278 THE IMPORTANCE OF BIRD LIFE 



transported from State to State ; the heron rook- 

 eries of the Carolinas could not be devastated to 

 supply the New York millinery trade ; and game- 

 birds could not be killed to fill markets outside 

 of the State. This was the first step of the 

 Government toward central control of birds. 



As far back as 1904, bills were presented to Con- 

 gress proposing federal control of migratory 

 game-birds. Their initial failure was due to the 

 inclusion of game-birds in the list without mention 

 of crop-protecting birds. Congress rightly 

 claimed that the passage of such bills would prove 

 of benefit to sportsmen only, and they were shelved 

 for several years. The people to whom the pro- 

 tection of the insectivorous birds would be of in- 

 estimable value failed to become interested in the 

 project, and therefore the game-bird bills were 

 doomed before their inception. 



Recognizing that this was so and being himself 

 wholly in favor of protection in one form or an- 

 other for all birds, Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson, head 

 of the National Association of Audubon Societies, 

 in the spring of 1912 addressed a congressional 

 committee at a public hearing on three migratory 

 game-bird bills. His speech brought out the fact 

 that it was absolutely necessary to include insec- 

 tivorous birds in such bills before they could be- 

 come effective. Armed with voluminous statis- 

 tics, he was able to drive this home to the members 

 of the committee. Within a month, a new bill, 



