﻿Ct)e Slutiubon |3>ociette0 



" you cannot with a scalpel find the poet's soul, 

 Nor yet the wild bird's song." 



Edited by MRS. MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT and WILLIAM DUTCHER 



Communications relating to the work of the Audubon and other Bird Protective Societies should 

 be addressed to Mrs. Wright, at Fairfield, Conn. Reports, etc., designed for this department, should be 

 sent at least one month prior to the date of publication. 



The Millinery Trade Organ 



It is interesting to read the editorials in 

 'The Millinery Trade Review,' as they un- 

 doubtedly voice the feelings of the millinery 

 trade toward the Audubon movement. 



An editorial, 'The Audubon Society 

 Against the Fancy Feather Trade' says: 

 " There can no longer be any doubt that one 

 of the principal aims of the Audubon Soci- 

 ety and its kindred organizations is to com- 

 pletely wipe out the sale of fancy feathers of 

 all kinds. As the Audubon Society has 

 taken such extreme grounds on the subject 

 of wearing fancy feathers, there is no other 

 alternative but for the importer and manu- 

 facturer to take up the gauntlet and meet 

 these people in a battle royal ; in other 

 words, to fight the devil with fire — organi- 

 zation with organization." This is a fair 

 proposition; now let the people be the judges 

 and say whom they will support, the Audu- 

 bon Societies that are trying to preserve the 

 wild birds of America, or a fashion that 

 decrees the death of birds to the verge of 

 extinction of species. 



An editorial in the same publication en- 

 titled ' To Fight the Aigrette Law ' says, 

 "The merchants of New Orleans are the 

 first to take up the pamphlet of Audubons 

 and test the constitutionality of the Louisiana 

 law passed by its Legislature last year, for- 

 bidding the selling of aigrette plumage." 

 After reviewing the brief of the attorney for 

 the milliners, the editorial continues, " It is 

 seriously to be hoped that there will be no 

 let-up in this contest on the part of the New 

 Orleans merchants, and that the case will 

 be carried to the court of last resort in order 

 that the commercial world may know what 

 rights it has in the possession of merchan- 

 dise bought in foreign countries, and which 

 has been regularly passed through the cus- 



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tom-house, and on which the duty exacted 

 by the government has been duly paid. 

 Every woman and girl, not only in Louisi- 

 ana, but in the United States, is interested 

 in this case, as upon it rests their rights to 

 determine what they shall be permitted to 

 buy abroad and wear on their return to their 

 homes in America." — W. D. 



In the Courts — An Important Decision. 



In the last annual report (p. 309) under 

 the head 'Aigrettes,' reference was made 

 to an important suit that was in the New 

 York Courts. Since then, the Court, of 

 Appeals has handed down a decision that 

 will have such a far-reaching effect on bird 

 and game protection in this country, that it 

 is thought best to give a brief outline of the 

 suit and some extracts from the decision 

 which was written by Chief Justice Cullen 

 and was concurred in by the full bench. 

 The decision is notable from the fact that 

 there was no dissenting opinion, which is an 

 unusual occurrence. 



John Hill, a hotel-keeper, and August 

 Silz, a game-dealer, were arrested for viola- 

 tion of the game-law. The Special Term 

 upheld the arrest, but, on appeal to the 

 Appellate Division, the Special Term was 

 reversed and the relators were discharged 

 from custody. The two cases were then 

 taken to the Court of Appeals. " The affi- 

 divit avers that on the 3d day of March 

 John Hill did have in his possession one 

 dead body of a bird known as a Golden 

 Plover, and one dead body of a fowl com- 

 monly called a Grouse; that, as the affiant 

 was informed and believed, the said Plover 

 and Grouse were taken without the state 

 of New York, to wit, from England and 

 Russia, and thence brought into the Borough 

 of Brooklyn. The game-law enacts that 



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