REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF FISH COMMISSIONERS 67 



number of convictions to call attention of violators to the fact that the 

 State laws apply there as well as elsewhere. 



In the great interior valleys these clubs have shown commendable 

 activity in reporting violations of the law to this office, and in that way 

 have been instrumental in causing many arrests and securing convic- 

 tions for infractions that would not have come to our attention but for 

 the notification we received from them. 



We hope to keep one of our regular deputies in the field, so far as our 

 means will permit, to visit with the different associations, instruct their 

 officers in the matter of arrests, and explain the work and purposes of 

 this Commission, and also to assist in the organization of new associa- 

 tions. 



HUNTING LICENSES. 



It appears to us that the time has arrived when we should recom- 

 mend, for the consideration of yourself and the Legislature of this State, 

 a plan to provide for an increase of revenue without taxing the General 

 Fund; in other words, to make those who hunt for protected game pay 

 for the privilege. We appreciate that the General Fund of this State is 

 already taxed to its full limit, and we believe that no legitimate sports- 

 man or other person who hunts, either for pleasure or profit, would 

 object to such a measure. 



Quoting from Bulletin No. 19 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

 which was prepared by Dr. T. S. Palmer, in charge of Game 

 Preservation, U. S. Biological Survey, we make the following extracts: 



Two of the most important problems of practical game protection are how to enforce 

 the laws and how to secure the funds necessary for the purpose. Without funds it is 

 manifestly impossible to either provide or maintain the service required to carry the 

 laws into effect, and if no serious effort is made to secure compliance with the law, pub- 

 lic interest in game protection flags until it becomes difficult to secure either appropri- 

 ations or such legislation as will yield revenue for warden service. The most successful 

 method of raising funds thus far devised is a system of licenses, which in effect 

 amounts to a direct tax on those who hunt. Several states depend almost entirely on 

 some system of this kind for maintaining their warden service, and others receive from 

 it important additions to their game protection funds. 



There are three systems or classes of licenses: resident, non-resident, 

 and alien. 



The total amount collected in 1905 from the 36 states of the Union 

 and 4 provinces of Canada, in which n on-resident licenses are requested, 

 was $153,429, the largest sum being collected by the State of Maine, 

 and aggregating more than $31,000. Next in the list of states is Wis- 

 consin, with a collection of $11,225; North Carolina, $10,111; Florida 

 and Wyoming, each upward of $7,000. The data for 1905, collected by 

 the Bureau of Biological Survey, U. S. Department of Agriculture, show 

 that nearly 10,000 licenses were issued to non-residents, or people hunt- 



