354 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 91 



ANOTHER BLOW— MIGRATORY BIRD LAW HIT HARD. 



The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin of date Jauuary 20th, 1915, cou- 

 taius the anuonncement that Judge Treiber of the United States 

 District Court for the Eastern District of Arliansas, declared the 

 Migratory Bird law, passed by congress on March 4th, 1913, invalid. 

 The learned judge in his decision, states that while he recognizes 

 the force of the contention of the Federal authorities that only by 

 national legislation can the migrating birds of the c-ountry be pre- 

 served, j'et lie says that this is not a matter for the courts, but for 

 the people by amending the constitution of the United States. 



The decision was rendered in the case of LTnited States vs. Shau- 

 ver. and is reported in 214 Federal Reporter, page 154. In this 

 decision. Judge Trieber quotes and discusses many decisions pro 

 and con, but all of them are clearly in line with his decision in the 

 Shauver case, and a careful examination and study of his honor's 

 decision convinces one that it is sound and that an appeal to the 

 Supreme Court of the United States would avail nothing. 



Article 5 of the Constitution of the United States provides that 

 the constitution maj^ be amended whenever two-thirds of both the 

 house and the senate shall deem it necessary and shall propose 

 amendments to the constitution or uix)n the application of the legis- 

 latures of two-thirds of the several states, c-ongress shall call a con- 

 vention for proposing amendments, which amendments in either 

 case shall be valid to all intents and purposes when ratilied by the 

 legislatures of three-fourths of the several states or by conven- 

 tions in three-fourths thereof as the one or the other mode of rati- 

 fication may be proposed by congress. 



The friends of the birds should stir up the members of congress 

 from their respective districts and the same methods should be used 

 with the representatives and state senators in the different states, 

 and as the law of March 4th. 191:'!. declared invalid by Judge Ti'ie- 

 ber was undoul)tedly the result of the same kind of agitation, there 

 ought to be no difficulty in having an amendment providing in sub- 

 stance that birds and animals ferae natiira are by the constitution 

 given to and declared to be the property of the United States, and 

 in this way obviate the objection raised by Jiidge Trieber that noth- 

 ing in the present Ignited States constitution waives the common 

 law right of the different states to all birds and animals ferae 

 not lira. 



]\Iost of the laws pas.><ed by the different states for the protection 

 of game, contain in some part thereof, the statement that birds and 

 animals ferae mitina are the property of the state, but as this is 

 luerelv declaratorv of tlie cniumoii law. it has verv little force ex- 



