The Audubon Societies 



found that they had been defeated. \ery 

 early in the session of the legislature a 

 combination bill was introduced contrary 

 to the advice of this Association, which 

 very strongly urged that the Model Law 

 be introduced as one bill and a game law 

 be introduced as a second bill. Unfortu- 

 nately our advice was not taken and, as a 

 result, the Model Law was defeated, owing 

 to the fight over the fish and game portion 

 of the bill. Probably there was a further 

 reason why the bill was not passed, in that 

 the National Association did not feel that 

 it could afford to send an expert repre- 

 sentative to the legislature in order to pre- 

 sent to the legislators the importance of a 

 statute to protect the birds and game of 

 the state; but, owing to the condition of 

 the finances of the National Association, an 

 appropriation for this purpose could not 

 be made. One of the contributory causes 

 that prevented the enactment of a bird and 

 game law was that the sportsmen's organi- 

 zations were mistakenly opposed to that 

 portion of the bill referring to open seas- 

 ons and, as they were organized, they 

 flooded both the Senate and House with 

 typewritten arguments especially criti- 

 cising the open season for Quail and the 

 bag limit, insisting that the season was 

 too short and the bag limit too small. 



A second cause was the heavy penal- 

 ties provided in the bill against the oil pro- 

 ducers for allowing oil from their wells to 

 run into creeks and fish streams. A third 

 cause was the provision prohibiting shoot- 

 ing on the Sabbath day, which was vehe- 

 mently opposed by the sportsmen's organi- 

 zation. In addition to the above causes, 

 the conditions e.xisting in that portion of 

 Oklahoma, which was formerly Indian 

 Territory were so unlike those in the 

 other portions of the state that it was hard 

 to frame a law satisfactory to the two 

 sections. 



The leaders in l)C)th houses, after the 

 first two months of the session, saw, or 

 pretended to see, the absolute necessity 

 of subordinating all minor subjects, and 

 they seemed to regard the matter of bird 

 and game protection as one of these, to the 

 enactment of laws necessary to put the 



provisions of the new stale constitution 

 in operation; and in this, again, the condi- 

 tions in the two territories forming the 

 state presented problems that called into 

 activity the wisest thought and judgment 

 of the legislature. 



In the last four days of the session 

 repeated conferences were held by the 

 game committees of the two houses, but 

 every effort to get the senate committee 

 to agree to the house bill proved abortive, 

 and the friends of the birds finally in 

 sorrow and regret reluctantly gave up 

 the fight. 



Notwithstanding the fact that all bird 

 and game legislation was finally defeated, 

 yet there were a large number of senators 

 and representatives who were very ar- 

 dently in favor of the bills, and in this con- 

 nection it is only proper to give the high- 

 est credit to General J. C. Jamison for 

 the splendid work he did in advocat- 

 ing the bills although he was not a 

 member of the legislature; much of the 

 work he did was at the cost of serious 

 physical discomfort. — W. D. 



Georgia. — -We now have before the 

 legislature of this state a bill, almost a 

 fac-simile of the Alabama law, which is one 

 of the best in the country. It has passed 

 one branch of the legislature already and 

 it is hoped that it will become a law before 

 the end of the session. 



Secretary Pearson has already spent 

 considerable time at Atlanta urging the 

 passage of the bill, and early in July, by 

 invitation. Commissioner John H. Wal- 

 lace, Jr., of Alabama, addressed the legis- 

 lature on the subject of game preserva- 

 tion, confining his remarks largely to the 

 economic value of birds. At the conclusion 

 of his remarks over half of the members 

 of the House and Senate came forward 

 and expressed themselves as being favor- 

 able to the bill. Commissioner Wallace 

 went as the accredited representative of 

 the National Association. The bill pro- 

 vides for the establishment of a game 

 commission and also for the hunter's 

 license feature, both being necessary in 

 Georgia as elsewhere. 



