The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1917-07-05
MULzLE ORDER IS DELAYED
Police Give People Until July 9th to
Get All Dogs Muzzled--After That
Date Wholesale Slaughter Will Be
Started by the Officers.

The resolution of the Common Coun-
Gil to fix dog license fees in Kenosha
at fifty dollars year, has stirred up a
hornet IS nest and the enraged
hornets y are buzzing merrily in all
parts of the city. Pretty nearly every
man who owns a dog or has ever owned
one is on the war-path looking for the
scalp Of some one and attorneys in the
city have been besieged with requests
to 8start something. Dog owners
are standing on the corners crying out
against the aldermen and giving their
views of the constitutionality of a fifty
dollar dog license. They are declaring
that they will recede from the city
and take their CANNES with them if the
city insists on the collection of the fee
proposed by the aldermen. Already
the exodus of dogs has begun and a
forlorn dog can be. seen on a lesh
getting out Of town pretty nearly
every hour.
Some people have objected just as
seriously to the muzzle order as they
have to the proposed boost in the il
cense fee. The dogs were muzzled
today-that is some Of them. Prudent
people who expected the slaughter Of
the unmuzzled ones to provide feature
of the Fourth Of July, hurried to the
nearest harness maker and had leather
muzzle made for their dogs. The men
who usually sell muzzles are hunting
for them all over the country and it
seems that the war conditions have
limited the number of muzzles to be Sc
cured and they may find it hard to get
some fifteen hundred muzzles of the as
sorted sizes needed for the Kenosha
dogs. Some Of the dogs may be forced
to wear muzzles which will not fit them
Chief O'Hare is going to temper the
wind to the shorn dog little and he
has decreed that the people be given
until next Monday to secure muzzles
and get them firmly fixed on the dogs.
This is just a week after the order was
passed by the council and it is thought
that it is fair to the dogs and their
owners to give them week of grace.
After that time there will be no ex-
cuses accepted and the dog which fails
to have the proper head-gear will be
shot at sunrise or at sunset or at bIaz-
ing MONDAY just as the spirit moves
the police officers.
Attorneys seem to be little slow to
answer the question as to the consti-
tutionality of any action of the council
to boost the dog tax fee to fifty dol
lars. They say that they will look into
the matter. Some of them have gone
so far as to declare that while the state
law gives the council the right to fix
dog license fees that the state law does
not give the council the right to fix
an unreasonable fee In several sec
tions Of the city petitions have been
started protesting against the proposed
raise in the license fee. These petit
tions will beat the ordinance to the
council and it is probable that they
will have considerable effect on the
action of the aldermen when the ordi-
nance comes up for vote
In any event the new license ordi-
nance would not be affective until the
| first of October and all Of the dogs in
the city may die before that time. The
men who oppose the license fee are look
| ing for an angel ~ to get right at it
and test out the law and see just how
far the council can go in making pro-
hibitive license against the dogs.
One thing is certain and that is that
no action of the council in recent years
has caused such a general stirring up
of things. Members of the council
seem to be prepared to stand pat on
their action and they have shown no
willingness to let up for minute in
their dog regulation program.