Monthly Bulletin 5 



defended by money raised for this purpose. Perhaps the metropoHs of 

 Kansas and Missouri was the most logical place for them to win. On 

 March 20, 1915, Judge John C. Pollock, sitting at Kansas City, Kansas, 

 declared the old law unconstitutional. The last legislature of Kansas 

 passed a bill authorizing the state's attorney-general to defend all men 

 gratis who were prosecuted for violating the federal game law. However, 

 the Governor refused to sign this bill. I mention these facts to show that 

 where such sentiment existed, ample funds and legal advice would be 

 forthcoming to oppose the national law. 



"Shortly after the principals in this case were indicted, Frank W. 

 McAllister, attorney-general for the State of Missouri, slipped out duck 

 shooting and was caught in the act and placed under $1,000 bond. Nat- 

 urally, he joined force with the enemy and the legislature of Missouri 

 authorized him to test the law and incidentally save his scalp, if possible. 

 With counsel hired from money secured by subscription, and with the 

 legal staff of both Kansas and Missouri they should have made a good 

 showing, but their defeat was complete. 



"Many of the decisions quoted by counsel striving to have the law 

 declared unconstitutional are used by the government and later referred 

 to in the decisions as upholding the validity of the law. Great stress 

 was laid on the former decision of Judge Trieber and the decision of Judge 

 Pollock in declaring the old migratory bird law unconstitutional and all 

 the authorities for these decisions are quoted. However, Judge Trieber 

 himself points out that his former decision has no bearing on the present 

 case, and in this opinion he is borne out by Judge Van Valkenburgh, in 

 that the former law was not supported by a treaty with a foreign govern- 

 ment. 



"After the 'test case' was well under way, the State of Missouri, 

 through her attorney-general, brought a civil action to restrain United 

 States game wardens from enforcing the law in that state. This com- 

 plaint asking for a temporary restraining order was argued at the same 

 time as the demurrer to the indictments of the two men involved in the 

 'test case,' and a brief was submitted by the attorney-general's office, 

 which was assisted by Mr. J. G. L. Harvey, a law partner of Senator 

 James A. Reed. In the same decision in which Judge Van Valkenburgh 

 overruled the demurrers he dismissed this complaint, as the basis of both 

 was the contention that the law was unconstitutional, which was not 

 established." 



Now that even Missouri has been "shown" through its own origi- 

 nally dissenting judges, the matter of the constitutional legality of the 

 Migratory Bird Treaty Act may be considered as settled for all time. 



