PART V.— VARIOUS PAPERS 



The conditions affecting the wild life of North Amer- 

 ica now are changing tvith great rapidity, and often 

 for the worse. In the hope of rendering some service 

 to practical workers, we offer a few papers intended 

 to promote a clear understanding of certain foundation 

 principles. 



ETHICS IN HUNTING GAME.* 



MILLIONS of American game birds and mammals 

 have been killed because of the rotten ethics of the 

 hunting field. Yes, I am aware of the fact that "rotten" 

 is a rough and jarring word, but in the whole range of the 

 English language there is no other that adequately ex- 

 presses the truth of this situation. 



Out of the 3,000,000 men and boys of America who own 

 guns and kill wild things, it is a safe guess that 2,500,000 

 of them do not know the meaning of the word "ethics," as 

 it should apply to the shotgun and the rifle. It is therefore 

 very much in order to quote here the language of the Cen- 

 tury Dictionary ; and we hope that it will somewhat clarify 

 a very murky atmosphere. 



"Ethics. — The science of right conduct and character; 

 the science which treats of the nature and grounds of moral 

 obligation, and of the rules which ought to determine con- 

 duct in accordance with this obligation; the doctrine of 

 man's duty in respect to himself and the rights of others." 



During the pioneer and frontier days of our country, the 

 hungry and needy citizen, who "struggled mightily with his 



* From "The Forum," January, 1917. Copyright by The Fo- 

 rum Company. 



