The Bismarck tribune., 1929-02-09
SENATE PASSES BILL
TO GUARD SHEEP AND.
LICENSE Dogs, 32-14.
Three Amendments Approved
After Three Hour Debate
Of Humor and Pathos
HAMILTON ExT0LS DOGS
Patterson Pleads That Law Can
Take Everything from the
Farmer Now Except Dog

North Dakota sheep won q battle
over North Dakota dogs In the state
senate Friday.
Three hours Of debate, during
which five efforts were made to
amend the dog tax bill, apparently
changed no votes and the measure
passed 81 to H.
Three Of the amendments were
approved. One made q minor change
in the form Of the bill, one reduced
the license fees on individual dogs
and one reduced the license fee for
kennels.
The debate ran the gamut from the
sublime to the ridiculous, from the
humorous to the pathetic. There
were friends Of sheep and friends Of
dogs and some who were friends OF
both sheep and dogs. The discussion
lasted three hours and everyone was
satisfied when it was over.
D. H. Hamilton, McHenry county,
who popped up at regular intervals
during the discussion, opened the
fight when he announced that he
had never had any respect for q
sheep herder until recently when rep
utable persons seemed to be taking
up sheep. He launched into q disser-
tation on canine virtues and objected
that the bill made no distinction be-
tween good dogs and bad dogs.
w. D. Lynch, La Moure, said dogs
would not be killed under the bill un-
less they deserved It and that q dog
license law would protect the states
13,700 sheep owners. Il every farmer
had sheep during the last 10 years
they would be in better financial con-
dttion, he contended. Sheep owners
pay taxes on their animals. he said.
ana 1t Is only fair that dog owners
also pay tax. He valued the sheep
crop of thestate at $1,000, 900 last year
and said 1t Is necessary to protect the
industry.
sheep-killing dogs, Lynch said. are
worse than wolves, since dogs have
been known to kill whole flocks. The
bill would not interfere with pet dogs,
he said, but would eliminate tramp
dogs.
Bill Martin. Morton county, esti-
mated that the dog tax would produce
between 100000 and 100000 annu-
ally and said no sheep owners in his
district had asked him to support the
bill. He recalled the old days when
sheepmen and cattlemen battled for
the range and made it clear that he
never did like sheep anyhow.
Martin moved that the bill be sent
to the judiciary committee for
amendment and q separate battle was
had on that.
r. O. sathre. Steele county, judi
ciary chairman, entered the fight on
behalf Of the sheep. Any good deg
won't violate the law by killing sheep,
he said. and cited cases where heavy
damage had been done by fogs.
]. q. Forbes, Richland county,
opposed sending the bill to committee
for the fourth time on the ground
that this is the time and place to
kill this bill"
Ole Ettestad, McHenry county, said
the bill needed further revision Jut
~ SSSA4 NO&AVGA40S0 VSA0b ~ SUQ1O NC
from the floor and Frank
Hyland, Ramsey county, callsd attan-
ton to the fact that the senate had
already spent considerable time on
the measure and that the judiciary
committee did not want 1t.
Martins motion lost and Chairman
George II. Hoople Of the livestock
committee, which revised the measure,
slipped In the first amendment, one
intended to clarity the bill.
Hamilton moved to reduce the H.
cense fee to 50 cents for male dogs
and 81 for females and A. w. Fowler.
Cass county. countered with . motion
to make It 81 and q respectively.
This motion carried after further de-
bate. AZ introduced the license was
= and 3 respectively.
The argument branched OF to !
discussion Of the tax burden, some
senator's contending that It would lust
Nd TO their burdens.
John Van Arnaun, Cass county. saic
sheep make money for farmers and
CONTINUED on page ninel