64 



RECREA T10X. 



SEND FOR COPIES OF THE LEAGUE POSTER. 



The League has issued a muslin poster, 

 16 x 20 inches in size, which reads as fol- 

 lows : 



The League of American Sportsmen de- 

 sires to prosecute all offenders against the 

 Fish and Game Laws of all the States in 

 which it has State organizations, and to that 

 end the League requests all persons know- 

 ing of violations of any such game or fish 

 laws to report them to the nearest Local 

 Warden of the League, or to the under- 

 signed. 



Please keep a close watch for persons 

 whom you believe to be killing game or tak- 

 ing fish in close season, or who are killing 

 in excess of the lawful allowance, or by 

 unlawful means. 



The killing, or trapping, or having pos- 

 session of song or insect eating birds, or 

 the taking of their nests or eggs, is prohib- 

 ited in most States under heavy penalties. 

 You are specially urged to report all such 

 cases. 



All communications will be regarded as 

 confidential. 



Please post this in a conspicuous place. 

 Arthur F. Rice, Sec'y. L. A. S., 

 19 West 24th Street, New York. 



We have a large supply of this poster on 

 hand and shall be glad to send copies to any 

 members of the League, or other friends of 

 game protection, who will post them in con- 

 spicuous places. Let me know how many 

 you want. They are good stuff with which 

 to caution game law violators, and good ad- 

 vertising for the League. Please help us 

 distribute them. 



THE ANNUAL MEETING. 



The first annual meeting of the L. A. S. 

 will be held in this city on the second Wed- 

 nesday of February, 1899. Eligible for mem- 

 bership therein: 



All general officers of the League. 



All chief wardens of divisions having 25 

 or more members. 



All secretary-treasurers from divisions 

 having 100 or more members. 



All vice-wardens from divisions having 

 200 or more members. 



All delegates chosen by the several divi- 

 sions, and the chairmen of all standing com- 

 mittees. 



A general meeting of the League will be 

 held on the day following this annual meet- 

 ing of officers and delegates, to which all 

 members of the League are invited. At this 

 meeting, topics of general interest to the 

 League will be discussed, and it is hoped that 

 a large attendance may be realized. Mem- 

 bers who may determine to attend are re- 

 quested to send notice to the Secretary at 

 once, in order that a hall of suitable size may 

 be engaged for the meeting. We hope to 

 have at least 20 states represented in this 

 meeting. We especially invite all local war- 



dens to be present. It will greatly benefit 

 the cause to have the members from various 

 states and from various portions of each 

 state meet, become acquainted, exchange 

 views and ideas, and thus fit themselves for 

 better and more effective work at home. 



OBJECTS TO THE NAME. 



Lowville, N. Y. 



Dear Sir: I am in receipt of yours of recent 

 date, relative to the L. A. S.. and you may 

 send me a few of the circular letters and 

 copies of the constitution and by-laws. I 

 will try to place them where they will do 

 some good. Some days ago I sent a list of 

 the most likely of my friends to Mr. Horna- 

 day and he I believe has written them. 

 However. I can use some of the literature. 



I am sorry the word Sportsmen appears 

 in the name of the League. Too many so- 

 called " sportsmen " are mere pot-hunters. 

 They kill all the game they can, whether 

 they can use it or not, and it is due to such 

 men that so many of our birds seem to be 

 on the verge of extinction, more than to 

 any other cause. Of course I except the 

 birds used for trimming hats. 



So the name of the League is, in my esti- 

 mation, against it, for I despise the " sports- 

 man." as above defined. One's first im- 

 pression is that it is a league of such cut- 

 throats, and no doubt many good people 

 consign your literature to the flames without 

 reading more than the title. I should have 

 done so had I not noticed conspicuously 

 displayed the names of 2 friends (Merriam 

 and Hornaday) who only connect them- 

 selves with worthy causes. 



The aims of the League are certainly most 

 praiseworthy, and I wish they might be in- 

 dicated in its name so as to attract rather 

 than repel. 



Truly yours. 



Romeyn B. Hough. 



You should not condemn all sportsmen 

 because some alleged sportsmen are bad. 

 There are quack doctors and good doctors; 

 there are shyster lawyers and good lawyers. 

 Many so-called sportsmen need reform- 

 ing, and we believe a good way to reform 

 them is to go among them and work. If 

 we can educate the men who have been 

 killing 50 to 100 birds a day, whenever 

 they could get a chance, to quit when 

 they get io or 15, we shall have achieved 

 an important end. It seems to me the 

 best way to do this is for the better class 

 of sportsmen to take up the work and to be- 

 come missionaries in the field. If I go out 

 with a party of men for a day's shooting, or 

 a week's shooting, I can come a good deal 

 nearer making them quit when they get 

 enough, than I could if I stayed at home, 

 held myself aloof from them and preached 

 at them. 



Our work, however, is not to be entirely 



