158 REMEDIAL 



both the wild fowl and the waders in places where the 

 natural conditions are favorable or where they are made 

 so by private effort. But no one can be expected to do 

 anything which does not pay. It is evident that the State 

 game officers cannot produce game to advantage on 

 private lands, where they are not even permitted to enter, 

 and that they cannot restore the wild fowl and waders to 

 public grounds and waters where the birds cannot nest 

 by reason of the want of the necessary seclusion and 

 safety. 



The existing laws have failed not only to keep the mar- 

 kets full of game at reasonable prices, but also to aflford 

 good sport for the sportsmen. 



Game is a desirable food, and our wild birds are the 

 best in the world, both for the table and for sport. Not 

 long ago they were tremendously abundant, and I have 

 no doubt that some species can be and will be made far 

 more plentiful than they ever were and that they will 

 become an important part of our food supply. 



A big economic question is presented, and it requires 

 an able statesman to handle it, since some small politi- 

 cians seem to believe that the game must be utilized to 

 produce a big revenue and positions for many office hold- 

 ers and that to change the system might be disastrous 

 from a political point of view. On the other hand, the 

 farmers and many intelligent sportsmen and naturalists 

 now entertain the opinion that the profitable increase of 

 game on private lands should be encouraged, and if the 

 issue ever is fairly presented I feel sure that the people 

 will pass upon it rightly at the polls. 



In a number of States the State- game officers seem to 

 have abandoned our indigenous game, and they are de- 



