68 



Bird -Lore 



few scraps or bones now and then to feed 

 the birds. There is food enough wasted 

 in this country every year to save from 

 starvation ten times as many birds as 

 winter with us." 



The McLean Bill 



The most far-reaching measure for wild- 

 bird protection ever seriously considered 

 by a legislative body in the United States 

 is the McLean Bill for Federal Protection 

 of Migratory Birds which is now pending 

 in the Senate at Washington, and the 

 Weeks bill of a similar character now on 

 the calendar in the House. 



Since George Shiras, 3d, first intro- 

 duced in Congress a bill of this character, 

 in 1904, similar attempts have followed; 

 but all have met with the same fate, viz., 

 death at the hands of the committees to 

 which they were referred for consideration. 

 The McLean Bill, however, has been 

 favorably reported by the Senate Commit- 

 tees on Forest Reservations and the 

 Protection of Game, and the Weeks bill 

 has likewise been given endorsement by 

 the House Committee on Agriculture. 



Congress has convened, and although 

 the session will be very short, ending on 

 March 4, there is abundant time to ad- 

 vance either of these bills to a vote if the 

 supporters of the measures will immedi- 

 ately become active and bestir themselves 

 to the point of urging their Senators and 

 Congressmen to take up the bills and pass 

 them. The friends of bills affecting com- 

 mercial enterprises never sleep, and their 

 representatives are ever alert. The friends 

 of wild life must be equally active if we 

 are to hope for success. If you have not 

 already done so, will you at once communi- 

 cate with your Senators at Washington 

 and urge them to support the "McLean 

 Bill for Federal Protection of Migratory 

 Birds," and write your Congressmen 

 insisting that they give their votes to the 

 passage of the Weeks bill. 



To those not familiar with the exact 

 character of this proposed legislation, 

 it may be stated that the plan is to delegate 

 to the United States Department of 



Agriculture the authority to make rules 

 and regulations regarding the open and 

 close seasons for killing migratory game 

 birds, and also prescribe the methods by 

 which such game may be taken and dis- 

 posed of. The Department would also 

 fix the status of what birds are "game" 

 and what are not. Thus, in North Caro- 

 lina the Robin and Towhee are both 

 classed as game birds, while in the north- 

 ern states they are protected under the 

 Audubon Law as non-game birds. It is 

 difficult to over-estimate the good which 

 would result in the matter of unifying and 

 enforcing laws for the protection of wild 

 life if either of these bills shall at length 

 become a law. 



Contributions to the Egret Protection 

 Fund for 1912 



Previously reported in Bird-Lore 



$6,427 54 



Anonymous 3 00 



Ayer, C. F 5 00 



Barclay, Emily 2 00 



Bergfels, Mrs. Harry 1 00 



Berry, Mrs. George T 1 00 



Bird Lovers' Club of Brooklyn 10 00 



Brooks, Mr. S 5 00 



Butler, Mrs. Mary Howard. . . 2 00 



Carter, Mrs. W. T 5 00 



Cornegys, The Misses 5 00 



Curtis, Mrs. G. S 5 00 



Diehl, Miss Nellie F 1 00 



Diehl, Miss Sarah M 1 00 



Hayden, Mrs. F. V 1 00 



Hazelton, Mr. & Mrs. Hugh. . 1 00 



Howe, Mrs. J. S 5 00 



Hunt, Mr. William T 5 00 



Jones, Miss Ella H 5 00 



Jube, Mr. Albert J 1 00 



Kendig, Mrs. Daniel 1 00 



Kerr, Mrs. T. B 1 00 



King, Mrs. LB 2 00 



Kuser, Mr. John Dryden 3 00 



Lewis, Miss E. L. . . . 2 00 



Livermore, Mr. A. E 1 00 



Lydecker, Mr. R. R 2 00 



Mercer, Mr. Henry C 25 00 



Miller, Mr. Geo. Macculloch. 5 00 - 



McQuistan, Mrs. Charles 1 00 



Owen, Miss Jennie G 1 00 



Philburt, Mr. F. H 1 00 



Pierce, Mr. W. L 5 00 



Piatt, Mrs. Dan Fellows 10 00 



Potts, Mrs. Joseph D 10 00 



Righter, Mr. William 5 00 



Amount carried forward $6,566 54 



