The Audubon Societies 



73 



finally and definitely settled. New and 

 vigorous efforts have recently been 

 started. 



Naturally enough, as in other cam- 

 paigns of similar character, we are not in 

 position at this time to advertise just what 

 steps we are taking or intend to take in 

 the near future. 



Politics in Oregon 



Just before the holidays, the Board of 

 Fish and Game Commissioners of Oregon 

 held a secret meeting and dismissed Wil- 

 liam L. Finley, State Biologist. There 

 were no charges against Mr. Finley in any 

 way, but, as he had refused to play politics 

 and sacrifice the conservation of the state's 

 wild life for the sake of getting votes, it 

 was decided to dispose of him and spend 

 the money on some good vote getter, a 

 man who would play regular and do what 

 he was told. However, as it turned out 

 Finley proved to be a bigger man than the 

 Game Commission, for as soon as the star 

 chamber action of this Board of Com- 

 missioners became known, the people of 

 Oregon arose in mass. Almost every con- 

 ceivable kind of organization in Portland, 

 including the Chamber of Commerce, State 

 Sportsmen's Association, etc., voiced their 

 astonishment and promptly sent their 

 representatives or communications to the 

 Governor demanding that Mr. Finley be 

 reinstated in office. The school children 

 by hundreds stormed the newspaper 

 offices, and a petition bearing 30,000 of 

 their names was sent to the Governor in 

 Mr. Finley's behalf. 



This Association, of course, instantly 

 filed a strong letter of protest with the 

 Governor, copies of which were sent to the 

 newspapers throughout the state. Benja- 

 min W. Olcott, who is Governor of the 

 state of Oregon, is also chairman of the 

 Board of Fish and Game Commissioners. 

 He was not present when the Commis- 

 sioners held their meeting, but the latter 



stated he had given his consent to the 

 removal of Mr. Finley. 



Mr. Finley is extremely popular in 

 Oregon, and when the storm broke about 

 the Governor's ears, he, good politician 

 that he is, decided in a few days that he 

 would ask the Board of Fish and Game 

 Commissioners to reinstate Mr. Finley in 

 office. He therefore communicated his 

 wishes to the Commissioners. These four 

 gentlemen met and decided to stand by 

 their guns, and refused to concede to the 

 Governor's order. Another week passed 

 by, during which floods of protests con- 

 tinued to reach the Governor. At the end 

 of this time he came out with a statement 

 that at the coming session of the Legisla- 

 ture, which meets in a few weeks, he would 

 recommend that the Board of Fish and 

 Game Commissioners as present constituted 

 be abolished, and that two separate boards 

 be appointed, one to handle conservation 

 of wild life, and the other to handle the 

 commercial fishing interests. He declared, 

 furthermore, if the Legislature did not do 

 this he would dismiss all the old Fish and 

 Game Commissioners and appoint a new 

 Board. In any event, there is little doubt 

 that Mr. Finley will shortly be offered 

 his old position, and the indications are 

 that on the platter holding the commission 

 of office there will be a nice bouquet in 

 the form of a substantial increase in salary. 



Bird Lectures Available 



Herbert K. Job, in charge of our De- 

 partment of Applied Ornithology, is 

 accepting appointments for public lectures, 

 using a wealth of splendid motion pictures 

 and colored slides, either or both, of various 

 classes of wild birds from life. We urge 

 our friends to secure a lecture this season. 

 Not only are they delightful, but the pro- 

 ceeds go toward maintaining the above 

 department of our work. Write to him for 

 a circular; address 291 Main St., West 

 Haven, Conn., or our New York office. 



