LET US GO AFIELD 



this bill in Congress did not know how hard a fight 

 had been waged by a few public-spirited men in the 

 cause of game protection in this country. Not all 

 of these men were sportsmen. I see no reason for 

 setting the sportsman apart in a class, or regarding 

 him as a sacred object individually entitled to 

 more benefits than anyone else. The weakest part 

 in many state laws was that they had this touch 

 of class legislation in them or, at least, the sports- 

 men often sought to put it there. Our whole theory 

 of game laws was childish ; it sought to eat the cake 

 and yet have it, meantime keeping the other fellow 

 from getting any cake. 



It was by no means sportsmen alone who passed 

 the Weeks-McLean Law or built the sentiment that 

 made it possible. Sportsmen did their share in pro- 

 portion as they were broad-minded and not selfish. 

 As a matter of fact, some of the wealthy shooting 

 clubs located in the migratory flyway of the wild- 

 fowl, clubs whose members may be called sports- 

 men, have been most prominent in antagonizing the 

 regulations of the Department of Agriculture in so 

 far as they prohibit spring shooting of wildfowl. 



We do not need to classify ourselves either as 

 being or not being sportsmen in our handling of this 

 question. It is simply one of wisdom in taking 

 care of a part of the wealth of the people at large. 



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