Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 37, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 May 1905 — No Such Chicken Law. [ARTICLE]

No Such Chicken Law.

- A great many absurd and sometimes mischievous paragraphs get into circu’ation through the papers tegarding changes in the law and their'effect. Thus such a parcgraph regarding the new law as it effects p. ultry has bsen circulating through the papers, and working Jover time at that. It seems that the new town and oity oode does have something to say about poultry, and furthermore, some fool judge or justice of the peaop. lately ruled that common poultry was not property under the law, and if it wandered Jon ; other people’s property they had a right to kill it. and keep for their own use. From these facts have grown up a paragraph to the eff-.ct that the new laws wholly prohibit poultry from running at large all ever the state, and give any person upon whose property they wander the right ,to kill and appropriate them. There is no suoh law in this state and the only mention made of poultry in the new codes, is in the oity and town oodes, whioh provide that city councils may. if they ch:o3e, pass ordinances prohibiting poul’ry as well rs other animals fiom running at large.

Another equally erronious but not so absurd a paragraph has also been generally oiroulated. It is to the effect that there has been a change in the criminal oode as it applies to drunkenness, and makes $5 the minimum fine for that offense;'that there has been no suoh change however and a fine as low as one cent can still be as low as one cent if the juetioe chooses to make it that. The maximum fines they are allowed to assess have bsen increased some however.