4 PROBLEMS IN WILD LIFE CONSERVATION 



Wild Life Conservation in the Territories of the United 

 States: The constitution gives Congress power " to dispose 

 of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting 

 the Territory and other property belonging to the United 

 States." 24 The present territories of the United States are 

 Alaska, Porto Rico, Hawaii, the Philippines, the District of 

 Columbia, and certain insular possessions, notably the Canal 

 Zone, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. All of these terri- 

 tories are located outside the boundaries and therefore the 

 jurisdiction of any of the states. 



Within these territories, Congress has entire dominion 

 and sovereignty, national and local, and has full legislative 

 power over all subjects upon which the legislature of a state 

 might legislate. 25 Congress may transfer the power of legis- 

 lation in respect to local affairs to a legislature elected by the 

 citizens of a territory and in the case of the more important 

 territories has done so. 26 



Conservation of Wild Life in Alaska: Congress estab- 

 lished an Alaskan Game Commission in 1925 composed of 

 five members, four of whom were to be appointed by the 

 Secretary of Agriculture and who must be residents of 

 Alaska for five years preceding their appointment. The fifth, 

 who acts as executive officer, is the principal representative 

 of the Biological Survey resident in Alaska. 27 Salaries are 

 limited to a per-diem for time spent at meetings. 



The Commission has wide authority over the administra- 

 tion of the game laws in Alaska. The regulation regarding 

 open and closed seasons and methods of taking of wild 



24 Article IV, section 3. 



25 See Simms v. Simms, 175 U. S. 168 (1899) and United States v. 

 McMillion, 165 U. S. 510 (1897). 



26 Binns v. United States, 194 U. S. 486 (1903). 

 a7 43 Stat. L. 740. 



