Norwich bulletin., 1918-03-28
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Sheen Raising.

MF. Editor: In your issue of March 6, 1918, is an article, entitled, Chance For Sheep in Connecticut. B. E. Moore and Major Samuel Russell. Jr., chairman of the department of live stock of Connecticut, seem to think dogs are responsible for the decrease in the number of sheep, cattle and hogs in this state. There is no doubt that dogs do kill sheep. Those people who have gathered statistics on the subject say that dogs kill less than one per cent. of the sheep. Let LIS re- member every one of these sheep so killed are paid for at what is consid- cred fair price, and also that a good many are paid for that are missing which are afterwards recovered by the owners. Sheep are also sold for meat in the state.
 If we look closely into the matter we will find one or two sheepraisers in each town lose most of their sheep by dogs and bring in bill to the town every year for sheep damage, while the other sheep raisers of the town never seem to have any killed by dogs: these latter ones look after their sheep and take care of them.
 Where sheep are raised successfully which is in the west they have man with the sheep, night and day. These sheep are not only menaced by dogs,
 but also bears, mountain lions. wild cats, wolves and coyotes. It is my | opinion that if the town did not pay damages for sheep killed by dogs that 1 fl would reduce the number killed from one-third to one-haf as the sheep owners would take better care Of their sheep.
 The farmer who really has his dogs killed by sheep should be paid for them think. Let us remember that dog
 owners pay to the government of the state approximately $110,000 for whict
 they have the privilege of letting theiI 1 dogs run, providing they have on 2
 collar and tag. If we dog owners ars obliged to keep our dogs on our owf 1 not pay any dog tax. This agitation against dogs is caused more by dog haters than sheep owners. If we ac eept it as fact that sheep and live stock are raised in the rural district we will find that Mir, Moore and MT
 Russell have not mentioned some fact
 that have 8 very important bearing on the raising of livestock,
 T When we go in the country you vii find many abandoned farms and mil sites with buildings rottfng down O I no value whatever, Take the town Q
 Canterbury for example. In the yea
 1900 there was population here c 25D0 people and was a thriving town : with many kinds of industries. whil at present the population number , 1 can this be laid to dogs?
 Is it reasonable to expect that thes 1 soc people with their land grown u
 to brush, briars and timber to rais as many sheep, cattle and hogs as 25Q l ireople with their farms under a hig 7 state of cultivation? If we look iittl , farther we will find that farms tha
 would sell in those days for S3000 [
 l$10,000 at auction would at preser sell in the same way bring from ssl to 5000. Can it be that dogs hay : also caused this slump in valuation . I think the trouble is rural pol l tics, We have been oYerrepreselte
 the briber and bribetaker in years gor
 by have done their deadly work, z
 pointed out by Senator Mclean, an have ruined not only the sheep ar 2 Livestock industries, but all others : well. To better the situation. let l not put any more fool jaws on u
 statute books but make some goo
 constructive laws that will build | . these rural districts, and make farm ing profitable. Stop taxing all liv, r stock and fowls, also musical instri : ments, books and let the goyernmel t stop robbing man as soon as he pu
 his foot in the state. by repealing u
 personal tax law. taxing a person money that is invested in aneth y state; in mortgages and blanks. R D form eur way of soliciting jurors f e duty and let the people elect Il | ind n9 ha1
 pointed by the governor. Redistri
 our representation in the general a semb1y and cut out about 250 of O II representatives. If this is done 1t would raise the property values al l. put millions of dollars in the TUT y districts of the state, and we wou
 hear much less about doss and she
 and the farmers could afford to ke more livestock.
 '- H. W. HAwEs, Fl Canterbury. March 25, 1913.