THE FARMER AND THE GAME LAWS. 
The Same Story Everywhere. 
A New York newspaper recently informed its readers 
that Rockefeller, up the Hudson River, was paying two 
dollars apiece for the killing of stray dogs found on his 
grounds. 1 he article said that some valuable dogs were 
being slain, and that as fox-coursing was lawful, wheth¬ 
er the grounds invaded were posted against trespassing 
or not, Mr. Rockefeller's action should be vigorously 
condemned. We know that sheep-killing dogs caught 
in the act, or those known to be sheep-killers, may be 
killed, but in addition, we would like to be assured that 
any law claiming to permit hordes of sportsmen with 
horses, guns and dogs to go tearing over a man's crops 
and premises, can be enforced, or is entitled to the 
least regard from property owners. 1 lie fact is, it is 
an imposition, pure and simple, to require any man to 
post his premises against trespasses of any kind. Every 
owner has an inherent and defensible right to that 
which belongs to him and no law can 
confer upon other parties the use of his 
premises without his consent unless by 
condemnatory processes for the public 
good. A man’s home is his castle and his 
farm is his kingdom, and the conscious¬ 
ness of this fact is really the most val¬ 
uable asset in his possession. 
In Hudson, the other day, the writer 
had an enjoyable conversation with a 
bright young minister who had just re¬ 
turned from a long pedestrian jaunt 
through the Catskill Mountains. He 
said that he found the trip at times unsafe 
for him if alone, on account of the pres¬ 
ence of the bears on the roads. He was 
understood to say that the bears had in¬ 
creased to sue It a dangerous extent be¬ 
cause they were protected by law. Such 
protection for the bears, if it exists, is 
solely in the interests of the sportsmen 
and hunting clubs, and is class legisla¬ 
tion and clearly against the rights of the 
farmers and the general public. Such 
legislation is as reprehensible as that 
which exempts from taxation the mil¬ 
lions invested in race courses on the pre¬ 
tense that when not in use as race tracks 
they are public parks. 
It seems that we are not at liberty to 
kill the rabbits that girdle our fruit trees 
or shoot the robins that devour our cher¬ 
ries, but the dude sportsmen with their 
horses and dogs can invade our premises 
at will. The automobilists have taken possession of 
our roads and with the bears command us to get off the 
earth. It might be well to remember that the tres¬ 
passes and infringements of the so-called privileged 
classes upon the rights of the common people culminat¬ 
ed in the French Revolution. j. yates peek. 
R. N.-Y.—Another daily paper tells of a farmer on 
Long Island who held up a crowd of fox hunters, who 
with dogs. were after a fox. This farmer fired both 
barrels at the fox. He didn’t hit. but the dogs and the 
hunters heard the shot whistle and turned back! Farm¬ 
ers seem to have been asleep, letting the politicians 
make laws for them while the “privileged classes” have 
taken inch by inch until they have a rod more than 
they deserve. 
25 farmers living just west of Middletown, N. Y., -in 
Orange County, one of its objects being “to attempt to 
furnish an object lesson of what can be done in the 
way of good roads without the expenditure of so much 
money as is used in the construction of State roads.” 
The road tapping this section had been an abomina¬ 
tion for years, and these men who have occasion to use 
it regularly had put up with it until patience ceased to 
he a virtue. The plan was to secure the contract from 
the town for the care of this four miles of road, at such 
price as the town could afford to pay from its road 
fund, and supplement this with an annual assessment 
on the club members sufficient to give us a good road. 
We claimed that for $200 per mile we could build as 
good a road as the State is building at a cost of $0,000 
or $4,000 per mile, aside from cutting down grades. 
1 he club has had an up-hill road to travel, but its 
success is assured. The job is completed with the ex¬ 
ception of a short section, and the money for its full 
completion is in the treasury. The cost has been kept 
“GOOD ROADS” AT A LOW COST. 
Mapes, the Hen Man, Talks About If. 
A GOOD ROADS CLUB.—On page 634 of The R. 
N.-Y. for 1904 I gave an account of the organization of 
the Maple Dale Good Roads Club, with some of the 
salient features of its by-laws. It is composed of about 
HOODOO MUSKMELON, NATURAL SIZE. Fig. 343 . See Ruralisms, Page 810. 
within the $200 per mile, and all interested in the sub¬ 
ject of good roads are invited to inspect and compare 
with the high cost State roads. There is a mile of road 
leading out of Middletown on the south, on which the 
State and county expended $9,000 about a year ago, 
and I have been repeatedly assured by those who have 
gone over both, that our road is the more satisfactory 
of the two for both horse and driver. 
I HE GREA l LACK.—In the paper of last year, 
above referred to, the question was asked by “Brevities” : 
“What are the reasons why such a plan cannot be 
worked in your community? Would a failure result 
from a lack of men, money or material?” We came 
near to failure for lack of all three. When we applied 
to the town officials for the contract for this road, 
asking only $50 per mile from the highway fund, we 
found that the kind of men we had elected to office 
could not appreciate a good thing when they had an 
opportunity, and they refused to give us any encour¬ 
agement, claiming that they did not care to experiment 
with the town’s money. Here was a case of “lack of 
men” in official position, which also carried with it 
"lack of money.” It was generally believed that this 
settled our Good Roads Club, and doomed it to a pre¬ 
mature grave. A few of our members, however, were 
not made of the kind of stuff that spells defeat out of 
reverses, and we began to look about for a way over, or 
under, or around the obstruction. 
THE LAW HELPS OUT.-We found that under 
the old law and the labor system of New York State, 
the Commissioners of Highways are “king of the road” 
with full responsibility for the condition of the roads 
in their respective towns, and full authority to levy any 
amount of labor tax which in their judgment is needed. 
Under the new law, however, and the money system 
with State aid under which our town is now working, 
all this is changed. The Town Board, consisting of 
the Supervisor and Justices of the Peace, now have a 
voice in deciding how much highway tax shall be levied 
on the town. 1 his did not help our case any, as they 
were as obdurate as the Highway Commissioners. 
State aid, however, carries with it State supervision, 
and we found that the Commissioners of Highways are 
subject to the orders of the State Engi¬ 
neer, and also of the County Engineer in 
counties where one is employed. A fail¬ 
ure to comply with their orders, forfeits 
to the town the right to participate in the 
distribution of State monies, much the 
same as in the case of public school 
monies. After ascertaining these facts, 
an appeal was made to the State Engi¬ 
neer’s office, with the result that he ad¬ 
vised our County Engineer to take the 
matter in hand, and advise our town 
officials to give our Good Roads Club an 
opportunity to try our experiment. The 
$200 asked for from the town fund was 
finally voted to us, the contract drawn, 
and work begun. 
A NEW SNAG.—When nearing com¬ 
pletion we struck upon the rock of “lack 
of material.” There is an abundance of 
good shale and gravel near the section 
yet uncompleted, where it can be got at 
short haul, but the owner of the farm 
upon which it is located refuses to enter¬ 
tain any proposition to allow any of it to 
be used for road purposes. Here is an¬ 
other reverse but not necessarily a de¬ 
feat. Were it wanted for a State road-, 
it could readily be condemned and used 
without the consent of the owner. The 
old law, however, which authorizes town 
officials to condemn gravel for highway 
purposes, stipulates that it cannot be 
taken “within 1,000 feet of any house or 
barn.” This law is about as good as no law. Divide a 
township up into 160-acre farms, place the builditv s 
in the centre of each farm and not a shovelful of gravel 
could be condemned for road purposes under this law 
in the whole township. It is evident that this law needs 
to be amended in these days of increased interest in 
good roads. In this case we shall probably be compelled 
to draw a supply of gravel from a more distant farm, 
increasing the expense to some extent. 
WHAT TO DO.—The modus operandi by which we 
proposed to go about it to build a good road for $200 
per mile was given in my article of last year. We fol¬ 
lowed the directions then given, and the result is all 
that was claimed. Of course cost would vary in dif¬ 
ferent localities according to character of the land, its 
freedom from stone, convenience of good gravel, etc. 
T judge, however, that this section is a fair average 
for the State. Most authorities on road construction 
place good drainage at the head of the list as of first 
importance. 
Tn order to have a really good road there is an¬ 
other principle of such prime importance that is is hard 
to separate the two. This is the surfacing of the 
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER II. 1905 . 
Vol. LXIV. No. 2911. 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR. 
