Show TO LICENSE SHEEP RICH COUNTY WILL COMPEL OWNERS TO PAY A TAX The Law Was Passed at the Last Session of the Legislature and is a Duplicate of the California Statute Which Has Had Its Validity Va-lidity Established by the Supreme Court of the State Other Coun ties Will in All Probability Follow S Fol-low the Example In the very near future it is not at l unlikely that sheep will be licensed and that the several counties of the state will receive a revenue from the roaming of the same over the public lands I wIll be remembered that the legislature legis-lature incorporated into the county government gov-ernment bill a provision whereby the county commissioners can license any business not declared by law to be illegal This seton was taken from the law of California where the supreme court has decided that the section applies to l f n < iinjr thc < rm Itifr and nasturinir of n un sheep C j The California court passed on this I i measure some time ago The constitution ot that state is very I I similar in many respects to the constitution constitu-tion of Utah I In California the board of supervisors I of one of the counties passed an ordinance ordi-nance licensing the business of herd I ing pasturing and grazing of sheep and imposed n tax of 5 centsper 100 head which was contested by a heavy owner of sheeD and earned from one to another an-other ot the courts until finally passed upon by the supreme court which decided that it was perfectly legal The attorneygeneral of Utah who has looked the matter up in an opinion rendered ren-dered has decided that this provision of the county government bill applies in this that the county commissioners of the several counties may levy a tax or rather enforce a license collection upon sheep men Up to date none of the counties have tackled the business But a few days ago the county commissioners of Rich county decided to break the ice and the question was brought up and discussed I was agreed that the tax would be a good thing for the county and could be collected Accordingly the county attor fey was instructed to draft an ordinance in accordance with the provisions of law for the collection of a license for herding herd-ing sheep In the county and this ordinance ordi-nance will be presented at the next meeting meet-ing and adopted With this done no herds of sheep can roam in the county at large without the owner has first paid the license That there will be suits at law result ing there is no doubt The owners of sheep will no doubt try to invalidate the action of the commissioners but un acton der the decision of the California court i is very difficult to see where there can be any room for doubting the constitutionality constitu-tionality of the law And with this law in force in one county i Is very likely that it will be passed in others Certainly the counties next to Rich will act na similar manner man-ner and by and by the same will have spread to all in the state I is sad to have been very beneficial in all the counties in California where it has been tried has resulted in increasing Increas-ing the revenues and decreasing the roving rov-ing bands of sheep from other states which come in and stay until the feed is gone and then disappear a I |