196 



RECREATION. 



seems that the 4 men averaged nearly 50 

 fish each, and that the weight of each 

 man's catch would average over 60 pounds. 

 Do you call this the work of gentlemen? 

 You say further, "The spirit of true 

 sportsmanship is on the increase in Iowa." 

 I am glad to know of this, but the Goldfield 

 Gang are not entitled to figure in this ad- 

 vancement. According to their own show- 

 ing, as- made in this picture and the record 

 printed therewith, these chaps belong ra- 

 ther to the class of poachers whom the 

 legitimate sportsmen you refer to are or- 

 ganized to prosecute. The work of these 

 so-called "gentlemen" is much more repre- 

 hensible than that of the poor market fish- 

 erman from whom the 900-foot seine you 

 speak of was taken, at Fort Madison. I 

 have a great deal more respect for the poor 

 man who takes fish in a net and sells them 

 for food, than I have for Ted Huston, Edi- 

 tor S. G. Keith, Harry Agard, and A. J. 

 Conger, who take 60 pounds of fish each in 



one day, on a hook and line; who then 

 line themselves up in front of a camera and 

 have themselves photographed with their 

 swag with that disgusting "we caught 'em" 

 look on their faces. The market fisherman 

 is a. gentleman as compared with the mem- 

 bers of the Goldfield Gang. 



You say the only way to stop poaching 

 is for legitimate sportsmen to organize and 

 offer rewards for the apprehension of the 

 scoundrels who violate the law. There is 

 probably no legal limit established by the 

 laws of your State as to the number of 

 fish or the number of pounds of fish a 

 man may take in a day with hook and line. 

 And so it is not likely that the Goldfield 

 Gang have laid themselves liable to prose- 

 cution by taking a boatload of fish in a 

 day; but they have merited the contempt 

 of all true sportsmen, by making hogs of 

 themselves in the first place, and then by 

 having themselves photographed with the 

 result of their slaughter, in order to stimu- 

 late others to "break the record." — Editor. 



PROPOSED CLUB HOUSE TO BE BUILT BY THE MASHIPACONG CLUB ON ITS 

 GROUNDS IN SUSSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. 



"A man is the most sensible of all ani- 

 mals, is he not?" 



"Certainly." 



"Then I wonder why he doesn't wear a 

 loose, comfortable collar like a dog's." — 

 Washington star. 



