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CALIFORNIA PISH AND GAME. 



CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 



A publication devoted to the conserva- 

 tion of wild life and published quarterly 

 by the California State Fish and Game 

 Commission. 



Sent free to citizens of the State of Cali- 

 fornia. Offered in e.xchange for ornitho- 

 logical, mammalogical and similar period- 

 icals. 



The articles published in California 

 Fish and Game are not copyrighted and 

 may be repi-oduced in other periodicals, 

 provided due credit is given the California 

 Fish and Game Commission. Editors of 

 newspapers and periodicals are invited 

 to make use of pertinent material. 



All material for publication should be 

 sent to H. C. Bryant, Museum of Verte- 

 brate Zoology, Berkeley, Cal. 



JULY 26, 1920. 



"The man who illegally takes game or 

 fish decreases food resources and de- 

 frauds his country." 



A NEW EXECUTIVE OFFICER 



Since our last publication Mr. Charles 

 A. Vogelsang has succeeded Mr. Carl 

 Westerfeld as Executive Officer of the 

 Commission. This change is not regret- 

 table in and of itself, for Mr. Vogelsang 

 has had years of previous experience In 

 the office he now holds, and has always 

 enjoyed a deserved popularity for ability 

 and zeal In the performance of his duties. 

 No better appointment could have been 

 made. 



The only regret arises from the fact 

 that Mr. Westerfeld's conduct left the 

 Commission no alternative course except 

 declaring his position vacant. A majority 

 of the Board had long been convinced 

 that a continuance of Mr. Westerfeld's 

 services was not desirable. He became 

 dissatisfied with his salary and devoted 

 time due to the State to the maintenance 

 and upbuilding of a private law practice 

 and used the Commission's rooms and 

 stenographer's services to that end. His 

 lack of Interest was soon reflected In the 

 laxity of his subordinates; in view of 

 which the majority of the Board came to 

 feel that a change In the office of Execu- 

 tive Secretary was absolutely essential. 



He was so advised and was accorded 

 two months time In which to arrange for 

 his retirement. At the end of that period, 

 instead of resigning, he preferred public 

 charges against Commissioners Newbert 

 and Connell, the burden of which was 

 that they were criminally responsible for 

 the mishandling of State moneys. It was 

 not, of course, charged that they had 

 embezzled of misappropriated any of 

 these moneys; that would have been too 

 preposterous. The charge was that they 

 did not remit to the State Treasury, 

 month by month, all moneys arising 

 from the sale of licenses, as the law 

 requires. 



The answer of the Commissioners was 

 prompt and complete — that they had 

 deposited these various license funds 

 when, and as they actually became State 

 funds — that canners' licenses, kelp and 

 fisheries tonnage taxes, sold directly by 

 the Commission, were remitted upon 



receipt; but that hunting and angling 

 licenses, retailed for the greater con- 

 venience of sportsmen through a large 

 number of so-called "Resale Agents," 

 were only to be considered as State funds 

 after final settlements with such agents, 

 as they were entitled to refunds for all 

 licenses returned unsold, and their com- 

 missions could only be computed upon 

 their actual sales. In this Interpretation 

 of the law and of their duties, the Com- 

 missioners were wholly justified and fully 

 exonerated by an opinion of the Attorney 

 General of the State delivered in response 

 to the Governor's request for a construc- 

 tion of the law. 



Manifestly, but one course was open to 

 the Board after such a baseless attack by 

 a subordinate, and Mr. Westerfeld was 

 ousted from office. 



F. M. NEWBERT. 

 M. J. CONNELL. 



OPTIMISM VERSUS PESSIMISM. 



We all admire the optimist, the man 

 who believes that all is going well in 

 spite of adverse conditions, but some- 

 times an "all's well with the world" 

 attitude develops apathy and a disregard 

 of the need of readjustment or reform. 

 There are many sportsmen who, in spite 

 of circumstantial evidence, glibly point 

 out that game conditions are of the very 

 best, that game is continually on the 

 increase, and that there is no need for 

 worry as to the future. Too much of 

 this sort of optimism prevents an awak- 

 ened public sentiment which would be 

 favorable to an improvement of condi- 

 tions. 



Although pessimism may sometimes 

 mean a reduction of income from the 

 sale of hunter's and angler's licenses, 

 yet pessimism 'n regard to future game 

 conditions often stirs the public to action. 

 Certainly a study of the game situation 

 in our state would convince anyone that 

 action rather than apathy is the present 

 day need, in so far as fish and game 

 conservation is concerned. We are in- 

 clined to believe that there is greater 

 danger toward fish and game in the 

 optimistic point of view than in the 

 pessimistic point of view. 



THE VALIDITY OF THE MIGRATORY 

 BIRD TREATY SUSTAINED. 



On April nineteenth of this year the 

 United States Supreme Court sustained 

 the validity of the Migratory Bird Treaty, 

 a treaty which was made between the 

 United States and Great Britain for the 

 protection of migratory birds in the 

 United States and Oanada. It also 

 declared the Migratory Bird Treaty Act 



