The Audubon Societies 



331 



MORE FEDERAL BIRD RESERVATIONS 



Two new Federal Bird Reserv-ations were 

 recently created. These are to be known as 

 the 'Pablo Reservation' consisting of the 

 North and South Pablo Reser\-oirs and the 

 Ninepipe Reservation' consisting of the 

 Xinepipe Reservoir. Both are in the state of 

 Montana and situated within the boundaries 

 of the Flathead Irrigation Project. 



The executive orders creating these bird 

 reser\-ations were signed by President 



Harding on June 25, 1921. On the same 

 date the President also issued an order en- 

 larging the boundaries of the Indian Key Re- 

 servation in Tampa Bay, Fla., in order to 

 include other islands. 



Through the kindness of Frank Bond, 

 Chief of the Federal Land Ofhce, a friend and 

 member of the Association, the olTice has 

 been supplied with copies of the above orders 

 and maps which accompan}- them. 



PLEASE READ THIS! 



In most of the cities of the United States, 

 and particularly in Xew York, the plumes of 

 the Bird-of-Paradise are displayed for sale 

 and may be seen in common use on women's 

 hats. Frequently their sale is advertised in 

 newspapers. The traffic in these feathers 

 seems to have been on the increase the past 

 year. Our office receives numerous inquiries 

 from people who tell us of these things and 

 state, "The law is being flagrantly violated. 

 Why do you not do something. " As a mat- 

 ter of fact, in so far as the sale and wearing of 

 these plumes is concerned, the law is not 

 being violated, for the law does not prohibit 

 these things. It is against the law to sell 

 aigrettes, the plumes of the white Egret, but 

 once they are in private possession there ap- 

 pears to be no enforceable law against their 

 being worn. In the case of Paradise plumes, 

 however, the only restriction is the United 

 States law embodied in the Tariff Act of 1913, 

 which prohibits the iinportalioii of the feathers 

 of any wild birds into the United States for 

 commercial purposes. This is the law that 

 is being "flagrantly violated." 



Undoubtedly the stock of Paradise feath- 

 ers on hand when the law went into effect on 

 October 3, 1913, — over eight years ago, — 

 has long ago been exhausted, and the plumes 

 we now see sold and worn are most certainly 

 feathers that have been smuggled. Inspec- 

 tors of the Custom Offices have made a large 

 number of seizures, and in these columns we 

 have from time to time reported the taking of 

 some of these illegal goods and the disposition 

 made of them. 



This Association planned to ask the pres- 

 ent session of Congress that is revising the 

 Tariff to amend the law in such a way as to 

 prohibit absolutely the sale of Paradise 

 plumes. Just before the date set by the 

 Chairman of the Ways and ]Means Commit- 

 tee for the President of the Association to 

 appear before the Congressmen having this 

 matter in charge, it was learned that the 

 United States Milliner>^ Chamber of Com- 

 merce had a bill to propose, and after a con- 

 ference and much deliberation it was decided 

 to back their bill, and this was done, not only 

 formally before the Ways and Means Com- 

 mittee on February 11, 1921, but subse- 

 quently by other means. This bill makes it 

 illegal to sell the plumes of Birds-of-Paradise 

 or other smuggled feathers unless the seller 

 can produce evidence to satisfy the courts 

 that the feathers were brought legally into 

 this country before the Tariff Act of 191 3 

 became effective. This is now under con- 

 sideration in Congress, and if it becomes an 

 item of the Federal statutes it will virtually 

 mean that the last battle of the war waged by 

 the Audubon Societies since 1886 against 

 the legalized feather traffic shall have been 

 won. 



Of course, regardless of how stringent the 

 laws may be made, it is probable that feathers 

 for millinery decoration will continually be 

 smuggled into the country. Despite the 

 .Association's warden-force. Egrets in the 

 southern swamps will continue to be killed 

 because there will persist a certain t>pe of 

 feminine mind that wants the plumage. 



