SMOTHERING THE GAME SANCTUARY BILL 



IN CONGRESS . 



NEVER in the history of wild life legislation in America 

 did any constructive measure go before the Congress 

 of the United States with a greater array of organized of- 

 ficial and popular support than did the Chamberlain-Hayden 

 bill for sanctuaries in national forests. It was endorsed in 

 writing by governors and other high state officers, judges, 

 organizations of a dozen different kinds, newspapers, maga- 

 zines, and a splendid array of representative private indi- 

 viduals. Moreover, a majority in both houses of Congress 

 approved it, and stood ready to vote it into law. 



Never was any great wild life measure proposed which 

 meant so much, yet was destined to cost so little in public 

 money. 



And never before so far as we can recall, was any great 

 constructive measure ever held up and blocked and ham- 

 strung by one, or even two or three, short-sighted and balky 

 senators as was done by Senator Reed Smoot of Utah, aided 

 by Senator Thomas of Colorado. And Senator Smoot then 

 was acting up as the "leader of the Republican minority" in 

 the Senate! 



The people of the 27 national forests states may censure 

 all they please those two senators for the fact that the game 

 sanctuary bill was not enacted into law in 1915, or subse- 

 quently. It was Mr. Smoot who threw four monkey wrenches 

 into the machinery, and Mr. Thomas who threw one, in Mr. 

 Smoot's absence. The Senate leader of the Republican min- 

 ority in 1915 hamstrung the bill, and it was the Ancient 

 Bogey of the Senate, yclept "senatorial courtesy," that en- 

 abled him to accomplish it merely by saying, "Let that bill 



