ADDRESSES OF MAJOR LACEY 179 



Congress to deal with interstate problems and to do for 

 the states what they cannot separately do successfully 

 among themselves, I then prepared a bill on the subject. 



The main purpose of a bill to protect migratory birds 

 is to prevent their slaughter when going to their annual 

 breeding grounds in the north. If the "spring shooting" 

 could be successfully prevented by separate state legisla- 

 tion, or by a general federal statute, great results would 

 be achieved. The killing of a wild bird, in poor flesh and 

 not in condition for food, on its way to its summer breed- 

 ing ground, is an unsportsmanlike act. If it is prac- 

 ticable to legally prevent such slaughter it should be done. 

 The question is one of method. 



I was of the opinion that the difficulty could be met by 

 a general statute prohibiting the killing or capture of 

 migratory wild-fowl while engaged in their spring migra- 

 tion to the north. Such law should protect the birds while 

 the migration is in progress, regardless of the exact 

 period of the spring season, so that the dates need not be 

 fixed by regulation. Some years the migration may be 

 several weeks earlier than in other years. The law mak- 

 ing a closed season in favor of migratory birds during 

 the time of their flight to the north would be an elastic 

 proposition and cover the period of actual migration, 

 whether late or early, and whether short or prolonged by 

 weather. It appeals to the hunter, for if these birds can 

 be protected during the spring flight, the fall shooting- 

 would then be worth while. As to insect-destroying birds, 

 they should be protected at all times and at all seasons, 

 and the state authorities are joining in local protection ; 

 but it will be of further aid to protect this class of birds 

 in migration. 



The bill that I finally prepared was in substance limited 

 to spring migration, and drawn so as to protect the birds 

 during the varying periods of their northward progress. 



