8 State Horticultural Society. 



the ire of Ex-Governor Coleman and caused him to come to Jefferson 

 City and labor to defeat the whole bill if necessary to defeat this clause. 



The next section seeks to prevent and regulate the killing of birds, 

 including wild turkey, prairie chicken, quail, plover and, by the way, the 

 restriction placed upon the killing of the last named bird brought pro- 

 tests from almost every portion of the State, as I remember it — ducks 

 and geese. 



Section 17 of the proposed law declares it unlawful to hunt on Sun- 

 day — there is a better law upon the statutes now than the one proposed. 

 Section 18 makes it a misdemeanor to hunt within another person's in- 

 closure. The sarne law, only stronger, is now upon the statutes. Sec- 

 tion 19 declares that it shall be against the law to hunt rabbits with fer- 

 rets or weasels. I don't know anything about this class of sport, but 

 I suppose there are people who do indulge, or the law would not be 

 proposed, and it is probable that some of these people have a friend or 

 friends in the Senate whose vote would be cast against the bill before 

 he would permit this clause to stand and become the law. Sections 20, 

 21, 22, 23 and 24 refer to and attempt to regulate the catching of fish, 

 and without going into details there were more protests made to me con- 

 cerning this part of the law by my constituents than to any other law 

 while I was in the legislature. Of course I felt compelled to heed their 

 desires. What I have said, in substance, covers the scope of the law and 

 taken as a whole is far reaching in its scope and effect. It affects every 

 part of Missouri. It affects the occupant of the palace and the hut. 

 It affects the owner of the gun and the hound. It affects the person who 

 visits his traps each morning as well as the person who follows the 

 bird dog. A bill so broad in its scope as this must necessarily meet much 

 opposition. You must remember that all parts of such a bill do not 

 affect all parts of the state and hence there can be no common under- 

 standing and no common interest. It meets my opposition and fails 

 to get my vote because there are provisions in there — not about the 

 birds — but about the fish that meets the opposition of my people. This 

 is not only true in my case, but is true with every other senator on the 

 floor. 



Hence you can understand why it was that this bill when brought 

 onto the floor of the Senate, brought forth an amendment from almost 

 every senator. There was actually more than thirty amendments to this 

 bill, adopted by a majority vote of those present and voting, and there 

 would have been more if the chairman of the special committee had not 

 begged that it be permitted to come back to the committee and let them 

 revise it in accordance with the views and wishes of the various sen- 

 ators as had just been expressed. It went back to the committee — never 



