REPORT OF T. GILBERT PEARSON, PRESIDENT 



INTRODUCTION 



The seventeenth year of this Association's corporative life has come to a 

 close, and today we pause to look back over the results of the year's efforts 

 before turning to the duties that await us on the morrow. It has been a year of 

 progress, and the increase of interest on the part of the public for the cause of 

 wild-life protection has been continuous. There is much for which we may 

 rejoice, but, naturally, some things have taken place which we would wish had 

 not occurred. Victories achieved for wild- life protection have given cheer and 

 encouragement, while certain defeats, and, at times, the inadequacy of the 

 financial support, have necessitated calling upon our reserve of courage and 

 fortitude. 



While heartily regretting the discontinuance of the excellent educational 

 conservation work built up in the state of New York under the leadership of 

 our Life Member, George D. Pratt, and the failure of the legislatures of North 

 Carolina and Florida to establish game commissions, we can take comfort in 

 the defeat of certain congressional efforts to establish the principle of ex- 

 ploiting our National Parks for individual gain. It is a pleasure to chronicle 

 the creation of many new bird sanctuaries and reservations, as well as the 

 enlarging membership of this Association and that of many of the state and 

 local groups associated with it. Also, the increasing respect shown by Ameri- 

 can gunners for the Federal bird-protective laws augurs well for the future 

 wild-fowl supply. 



The Association has passed through a year of exacting activities, some of 

 which I shall attempt briefly to set forth. Through the warning of friends at 

 the right moment, we were able to play a part in inducing President Wilson 

 to veto a bill which passed Congress for the purpose of turning over to private 

 interests an important wild-fowl range in one of the western states. Timely 

 warning from another member traveling in the West enabled us to bring 

 pressure to bear upon the governor of another western state, who, acting 

 within his legal rights, appeared to be on the point of granting permits to kill 

 IOC prong-horned antelope, a species which has almost disappeared from our 

 western plains. As a result, the permits were not granted. 



We have been in active cooperation with the United States Treasury 

 Department in the matter of enforcing the law prohibiting the importation of 

 plumage. The Government, continuing its policy of turning over confis- 

 cated plumage to this Association for educational purposes, has presented us 

 with three more contraband shipments of Paradise and aigrette plumes. 



FIELD AGENTS AND OFFICE FORCE 



The work of the Association's Field Agents has been all that could be 

 expected of an earnest, energetic, and loyal group of men and women. 



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