STATE CONSERVATION DEPARTMENTS 193 



for variations in the number of wardens and in the exact 

 title, this is the system generally used in most states. 



Minnesota also ranks among the states with a large force, 

 having some twenty districts each headed by a district chief 

 warden with a total of one hundred and twenty wardens 

 for the entire state. Within the last few years two inspec- 

 tors were appointed whose duty it is to tour the state, re- 

 viewing the work done in each district. 



The tendency in general seems to be toward larger warden 

 forces. Arkansas prior to 1927 had a force of only eight 

 to cover the entire state. In that year the legislature ap- 

 proved an increase in the force of sixteen additional war- 

 dens. 45 In Alabama prior to 1922 there were no full-time 

 salaried wardens but since that time a force of 33 men has 

 been built up and the commissioner recently has requested 

 still further increases in the size of the force. 46 All of the 

 states show this same trend toward a larger full-time war- 

 den system. 



Unfortunately the statutes in some states hamper the 

 work of the Department by setting forth details which 

 should have been left to the discretion of the administrative 

 chief. A provision common in the south, for example, is to 

 provide for one warden to each county. The inefficiency of 

 the system resulting is clearly evident inasmuch as one war- 

 den may be overburdened with work while another may 

 have little to do. 



Alabama's statutes limit the number of employees at 

 headquarters to two full-time clerks yet the press of work 

 has necessitated hiring four extra assistants on a temporary 

 basis. Such minute detail should not be attempted by the 

 legislature, for details once fixed by statute are difficult to 

 change. 



45 The Arkansas Conservationist, Dec., 1928, p. 10. 



46 Third Quadrennial Report, p. 90 (1930). 



