The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-08-02
public Safety Superintendent at Last
FINDS way to Deal With Fowls
That Roam From
Home.
PUT EN- IN THE POUND
MARSHAL Can Get Nickel a Piece
for Them-No Less-and Owner
Don't Have to be
Informed.

GQlChSuS, oCii6 Ii VI SAAS PaA ooAA, ANo
NJ the angle worm, enemy of the war
rarden and the chief producers Of
feather beds are in the limelight in
Keokuk and the fellow who placed
them there is none other than David
]. Hemmy, superintendent OF public
safety.
II might be proper to begin this
little narrative by saying that all Safer
weeks is chickens. (Now don't get
excited and don't be misled. Feathered
fowls are the things meant.)
Day after day, when the councilman
vent to his days toll at the city hall
he would find great spindies of COM
plants about chickens in neighbors'
Yards, destroyed gardens, Uttered
porches etc., etc, etc.
Keep Wires Hot.
There were innumerable telephone
calls, too, about the pesky fowls. First
a woman would sob her tale of woe
| in Hemmy's ear by wire. Mrs. So and
SOS hens are cluttering up the place"
was the usual story. A number of
women are said to have used fowl
language on the telephone.
Men were a little more vicious. III
Bill Smith don't get his blankety-
blank chickens in tighter place, I'm
going to lop off few heads" was the
way the men worried the SAFER"
Finally Hemmy got desperate.
'There must be some way out of
this" he moaned after the humpteenth
call had been made.
He searched through the city ordi-
nances For days nothing which would
bear on the subject of fowls found his
eye.
Hemmy Seeks Help.
today Hemmy was paving through
tie code 1t had gotten to be habit,
even while he was attending council
meetings and supposed to be thinking
about something else, to look Tor
chicken laws. On and on he paved.
looking blankly at the. pages of the
yellow bound volume before him.
Suddenly his eye lit. He gave sup
pressed exclamation of surprise and
JOY.
I've found it; I've found it," he al
most whooped
Found wot?" asked Tim Hickey,
superintendent of streets loking at his
fellow-in-council.
why the way to keep these con-
founded chickens from bothering the
neighbors," said Kenny. elated at his
find.
What the Code Says.
He read what the code said. This
IS it in substance:
Any one finding straying fowl may
capture 1t and take It to the police
station where it win be impounded the
same as a horse or COW or any ami
NAL. No livestock may run at large in
the corporate limits says section one
Of chapter five of the ordinances.
The makers of the ordinance must
have known what they. were about for
in section seven Of chapter five it
Gays that section one relates to fowls
as well as livestock. The city laws
Sag too. that no notice of impounding
needs to be published. Once the chick-
ems are in pound they are city prop
erty.
Chickens taken to the police station
are to he auctioned and sold to the
highest bidder.
Five Cents is Minimum.
The ordinance makers didn't know
now humerously they wrote, appar-
emily, for they agreed that the city
marshall couldn't receive any less
'han five cents for fowl.
imagine any seir respecting, 1918
model butcher asking five cents for
q whole chicken, not to mention five
cents pound for them" said one
councilman
Amy way, chickens must
stay at home after this or Safer Hem |
my Will have the law on en-" He's |
BOT the ordinances to back him up !
and his nightmares with chicken trou |
Dies are about ended.