THE GAME BREEDER 



181 



serves and the sale of birds so bred un- 

 der proper regulation for the purpose of 

 increasing the food supply. You will ob- 

 serve that the Congress mentioned the 

 breeding of game on preserves for the 

 purpose of increasing the food supply. 

 Since it is absolutely certain that not a 

 single bird will be bred on a preserve 

 for the purpose named if you attempt to 

 enforce your regulations requiring that 

 the birds be taken only with the hatchet, 

 I am inclined to think that the courts 

 will hold that your attempt to make a 

 criminal law is at variance with the inten- 

 tions of the Congress, which I surely be- 

 lieve were intended to let the people pro- 

 duce some cheap food and to encourage 

 such production and not to absolutely 

 prevent it, as your regulation surely will 

 if the people pay any attention to it. 



Of course, if you can entice them to 

 accept a permit to take birds and to sign 

 an agreement in the application that they 

 will only kill birds with a hatchet or oth- 

 erwise than by shooting, the courts will 

 possibly hojd that those who sign such 

 agreements have done so for a good con-' 

 sideration and that they must close their 

 preserves or at least stop shooting wild 

 ducks with any view to increasing the 

 food supply. 



I am not afraid of what the courts 

 will do to people who refuse to sign 

 permits, and, in fact, I shall welcome 

 your game police at^any time they may 

 see fit to attempt to stop the food pro- 

 duction in which game breeders are now 

 engaged. 



If the courts shall hold that a gentle- 

 man who says he does not want any 

 game preserves, the sale of game, or 

 cheap game for the people to eat, has 

 the right to make a criminal Jaw (under 

 which a food producer may be found 

 operating) which will send him to jail if 

 he continues to supply the people with 

 food, I am firmly convinced that the 

 sooner some one serves a term in jail 

 for this food producing crime the better 

 it will be for the country. The fact 

 that this gentleman hurriedly consulted 

 two others before he made this regula- 

 tion does not impress me with the idea 

 that it is a good crime, legally created, 

 and I certainly believe the courts will 



hold; reading the law, that the legisla- 

 ture had no intention of making such a 

 crime or of sending people to jail be- 

 cause they may produce food and sell it 

 to the people. You understand, of 

 course, that the industry I refer to is 

 conducted on private lands owned or 

 rented for the purpose. You must know 

 what the effect of enforcing this new 

 criminal law will be on producers who 

 are now operating and on all persons 

 who may attempt to produce food in the 

 future. 



I am sending you a stamped envelope 

 for reply with a special delivery stamp 

 attached, since I consider it of the ut- 

 most importance to make known your 

 attitude as chief of a new police depart- 

 ment and that you should especially 

 state if such be the case that you will 

 arrest every food producer who is found 

 in the future taking the food he produces 

 in the way he legally can take it under 

 State laws, providing he lets any of the 

 people have some of the food to eat at 

 moderate prices. I know you will apprer 

 date the importance of immediately giv- 

 ing publicity to your intentions and I feel 

 quite sure you will find upon investiga- 

 tion that you have been entangled in a 

 lot of nonsense, by some game law enthusi- 

 asts who are prejudiced against anybody 

 doing anything except in a way that they 

 mayjdecide to have them do it. 



P. S. — Since the game farmers in 

 America (as in the older countries) sell 

 their eggs and birds to shooting syndi- 

 cates and individuals who own or rent 

 shooting preserves it would seem that 

 you intend to put thousands of game 

 farmers in America out of business. You 

 will agree with me. I am sure, if you 

 destroy the food producing customers 

 for the game farmers the game farmerr- 

 must go out of business. 



T .am perfectly sure that you had no 

 intention of strangling a promising in- 

 dustry which has had a rapid and suc- 

 cessful growth in America, and I hope 

 your regulations can be amended so that 

 all food producers now operating can ap- 

 ply for permits to take breeding stock 

 and eggs. 



