ORNAMENTAL PLUMES 173 



Gradually they accepted the Audubon Law, and 

 our native birds took a new lease on life. 



The blow to the milliners was heavy, but they 

 stubbornly maintained the battle. The continuous 

 flow of skins was interrupted, it was thought, but 

 not disrupted. The future would show. Some 

 States still permitted plume hunting. The new 

 law in others would soon be repealed. But it 

 was not. Instead, in 1900, the Lacy Act passed 

 Congress and became a national law. By it, the 

 transportation from State to State of the skins 

 and plumes so necessary to the dealers was for- 

 bidden. The dealers capitulated. The war with- 

 in the United States was over. 



Although defeated in one direction, the Milli- 

 nery Association was not yet ready to cry quits. 

 There still remained the import trade from outside 

 of the United States. If our native birds could 

 not be destroyed, then all others must suffer in 

 consequence. The demand for gouras, birds of 

 paradise, egrets, and all foreign birds increased. 

 Hundreds of thousands were brought from the 

 East and millions of skins from South America. 



The protectionists, having gained the victory 

 for their own birds, extended their efforts to pre- 

 serve the foreign species. Their campaign of 

 propaganda and efforts toward legislation were 

 continued without let-up. The cause now was for 

 world-wide humanitarianism where birds were 

 concerned. And after thirteen years they were 



