%\)t Audubon ^octettefi; 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 



Edited by T. GILBERT PEARSON, Secretary 



Address all correspondence, and send all remittances for dues and contributions, to 

 the National Association of Audubon Societies, ig74 Broadway, New York City 



William Dutcher, President 

 F. A. Lucas, Acting President T. Gilbert Pearson, Secretary 



Theodore S. Palmer, First Vice-President Jonathan Dwight, Jr., Treasurer 



Any person, club, school, or company in sympathy with the objects of this Association may become 

 a member, and all are welcome. 



Classes of Membership in the National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of 

 Wild Birds and Animals: 



$5.00 annually pays for a Sustaining Membership 

 $100.00 paid at one time constitutes a Life Membership 

 $1,000.00 constitutes a person a Patron 

 $5,000.00 constitutes a person a Founder 

 $25,000.00 constitutes a person a Benefactor 



Notice to Members 



The regular Annual Meeting of the 

 National Association of Audubon Socie- 

 ties will be held at 10 o'clock A.M., on 

 Tuesday, October 28, 1913, at the Ameri- 

 can Museum of Natural History, West 

 Seventy-Seventh Street, New York City. 



The past year has been one of great 

 activity on the part of the Association, and 

 it is believed that the reports to be pre- 

 sented will be of particular interest to all 

 bird protectionists. 



We trust that members will bear in 

 mind the date of the meeting and make 

 ev-ery possible effort to be present. 



T. Gilbert Pearson, Secretary. 



The Feather Proviso 



The fight to prohibit the importation of 

 wild birds' feathers into the United States 

 is over, and the victory is won! 



On September 2, the Democratic 

 Caucus of the Senate voted to restore to 

 the Tariff Bill the House provision which 

 was passed at the earnest solicitation of 

 the .\udubon Societies and the New York 

 Zoological Society, and which has since 

 had the support of many other societies 

 and countless thousands of individual 

 workers throughout the country. 



It will be recalled that the Democratic 

 majority refused to accept the House 

 provision on this point, and, after first 



f33i) 



mutilating the feather proviso almost 

 beyond recognition, finally eliminated the 

 entire clause with the exception of Heron 

 "aigrettes." Thus the matter stood until 

 August 16, when Senator George P. 

 McLean, of Connecticut, made a most 

 forceful and exhaustive speech in support 

 of his amendment to restore the House 

 feather proviso in the Tariff Bill. His 

 address brought forth many favorable 

 comments from Senators, and some 

 adverse remarks as well. 



One of those who took issue with Sena- 

 tor McLean was the Hon. James A. Reed, 

 Senator from Missouri, who, in speaking 

 of the killing of Egrets, unburdened him- 

 self as follows: 



"I really honestly want to know why 

 there should be any sympathy or senti- 

 ment about a long-legged, long-beaked, 

 long-necked bird that lives in swamps, and 

 eats tadpoles and fish and crawfish and 

 things of that kind; why we should worry 

 ourselves into a frenzy because some lady 

 adorns her hat with one of its feathers, 

 which appears to be the only use if has." 

 And, again: "If the young are then left to 

 starve, it would seem to me the proper 

 idea would be to establish a foundling 

 asylum for the young, but still let human- 

 ity utilize this bird for the only purpose 

 that evidently the Lord made it for, 

 namely, so that we could get aigrettes for 

 bonnets of our beautiful ladies." 



Think what a distorted mind and heart 



