CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 109 



public, and for the benefit of coming generations, then certainly you 

 are worthy of your hire and are engaged in a noble profession. 



Not many years ago there was no provision for the payment of war- 

 dens in any of the states. They were supposed to secure what recom- 

 pense they could from a portion of the fines for violation against the 

 game laws. The "moiety system," so called, has never been a success 

 in any of the states where it has been tried — it was merely a first step. 

 Then provision was made for paying salaries at so much per day or per 

 month, but these salaries were small. A warden was not supposed to 

 be worth as much as a common laborer. Salaries of $30 or $50 a 

 month were regarded as ample for the arduous duty of protecting the 

 game and risking a man's life in enforcing the laws. Later on, more 

 onerous duties were imposed, more was expected of the wardens, and 

 in some cases fairly respectable salaries were provided. Today, speak- 

 ing generally, wardens' salaries range from $60 a month, or $2.00 a 

 day (fortunately very few states pay as little as that but usually at 

 least $75.00 a month" or $2.50 a day), up to $125 a month or $1,500 

 a year. 



Among the things which we are looking forward to, to make warden 

 work a profession and not a job, are : 



1. Stal)ility of compensation so that a man can count on receiving a 

 regular salary. 



2. A living wage. 



3. Reasonable opportunity for promotion, when a man has attained 

 increased efficiency and experience ; and, 



4. Retirement on a reduced salary (as in Ma.ssachusetts), when a 

 man has served the state for a number of years. 



Stability of compensation is important to obtain good service. A 

 man can not be expected to work one day for the state and the next 

 day for a private employer, and give good service to both. Neither 

 can a M^arden be expected to give good service to the state for a less 

 Avage than a man receives for digging a ditch in the street. Warden 

 work, under modern standards, re(iuires a high degree of intelligence 

 and a good many qualities which can not be had for nothing. Even 

 with the-e things we can not get the best results if a man has nothing 

 to look forward to after ten years' service except a number of enemies, 

 the enmity of his neighbors and the possibility of being shot while in 

 discharge of his duty. 



Let me tell you in a few words what some states are doing to secure 

 the best results in warden service. In the first place, to get the be-^t 

 men, five states have what is known as a "civil service" law. This is 

 nothing more than the application of the merit system to appointments 

 for warden work. A civil service law does not make good wardens, it 

 simply sifts out the fit from the unfit. New York was the first state to 

 apply the merit system to the game warden service by the ordinary 

 test of a written examination as a prerequisite to appoincmeut. 



Wisconsin went a step farther and required not only a written exam- 

 ination, but an oral examination and certain physical tasts. Every 

 candidate for the position of warden reads the game law and if he 

 has a retentive memory and is reasonably bright he can easily learn the 

 various open and closed seasons, etc., but he may have had no experience 

 in the field and may know nothing about the application of the law. 

 4—15680 



