The Sentinel=record., 1918-12-29
ASK LEGISLATURE
 PUT TAX,ON DOGS MEASURE DRAW TO PROTECT SHEEP AND GdAT INDUSTRY
 BY WAR ORGANIZATIONS.
Food Admiristratik kn and Arkansa, State Council ( Defense to Urg, Pasasse of BHl


 asked to <ass law to eliminate the dag meBf ca from the sheep and goat industfy by imposing a tax suific ientlN heavy on d0 B 10 prevent their roaming at larse and making their owners personally responsible for the dogs acts. and that such law win be presented to the gen sral assembly with the combined backing of the State Food Administrator and the Arkansas State Council Of Defense, was Indicated as result of a con- ference the past week between Wal lace Townsend, director of the lat Ger orianfzalon, and members of State Food Administrator Hamp Will Hams staff
 Both orgnnizations have been taking keen interest in the dog question for over a year. Thus far, however, they have been working along separate lines but with the same object in view which was a desire to gather sutfic tent information 10 impress the leg islature with lhe necessity for a law that would materially safeguard the sheep and goat industry and restrict activities of roaming dogs The Ar kansas State Council of Defense through it's legislative committee, has had Federal Judge Jacob rr-coer draw nill which, it is believed will. is passed. bring the relief desired. The measure will be submitted to otlic- | ials of the State Food Administration and ts legal advisors for such sl2 gestions as they may care to make. A conference between the members of the Hoover ornnization and the | legislat7ve committee of the Arkan- sas State Council of Defense will be held next week to take fi+al action | on this subject.
 Some months ago the State Food ! Administration sent its County 1 Food Administrators a request that they get accurate data on the numebr
 of sheep and goats and dogs in their respective districts. A few weeks 1go
 reports had been received from about
 two-thirds of the counties, shoWine the dogs were in a great majortE All of the counties have since repor. ed The total today shows there are l 1775I2 more dogs than sheep and goats combined in Arkansas. This data vii be among other features pre-
 sented to the members of the legs | lature.
 J. II. Mcleod, who has change of the
 live stock and dairy division for the State Food Administration. sent to 1 fifty well-knoWn sheep raisers in th.s | state a quesdonaire, in which he ask
 ed they state the number of ehepp they own whether any sheep were Killed by dogs, what the owners con
 sidered the greatest menace to this
 industry, and whether, in the even, l the legislature passed a law placing a
 heavy tax on dogs they would then increase the number of the-r sheep
 Replies were received from every one The total number of sheep the men | interrogated possessed was 3,S29 1 They were unanimous in stating that the roaming dogs and 'wOrthlest
 cur was the greatest menace they
 had to contend with. During the past
 
 year those fifty sheep raisers suffer
 ed in sheep killed by dogs, their re-
 ports show, aggregated $5.35t
 One man, w. k Garner who res'des
 near Paragould, wrote that in on5
 night thirty-fiye per cent of his entire
 flock of over 100 sheep were killed by
 dogs and that th's SO disgusted and
 discouraged him that he sold the re-
 mainder of his sheep the follCwin.
 day. All of the men reported the
 were in favor of a bill to place [
 heavy tax on dogs and make thal
 owners personally resgoneiole fol
 stock killed, and that if such a law were enacted they would immediate ly take steps to greatly increase ; 1 their stock of sheep.