 of trees four years ago; three
years ago they were in prime condi-
ton; today they are all gone. They
were attacked at the roots by gophers.
He would have the bounty on gophers
fifty cents instead of ten.
Thompson Of Reno defended the
rabbit section Of the bill. He said
that while Reno has $4,000 acres of
alfalfa, it also has thousands of acres
of fruit orchards. Rabbits do untold
damage to the latter, the loss running
up into many thousands Of dollars.
A hot opponent of the gun license
feature said this extension of the
game law would go on until when a
man found a rattlesnake he would
have to tie blue ribbon to its tail
while he went and got a license to kill
it. He thought a person should be
able to go out and exterminate pests
Of whatever description without a IL
cense.
Rhodes of Marshall, told how the
commissioners of his county had paid
out last year over $4,000 for gopher
scalps, which would represent 10000
scalps, and had rescinded the order
because they were paying out too
much money and getting too few GO
piers. This was explained by several
members as partly due to the ingen-
fous plan of the youthful gopher hun
ter, who can, by skflful manipulation
OF a single gopher scalp with a knife
and stick, bring forth many and
whose output is limited only by the
number of his hides and not the num-
Der of his scalps
Bird Of Shawnee. said he under
stood the offer had been withdrawn
III MdrShdll because the law na0 Oeen
declared unconstitutional and because
the sophers had been practically ex-
terminal ted
1t was suggested that the gophers
Increase faster than they can be KILL
ed by present methods and that the
proper move would be to follow the
plan adopted SO successfully In the
crusade against prairie dogs. that is.
refer TIE matter to the experts of the
Kansas state agricultural college. with
instructions to discover a poison that
would exterminate the gophers who
seem to be immune to the article
that proved fatal to the prairie dog.
Another lively tilt occurred when
the committee reached bill reported
back from the committee on assess