The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1909-04-22
Secretary of State Wants Laws TO
Prevent County Clerks From
Paying Bogus Bounties
STATE PAYS OUT LARGE SUM
Kenosha County is Not Affected as
Only Bounties on Crows Are Paid
Here and Amount Has
Not Been Large

Protection should be afforded the
state in order to prevent fraudulent
bounty payments on wild animals, or
else state aid should be taken away
altogether"
This was the statement of Secretary
of State James A. Frear, regarding the
bounty bills pending before the legis-
lature. The states surrounding Wis
consin in some cases offer no bounties
whatever. In others the bounty pay
ments are in small amounts and small
in the aggregate.
Under the form of certifcation per-
mitted by the present Wisconsin law,
bounty payment jumped from $1,000
in 1903 to $30,761 in 1906. AS the
counties paid small amount to the
hunters, these joint payments increased
from Approximately $4,000 in 1903 to
$61, 900 in 1906, according to the data
gathered by Secretary Frear. Not
withstanding wolf bounties were doub
led under the law, scrutiny by county
clerks into the scalp ques ton, reduced
bounty claims paid by the state from
$30,761 in 1906 to $24,624 in 1908.
cone county alone paid $500 for
800 bounties in 1906 and under the
law an equal amount was paid by the
state" continued Secretary Frear.
H'The next county clerk in that county
rejected many questionable claims so
that only sixty-seven bounties were
paid for old wolves by that county
in 1907. The average county clerk and
many town clerks have no expert
knowledge of wild animals, but under
the law they are the judges, who de-
termine what kind Of scalps are sub
mitted.
E'With hardly an exception the coun-
ty clerks have aided the state, and
between 100 and 200 scalps of dogs,
foxes and mongrels, received by the
office, originally presented for wolf
scalps, were rejected upon advice of
this office. No law requires the scalps
to be sent to this office, but through the
assistance of county clerks and Prof.
Wagner of the university, who has
gratuitlously helped in examinations.
many fraudulent claims have been re
fused payment.
Bill 165 S., is now pending in the
senate and unless some such protection
is given under the law, the door re-
mains open to fraud and mistake.
Bounty payments by the state and
the counties from 1908 to 1908 amount
ed to over a, quarter of million OF
dollars 1t has become a growing
business and federal authorities claim
that where excessive bounties are of
fered, it becomes more profitable tc
raise wild than domestic animals.
"There ought to be some law that
would protect the state against i'm
positions" declared Mr.. Fear. ere
ports from different states, indicate
that large bounty payments do not re
duce the number of wolves and Wiscon.
sin is almost alone in the large amount
of bounty payments shown in the ag
gregate which it pays to wolf hunters
Bill 407 IS now before the legis-
lature, proposes to repeal bounty pay,
ments by the state, leaving it optional
for County Boards to offer such boun-
ties. The department is not interested
in the passage or defeat of this law
but the facts have been presented be
fore the committees for legislative &C
ton.
mo authority now exists for chal-
longing certificates which may be pre-.
sented to this office, either by reuuir-
ing scalps to be furnished, or by some
expert determination of whether the
animals killed were wolves or not The
matter is one of sufficient Importance
to require action on the part of the
legislature in order to protect the state
from frauds or mistakes