THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN SPORTSMEN. 



309 



the conviction of game or fish law vio- 

 lators In nearly all cases we have reports 

 from the members to whom these posters 

 were sent to the effect that same had been 

 put up where they would do the most good. 

 In some hundreds of instances, we have 

 heard that lawbreakers had seen the pos- 

 ters staring them in the face, had been in- 

 timidated thereby and had announced 

 their conclusion that it was time to quit 

 taking chances by breaking laws and run- 

 ning up against League wardens. In 

 many other instances, we have heard that 

 malicious pot hunters and game hogs had 

 torn down our posters, and that our mem- 

 bers had promptly put up others in their 

 places. 



The League has been largely instrumen- 

 tal in breaking up the millinery traffic in 

 the plumage of song and insectivorous 

 birds. A number of States have passed 

 laws prohibiting the selling, wearing or 

 having in possession of such plumage for 

 commercial or decorative purposes, and 

 public sentiment against the custom of 

 wearing bird skins has grown to such an 

 extent that today it is a rare thing to see 

 a woman wearing a bird on her hat, 

 whereas, 2 years ago, nearly all women wore 

 them. The Audubon societies have been 

 valuable co-workers with the League in 

 this field, but the League set the pace. It 

 secured the passage of the Lacey bird law, 

 and so is entitled to the greater credit for 

 this reform. 



League officers have made 2 important 

 arrests of employees of the Armour Pack- 

 ing Co. for violations of the game laws in 2 

 different States. Convictions have been 

 secured, and the company has been com- 

 pelled to pay heavy fines. These are 

 among the most important of the League's 

 victories for the year. It is all right to 

 arrest a poor farmer or other laboring man, 

 and make him pay $25 for breaking a game 

 law, but it is entirely another thing to 

 round up a great corporation, worth mil- 

 lions of dollars, to make it pay a heavy 

 fine, and to show its officers and the world 

 that even millionaires can not override the 

 game laws of the country with impunity, 

 and that this League is no respecter of 

 persons. 



In general, the League membership has 

 not grown so rapidly in the past year as it 

 did in 1900. Still we have made a goodly 

 showing. At the time of my last annual 

 report, we had a total membership of 5,463. 

 Today we have 7,784, a gain of 42%. 

 A few States have shown remarkable 

 growths in their memberships. Among 

 these are: Arkansas, 900%; Indiana, 486%; 

 Minnesota, 202%; Idaho, 118%; Okla- 

 homa Territory, 640%; Georgia, 333%; 

 North Dakota, 139%. 



At the time of our last annual meeting, 

 we had 19 State divisions. Today we 



have 43 in working order, a gain of 126%. 

 We now have 28 life members, and should 

 have had 2,000 by this time if the wealthy 

 sportsmen of the country had done their 

 duty. We hope in time to get them to 

 realize what the League has done; what it 

 is doing; what it is to do; and that it has 

 earned the substantial recognition and co- 

 operation of all men and women who are 

 interested in the preservation of the wild 

 life of this country. 



A year ago we had 10 local chapters. 

 Today we have 40; a gain of 300%. The 

 good done by these local organizations is 

 simply beyond computation. I hear of 

 it nearly every day, and in various ways. 

 For instance: An officer of one of these 

 local chapters wrote me a few weeks ago 

 that for many years an annual side hunt 

 had been held there, about Thanksgiving 

 time, but that since the League had organ- 

 ized a local body there, had gone to work, 

 had disseminated our literature and pro- 

 claimed our purposes, the men who had 

 formerly conducted these side hunts had 

 changed their minds, and that no such 

 hunt was held last year. 



A year ago we had 122 local wardens at 

 work in various States. Today we have 

 156, a gain of 28%. 



Your President has drafted and sent to 

 Washington, for introduction in Congress, 

 3 important bills. One of these aims to 

 provide better protection for the wild ani- 

 mals and birds of Alaska. It aims to pro- 

 hibit the sale of game in that Territory at 

 all times ; and to prohibit the shipment of 

 heads and skins therefrom, for sale. It 

 makes an open season of only 2 months in 

 the year for hunting; it provides for a non- 

 resident license of $25 for each hunter, and 

 limits the number of animals which any 

 one man may kill in a season to one moose, 

 one bear, one caribou, 2 mountain sheep 

 and 2 goats. It provides for 3 territorial 

 game wardens each to have the privilege 

 of appointing one deputy. The bill pro- 

 vides that each hunter may bring the 

 heads and skins of this number of animals 

 out of the Territory, under a permit to be 

 issued by the territorial secretary. It 

 provides heavy penalties for violations of 

 this proposed law, either by hunters or 

 by express companies, or steamship com- 

 panies, or other common carriers. 



Another of these bills provides for the 

 conversion of all forest reserves in the 

 Western States into game preserves, and 

 that these tracts shall be governed and po- 

 liced as the Yellowstone National Park is 

 now. 



The third measure provides for the ex- 

 tension of the Yellowstone Park South 

 and East, to include the adjacent timber 

 reserves and to provide adequate winter 

 range for the elk and other big game. 



Your President has also requested the 



