4 THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 



This Spring Bulletin has been put together hurriedly, yet in its prepara- 

 tion thirty or forty individuals and seven organizations have given cheerful 

 co-operation. The response has been immediate. It has come from various 

 parts of the state. Doubtless even a larger number of organizations would 

 have been represented had our Secretary possessed a comprehensive list of 

 bird clubs, nature study clubs, local Audubon Societies, etc. to which to 

 send out the invitation to co-operate. We apologize to all clubs and or- 

 ganizations of this kind that we failed to include on our mailing list. 

 We hope that before we issue the Autumn Bulletin we may have all such 

 organizations on our list. 



We are sending out two thousand copies of this bulletin. It would 

 seem possible for our Society so to increase its resources that it could afford 

 to issue a much larger edition and instead of a forty-eight page bulletin 

 like the present one, send out a seventy-two page bulletin, well illustrated 

 and attractively printed. There will be no trouble to secure valuable 

 articles for publication. The range and wealth of bird life in Illinois 

 insure us material of the right sort. Elsewhere are suggestions for co- 

 operative work which we trust will appeal to bird observers in every part 

 of the state. The big word is CO-OPERATE. Our membership is 450. 

 Let's make it 1,000. 



Now then Fellow Members, all together ! 



Orpheus M. Schantz, 

 President Illinois State Audubon Society. 



The Present Bird Protection Laws in Illinois and Their 



Enforcement 



(Editor's note: In response to a request for some notes for editorial use on the pres- 

 ent status of bird protection in Illinois, Mr. Millard submitted the following article which 

 he characterized as a "dry, formal statement to be worked over and made interesting by 

 the editor." To the editor it seems unusually clear and clean-cut. It appears here un- 

 changed except for the decorations in the way of Italics, for which the editor is 

 responsible.) 



The present Illinois statute protecting bird and fish life in the state is 

 known as the Game and Fish Act, and went into effect on July 1, 1915. It 

 provides that the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall 

 appoint three persons, to be known as the State Game and Fish Commission, 

 one of whom is the President and Executive officer of the Commission. It 

 is the duty of the Commission to conserve and propagate the game, birds 

 and fish of the State, enforce the statutes and bring action in the name of 

 the people, to prosecute violators of the statutes. The Commission ap- 

 points seven wardens and 78 deputy wardens, who give all their time to 

 the offices. They are under the control of the Commission, and, in addition, 

 all constables of the state are ex-officio special deputy wardens, without 

 salary or expenses as such, but receiving one-half of all the fines recovered 

 for violation of the statute, in cases where they file the complaint. 



The President receives an annual salary of $4,000.00 ; the other two 

 Commissioners $3,000.00 each; the seven wardens receive $1,500.00 each 

 and the 78 deputy wardens $1,200.00 each, besides actual traveling ex- 

 penses. There are offices in Springfield, as well as in each of the six dis- 

 tricts provided. The law protects various kinds of animal life for all or 

 part of the year, and provides a penalty of from $15.00 to $50.00 



