90 WILD LIFE CONSERVATION 



American people imperatively need wild game to 

 satisfy hunger or to ward off starvation. Good 

 food is to be had by the thrifty in great abundance, 

 everywhere save on the last frontier. We have 

 become a nation of epicures, eternally picking and 

 choosing the best and choicest foods and drinks out 

 of a bewildering array of meats, fruits, cereals and 

 vegetables. Ninety per cent of the Americans who 

 go hunting for game do not know what real hunger 

 is, save by hearsay. People do not buy terrapin, 

 and champagne, and venison, and canvas-back 

 duck, at from $2 to $3 per portion, to satisfy real 

 hunger. Purchased wild game is used to pamper 

 appetites that have been worn out in the service of 

 luxury. 



We know very well that with only a few excep- 

 tions wild game is no longer necessary to the Ameri- 

 can people as food for the hungry; but at the same 

 time an abundant supply of wild meat, killed on a 

 conservation basis, would make a legitimate addi- 

 tion to the meat supply of the nation. 



As sensible people, we believe that when game is 

 sufficiently abundant, and the killing of it does not 

 spell extermination, it is right for man to take toll 

 of the wilds. In my opinion, the greatest value of 

 the game birds and mammals of the United States 

 lies, not in their meat pounds as they lie upon the 

 table, but in the temptation that the legitimate pur- 

 suit of them annually puts before millions of desk- 

 weary clerks, merchants, professional men and 



