Cbe &ufiufcon J^ociettes 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 



Edited by T. GILBERT PEARSON, Secretary 



Address all correspondence, and send all remittances for dues and contributions, to 

 the National Association of Audubon Societies, 074 Broadway, New York City 



William Dutcher, President 

 F. A. Lucas, Acting President T. Gilbert Pearson, Secretary 



Theodore S. Palmer, First Vice-President Jonathan D wight, Jr., Treasurer 



Any person, club, school, or company in sympathy with the objects of this Association may become 

 a member, and all are welcome. 



Classes of Membership in the National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of 

 Wild Birds and Animals: 



$5.00 annually pays for a Sustaining Membership 

 S100.00 paid at one time constitutes a Life Membership 

 $1,000.00 constitutes a person a Patron 

 $5,000.00 constitutes a person a Founder 

 $25,000.00 constitutes a person a Benefactor 



The Feather Proviso 



The paragraph in Schedule "N" of the 

 Tariff Bill which plans to prohibit the 

 importation of the feathers of birds, 

 except those of the Ostrich and domestic 

 fowls, did not fare well at the hands of the 

 Finance Committee of the Senate, to 

 Avhich it was referred after having suc- 

 cessfully passed the House of Representa- 

 tives. The Chairman of this Committee 

 distributed the different schedules among 

 various Sub-Committees for detailed con- 

 sideration. Thus Schedule "N" fell into 

 the hands of Senators Charles F. Johnson, 

 of Maine, Hoke Smith, of Georgia, and 

 William Hughes, of New Jersey. The 

 millinery interests worked energetically 

 and desperately on these three lawmakers, 

 and eventually induced them to adopt the 

 spirit, although not the wording, of an 

 amendment previously introduced by 

 Senator Moses E. Clapp, of Minnesota, 

 which, if it finally becomes a law, will in 

 a large measure nullify the effect of the 

 anti-importation proviso. 



This Sub-Committee, after having 

 evidently reached a conclusion on the 

 matter, reluctantly granted the friends of 

 the birds a hearing. This was done sud- 

 denly and without sufficient warning to 

 admit of the presence of many who, had 

 they known in advance, would have 

 gladly availed themselves of the oppor- 

 tunity to be there. There were present, 



however, Dr. W. T. Hornaday, of the New 

 York Zoological Society, Mr. E. H. For- 

 bush, of Boston, representing the National 

 Association of Audubon Societies, and Dr. 

 Henry Oldys, of the District of Columbia 

 Audubon Society. The scant impression 

 which the array of unanswerable facts 

 presented by these gentlemen seemed to 

 make on the Sub-Committee was a sub- 

 ject which occasioned comment. 



So the Sub-Committee made its report 

 to the Finance Committee, and the 

 Finance Committee, adopting their sug- 

 gestion, has reported to the Democratic 

 caucus of the Senate that they recom- 

 mend changing the feather paragraph so 

 as to admit the importation of "the 

 feathers or plumes of birds commonly recog- 

 nized as edible or pestiferous." 



Think of it! The feathers of any bird 

 which anyone eats at any place on this 

 green earth, or any bird which any inter- 

 ested person may be pleased to catalogue 

 as a pest, may be imported under this 

 provision! Mr. L. S. Crandall, of the New 

 York Zoological Park, has compiled for 

 Dr. Hornaday a list of 1,622 birds which 

 he considers game birds. But remember, 

 the Senators have not said "game birds," 

 but went much farther and said "birds 

 commonly recognized as edible." Few of 

 us would think of calling Robins, Night- 

 hawks, Bobolinks, Flickers, White Ibis 

 and Night Herons as "game birds," and 

 vet in a number of our southern states 



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