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it does not degenerate into selfishness. The hunter loves the pleasure 

 of the chase, but also the addition to his table. Audubon loved birds 

 and nature for their beauty's sake, and took note of the life about him. 

 The agriculturist, the orchardist and the farmer love birds because they 

 help preserve their products and add to the revenue by destroying those 

 insects that prey upon their fruit. A year's produce is worth $i6o,- 

 000,000, but ten per cent of this is destroyed by the bugs and worms that 

 multiply and increase because of the destruction of birds. This destruc- 

 tion amounts to eighty per cent of the wild insectivorous and game 

 birds in a year, and the causes are murder, the venality of our legislatures 

 and the sluggish indifference of the tax-payers in not forcing their repre- 

 sentatives to vote for the laws. In New Jersey there were three attempts 

 to get such a bill through. The first fish and game bill was turned 

 over to a committee and there were many petitions for them to bring 

 it in and they did finally, notwithstanding that only five days of the ses- 

 sion remained. It was then turned over to the senate to a committee on 

 miscellaneous business and they did not act. There was a disgraceful 

 record and Missouri has the same. The last and the previous legisla- 

 ture did the same with our bill on account of money from the game 

 dealers. The president and secretary of the Audubon Society spent days 

 and days trying to bring out this bill. After assurances they went home 

 and stayed until alarmed, when they went again to Jefferson City. Col. 

 Crisp said to us, "Go back, your bill is killed in the Senate by money." 

 Your own representatives killed it. If you want to reproduce the birds 

 and see the insects destroyed and the crops protected, instruct* your repre- 

 sentative to vote for the bill to be introduced this year. If money kills it 

 again it will be because the horticulturists have not had a true interest 

 in it. All around us the states have laws as framed by the Audubon 

 Society, they exist and are in force. You may spray, but there is 

 nothing like the birds to get rid of the insects. The game birds are 

 also insect destroyers. 



Money to pay the game warden and his deputies must be appro- 

 priated, and so this should be incorporated in the bill. Tax the hunter 

 as in other states and he will gladly pay. Let us redeem Missouri and 

 set her in the line of progress, even Arkansas is ahead of us in this line. 

 We must prevent the killing of robins, woodpeckers and such or they 

 will be substituted for the disappearing game birds. They are killed 

 for food and in wantonness, and for woman's vanity. In pity spare 

 the birds, 



' 'For the great God who loveth us He made and loveth all." 



