CALIFORNIA STEPS BACKWARD 



FOR twenty years, and more, the state of California has 

 been a shambles for the slaughter and sale of game. 

 Owing to her location on the map, and her physical aspect, 

 that state ever has been a great winter resort for the wild 

 fowl, shore birds, band-tailed pigeons and other bird 

 species of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and 

 Alaska. In California the mild climate invites repose; the 

 feeding grounds are good, and below California the feeding 

 grounds are poor, or altogether absent. 



The resulting slaughter of wild geese, ducks, band-tailed 

 pigeons, quail and doves is almost beyond belief. For 

 twenty years the "game laws" of California were a joke. 

 They promoted all kinds of slaughter, and gave real pro- 

 tection to nothing. Many species became practically or 

 wholly extinct. Fancy a "bag limit" on ducks of 50 birds 

 per day! The world's record case of duck slaughter oc- 

 curred in California, on the grounds of the Glenn County 

 Club — 218 geese for two automatic guns in the first hour, 

 and 450 for the day. If any conservator made any protest 

 in such a case, the invariable answer was "Oh, in California 

 geese are the same as vermin!" 



For many years the Golden State has had a State Game 

 Commission, but in its earlier years it won few golden 

 opinions. During certain past years that we remember, it 

 was a storm-centre of criticism, much of which probably 

 was undeserved. Two years ago we were led to hope that 

 the new Commission had turned over a new leaf, and 

 silenced hostile criticism. A little further on we will 

 show how this hope was realized A. D. 1914. 



In 1912 it became perfectly apparent that if wholly left 

 to themselves the "sportsmen" and game-butchers of Cali- 

 fornia never would better the situation in any marked de- 



