The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-02

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 ONE hard things probably should have been said of the last Missouri 0 legislature, but it does seem unfair
 to say it did not do anything. It did do
 something--it levied a $10 bounty on
 wolves and a Sl bounty on hawks. II
 that amounts io nothing in the end, 1t IS
 because the governor has vetoed nnth
 those acts which is no fault of the les
 islature. The legislature can only seek
 to discover by what we are threatened
 and do what 1t can to bring us through.
 In the cases cited it did do that. The
 trouble is that the governor spends so
 much of his time in St. Louis and so sell dom takes dinner any more with ms friends in the country that he has forgot
 ten how thick the wolves are getting or
 what fearful ravages are made by hawks
 vetoing the wolf bill, too. only goes to
 show what a winters week-ends among
 iron dogs and handled Pommeranians can
 do to a countryman's natural sense of cau-
 ton against being devoured by wolves.
 Presumably, the governor has vetoed this
 bill. for which MT. Browning, very
 sincere member of the legislature labored
 with scarcely less than religious zeal upon
 the theory that there are no wolves In
 Missouri Ha! It is enough to drive MT
 Browning mad. Wolves-great Scott!
 There are thousands of wolves in Mis-
 souri. Ask the rural delivery man, the farmer, the hunter the wayfarer by night! Ye gods and goops
 Few such narrowing recitals as that which induced the legislature to pass the wolf bounty bill have been heard in the lower house of the general assembly. It was 0 word picture of what is going on out in the hills. The bounty on wolves at that time was s. MT. Browning wanted it increased to s1o. It was increased, so far as the legislature could increase it. Only the governor failed to be moved by what had been pointed out. It was chance for the governor, who had been the object of some little raillery about talk ing buck and wing dancers and old-time fiddlers to the Frisco fair. The governor
 said in vetoing MT. Browning's bill: sThe state of Missouri is so advanced in It's civilization, agriculture and other pursuits that 1t has passed the wolf scalp stage"
 Let us sit down with the enraged MT Browning and analyze that Are the wolves any more civilized than they were i? Has agriculture plowed any of them un- der? No, Horatio! They are just as saw age as ever. Neither civilization nor az riculture has made them less dangerous, nor have our ''other pursuits" whatever l they may be, appreciably reduced them in number. It is purely a pose on the gov ernor's part. He wants to make re- fined showing for the state to offset his fox pass about wing dancing and old-
 time fiddling. There are no wolves in Missouri any more. The hills are filled 1 with statuary, and the woods are the latest in landscape gardening!
 Then about hawks! There Is mess for you MT. Mitchell. another sincere mem- Der of the legislature. worked like Tro- ian for a bounty of s1 on hawks His bill passed. It went to the governor breathing the hatred of all honest men for hawks. The governor vetoed it! Not one man had arisen in the house when l the bill was up to say that hawks were any less despicable than Mir. Mitchell had l said. Not one word had been said about a hawk being flying mousetrap or self | setting molecatcher. Not one syllable had been brenthed in defense of hawks. There was no mention of scientists having found
 their nests filled with tho bones of rodents