16 Transactions Tennessee Academy of Science 



The present State Game Warden has asked and received the hearty 

 co-operation of a number of sheriffs in this State, but not all of 

 them. In some sections the sheriffs have absolutely refused to have 

 anything to do with the enforcement of these laws, and this being 

 an election year, and many of the sheriffs and constables being can- 

 didates for re-election, and the laws being unpopular in many sec- 

 tions of the State, the right-thinking man can hardly blame these 

 officers for refusing to act as game wardens at this time. 



The game laws, however, can never be enforced in this State until 

 the department has the active co-operation of all officers, and it is 

 my intention to make every sheriff in this State a game warden after 

 the August election, and every constable a special warden in his 

 district. 



I believe that the State Game Warden has been given too much 

 power in some instances and too little in others. I believe that the 

 laws should be so amended as to give the grand juries of the State 

 inquisitorial power in all cases of the violation of the Game, Fish 

 and Forestry laws, and that all money derived from fines for the 

 violations of these laws should be covered into the State Treasury, 

 as are the fines from all other violations of the law, and placed to 

 the credit of the Department of Game, Fish and Forestry, but in no 

 case should the office of the State Game Warden depend upon the 

 fees collected bv the wardens for the moneys necessary to carry on 

 the work of the department. 



In fact, our Game, Fish and Forestry laws should be rewritten 

 from beginning to end, and so written as to make, as I have above 

 suggested, their enforcement as much the duty of the officers of the 

 law in all the counties of the State as is the enforcement of any other 

 law. 



Some of you men have seen the passenger pigeon, millions of 

 them. How long has it been since you saw one of them? 



Last year a number of men baited a field for doves in one of our 

 sister States near our border, called in their friends and killed more 

 than 6,000 doves in one day. Last year in this State the sportsmen 

 began shooting doves on August 1st. At that time many of the 

 young doves were unable to fly, and the killing of the mother dove 

 left the little ones in the nest to starve. I wonder how long it will 

 be, if these practices are not stopped, before the cooing of the dove 

 will be as strange to the ears of the boys and girls of this State as 

 is the flight of the passenger pigeons to the man of today. 



