FIRST BIENNIAL STATEMENT 31 



close of the war; and we hope that it will; but the wild life 

 protection cause must and shall go on, war or no war! We 

 need every dollar of income that $100,000 will yield. The 

 demands for help now being made upon us are totally be- 

 yond the scope of our income, and it is hard to be obliged 

 to say: "We can not!" 



I repeat that the cause of wild life protection through- 

 out the world is starving for funds! We sorely need the 

 income of $100,000 for annual disbursement on the firing 

 line for the benefit of the wild life cause. This is no great 

 concession to ask from the world of great wealth. There 

 are philanthropic and educational enterprises in America 

 that are so loaded down with wealth that their trustees are 

 bewildered by the necessity of spending more money than 

 fhey know how to place to good advantage ! The protection 

 of the wild life of a nation benefits, either directly or in- 

 directly, every man, woman and child of that nation! Mil- 

 lions of money are being expended in transcendent educa- 

 tion that is of little practical benefit to any living soul, save 

 the men who draw the salaries for imparting it. It is mad- 

 dening to see such things go on while the useful beasts 

 and birds are being assailed everywhere by destructive in- 

 fluences, and while Men, Money and Publicity are demanded 

 in so many places at once. 



But the Trustees of this Fund are profoundly grateful 

 for the sum that already has been realized, and that al- 

 ready is at work earning an income. It is the first subscrip- 

 tion to a Cause that requires the highest courage and the 

 broadest philanthropy. In this case, it came from Mrs. 

 Frederic Ferris Thompson, whose influence in this behalf 

 has been very great. The campaigning Trustee hopes to 

 live long enough to see the Fund brought up to $100,000; 

 but even if he does not, he believes that eventuaally it will 

 be completed. Already it is the second largest endowment 

 fund in existence for the defense of wild life. Societies may 

 come and societies may go, but this Fund will go on forever, 

 doing whatever work is to be done for wild life, two cen- 

 turies hence just the same as now. Is there not satisfaction 

 in the idea? 



