60 Decrease of Birds 



of thought to the subject, says: "So far as game wardens 

 are concerned, the only way to keep them out of politics 

 is to have the whole service from the Commissioner down 

 put under Civil Service Rules.' ' 



What Mr. Forbush says in regard to the appointment of 

 game wardens in his State will apply equally to South 

 Carolina: "The system of appointing game commissioners 

 and wardens is wrong. Under our present system, a man 

 may never hope to become a game commissioner, unless 

 he is an astute capable, politician, or has powerful political 

 friends. The appointee may be a good game commissioner, 

 (many of them are, ) but he must be a keen politician first, 

 last and all the time, to secure and retain the place. Hav- 

 ing obtained it, he must be constantly on guard, or he may 

 lose it thru some political change. The effect which such 

 a system produces on the appointment of game wardens 

 is well known/ ' 



It is interesting to note that five or six States in the 

 Union already require by law that the selection and 

 appointment of the game wardens shall be conducted on 

 the civil service basis. 



Destruction of Quail by Game Wardens 



Mr. C. F. Dill, Greenville, a sportsman of the highest 

 ideals has submitted under date of February 13, 1916, as a 

 part of his report concerning ways in which the resident 

 hunting license law could be made a more effective instru- 

 ment for the protection of birds, the following letter 

 which should command the earnest attention of all who 

 are interested in the problem of bird protection in general 

 and in game wardens in particular: 



"I have been out shooting twice this winter in this 



county, and once in county and once in 



county, and have found that birds are quite plentiful, but 

 I think the game warden's office needs jacking up badly 

 for not looking after their game wardens in two of these 

 counties, as I see no use to protect game especially for the 

 use of game wardens to kill. The warden in 



