The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-07
From the Houston Post.

season affords us, we are con-
- stantly reminded of the woes of
humanity Not only of humanity IN tue
individual sense, but collective. humanity
as we'll The occasion OF the observation
is afforded by the plaintive wall tnat
comes from Alabama through the col
1mns of our esteemed contemporary the
Montgomery Advertiser.
Alabama is complaining of the prolifer-
Gus tendency of her CANNES 1t seems
that quality as we'll as quantity is infict-
ing painful reflections upon the states
wise men. The dogs are not only bur-
den to such individuals as ,harbor them,
but are accused of imperiling what Is
considered a great industry. We allude
to sheep growing. We would not profane
such an important question by undertak-
ing to repeat the Alabama plant. Only
the words of the Advertiser can do 1t and
here they are:
.1f the legislature of Alabama is COM
mitted to any one proposition it is COM
mtted to the principle that every white
man and negro has the inalienable right
to raise as many dogs as he can to prey
upon the property of his neighbors. II
the legislature of Alabama Is afraid of
any one class of citizens. 1t Is afraid Of
the small farmer in the white counties
with his yard Uttered with useless dogs
.The total number of sheep of shearing
a ge in Alabama, on April Is, 1910. was 109,-
600, representing a decrease of 52.4 per
cent as compared with the number on
June /. 1900-229, 900. The approximate
production of wool during 1909 was 10000
feeces. weighing 100000 pounds and valued
at $4,000. The number of fieeces produced
in 1909 was 500 per cent less than in 1882
These are census figures
"There we have 1.-THE steady decay of
what was once considerable industry in
Alabama sheep and worthless ours can
not be grown in the same territory. Sheep
are useful to the physical wants of man.;
man is nourished by their flesh and
clothed by their fleece. But what are the
dogs. good for? They are nothing but a
heavy useless tax on man, even if they
they never destroyed his sheep or his
other property.
an Alabama we stand for the flop
cared hound and the onery cur. The men
who own dogs can outvote the men who
own ep-therefore-down with the
sheep"
At the risk of annihilating a friend
ship that we value highly, We are going
to protest against this wanton attacl.
upon dogs. The decline in Alabama S
sheep industry is not remarkable. Ala
f4 Toll nj
way, and never did have, and the drop
ping off of more than 100000 in ten years
wasn't due to the dogs to any great ex-
tent.
Litsen: Texas used to be the leading
sheep state of the union. At one time
the statistics gave us over 100000 Now
we are credited with less than 2,00p.000
1t wasn't the dogs. but economic condi-
| tions. When the free wool boulder hit
the sheep industry, we all said it was
that, but the Mckinley bill restored the
duty. and yet our sheep standing went
| steadily downward until almost any little
old rotten borough of the west ranks with
us In all the states east of the river the
sheep industry is declining largely for
the reason that land values are steadily
ascending
| We might say much for the dogs, even
the flop-eared hounds that our contempor-
| ary objurgates SO vigorously, but we
merely mention the fact that in Texas we
have some 25.O00 dogs returned for tax
alton and they are valued at about 81;
each or about ten times the value of a
sheep. That is equivalent to saying that
these taxed dogs are worth $50 or Prob
ably SIS each, when you ''figger' the cit
izens agility in lodging taxes. Anyway
our taxed dogs are valued more thar
even our taxed cows, head for head.
| 1t is easy to decry the virtues of tbs
aop-eared hound and onery cur, but any
well cared for dog is worth more thar
a sheep. If the dogs of Alabama are
| low bred. improve the breed of the dogs
] To deprive the citizen OF. Alabama and
his tow-headed brats Of the love and