GAME REFUGES. 47 



of the sea, at least in time of storms. There were other islands off 

 the coast in the northwest and elsewhere equally inaccessible, and 

 where the same general condition existed. There were small areas 

 of that kind along the coast that from time to time the President had 

 designated as bird refuges. They had not been able to protect them 

 by reason of lack of authority and they came to Congress saying, "We 

 want legislation. We realize that the creation of these bird preserves 

 was not legal, but we now want legislation so we can protect them." 

 The matter came before the Committee on the Public Lands at the 

 time I was a member of it. It was discussed up and 'down. They 

 said, "We do not intend to do any more of this sort of thing. We 

 are not asking authority to create any more of these bird preserves. 

 All we want to do is to take care of what we have. These refuges 

 are uninhabited — inhabitable — and they are far from the operation of 

 the machinery of the States, and we want to protect them and take 

 care of them." The Committee on the Public Lands had very 

 decided views with regard to the matter, but finally it was agreed 

 to provide for taking care of those preserves which had been estab- 

 lished. And this is the language of the bill that was drawn: 



That it shall be unlawful for any person to hunt, trap, capture, willfully disturb, 

 or kill any bird of any kind whatsoever or take the eggs of such birds on any lands 

 of the United States which have been set apart or reserved. 



Those of us who were a little suspicious insisted on the word 

 "heretofore" being used, so that it would read "on any lands of the 

 United States which have been heretofore set apart or reserved." 

 They said "No; that will not do, because just now the department 

 has under consideration the reservation of a few more of these small 

 islands lying off the coasts, and can not now act, owing to lack of 

 proper description, and while this bill really means "heretofore," if 

 the proclamations did not issue in these cases until after the bill 

 passed it might be fatal, so far as those new preserves are concerned, 

 if some one raised the point.'' 



It was insisted, however, that the language of the bill did not, in 

 fact, authorize the creation of more bird refuges, but more definite 

 language, it was said, might make trouble, in view of the situation 

 I have referred to. Officials of the departments interested in the 

 legislation gave that as their interpretation of the bill. That bill 

 was not passed without consideration, and it was passed under false 

 pretenses. The chairman of the committee, Mr. Lacey, said after- 

 wards to me, "I did not think, and told you I did not think, that it 

 would authorize the creation of any more of these preserves, but 

 they have created them, and now that I look it over I think it will 

 bear that interpretation." 



Officials we understood as assuring us that there was no thought 

 on their part that the bill would allow the creation of ne,w preserves 

 were soon found taking another view of it. The bill never would 

 have passed, never would have become a law, if it had been under- 

 stood it authorized the creation of new bird preserves. 



Mr. Reilly. How many have been created since then? 



Mr. Mondell. Almost immediately after the bill passed, to my 

 amazement I was informed by a member of the Biological Survey 

 that they held the bill gave authority to create as many bird pre- 

 serves as the President saw fit to create. Let me tell about one in 



