39« 



RECREATION. 



stood between the Committees of the House 

 and the Senate and the members of both 

 branches what course the bill should take. 



I do not claim any more credit for the 

 enactment of the law than any other sena- 

 tor or representative who activel} 7 , earnestly 

 and aggressively assisted in pushing the 

 measure through. We all did our full 

 share in making it what it is ; but the bill 

 had a peculiar experience, which illustrates 

 how sentiment has changed in that State 

 within the last few years. 



When the bill was passed it was late 

 in the session, and the understanding was 

 that the chief clerk of the House should 

 send the bill back to the Senate, with the 

 amendments, so the Senate could act on 

 them. The chief clerk of the House came 

 in with the bill when the roll was being 

 called on another measure. The bill was 

 handed to me before the ink was dry on 

 the endorsement. I was on my feet at the 

 close of the roll call and moved the adop- 

 tion of the bill as amended, stating brief- 

 ly what it was ; and it passed the Senate 

 with only 2 dissenting votes. Nobody read 

 the bill ; nobody knew what it was. They 

 simply took my word for it, beyond know- 

 ing generally what the original bill was. 

 The 2 votes that were against it were not 

 against game laws, but the members were 

 against me, because I had had something - 

 to do with 2 of their pet measures. They 

 did not vote against the game law, but 

 against me. 



That is the first time a game law was 

 ever passed in Minnesota except by the 

 barest margin ; and the first time a game 

 law ever passed without being changed in 

 some unaccountable manner between the 

 time it passed and the time it Avas signed 

 and engrossed. Previously it had always 

 been found that the law as engrossed was 

 not the law passed ; but in this instance 

 we watched our bill carefully, and it was 

 sent to the Governor the afternoon of the 

 day it passed. 



Our success is largely due to the fact 

 that we drew a practical bill. It is not 

 perfect, but it is the most practical meas- 

 ure we were able to draw. We tried to 

 eliminate all objectionable features of the 

 old laws and to secure uniformity. 



We now have a good law, but we have 

 not had enough money to enforce it. We 

 asked for an appropriation of $50,000, but 

 the finance committee cut it. W T hen the 

 appropriation bill came out late in the sea- 

 sion, we did not have a dollar in it, and 

 we came near having to withdraw our 

 game law enforcement temporarily ; but we 

 got it amended at the last minute and had 

 inserted the original amount of $25,000. 

 It is not enough for a State like Minne- 

 sota, but that was not the fault of the 

 Legislature. Circumstances and conditions 



existed which made it necessary to ask for 

 no more. In addition to this, of course, 

 we have the money received for non-resi- 

 dent licenses and from fines, which, how- 

 ever, go to the county. 



LOUISIANA SPORTSMEN ARE WORKING. 



Your visit to Louisiana was successful. 

 Through your efforts and the persistent 

 work of the Monroe and New Orleans 

 sportsmen we have a series of laws that 

 are sufficient to protect the game. For- 

 merly we extended no protective measures 

 to the inhabitants of stream and field. A 

 man might seine or dynamite any body of 

 water to his heart's content ; he might 

 murder and destroy the game and no one 

 would raise a finger. We witnessed last 

 winter in the streets of Monroe, the sale 

 of wagonloads of striped bass, or barfish, 

 heavy with spawn. Deer have been hunted 

 in and out of season, and on one occa- 

 sion a party of hunters left 5 deer hung 

 up in camp, being unable to use them. In 

 a recent overflow the poor deer sought 

 refuge on small islands, where unscru- 

 pulous hunters killed them and let their 

 bodies float away.. 



Our laws are not yet so strictly obeyed 

 as we wish, but our chief warden, Dr. 

 Robert Faulk, of Monroe, is hard at work, 

 together with some of- his friends, to en- 

 force observance. The Monroe chapter of 

 the L. A. S. will soon count 100 active 

 members. Pollock's chapter, under the 

 guidance of Dr. Parker, is rapidly develop- 

 ing into an active body. 



Game in Louisiana will be abundant. 

 The first hunts of the season in the South 

 of the State were not very successful. In 

 the Northeast of the State, the hunter's 

 paradise, that veteran sportsman, P. Trou- 

 ard, brought in the first deer. N. P. Cook, 

 O. Deland and several others ran a buck 

 into the mud of Black bayou, where the 

 animal was killed by the dogs. Bill Sub- 

 lett and Frank Chase are among Louis- 

 iana's most successful hunters. 



Croakers are plentiful in the South, and 

 fishermen bring them in by the dozen. 

 Along the Buachito bass fishing is good. 

 Joe Bres, Guy Stubbs, Dan Brearst and 

 others have been catching some magnificent 

 specimens. 



Judge Hall, of Buachito parish, the most 

 popular and respected judge in Louisiana, 

 has instructed the grand jury to investi- 

 gate most carefully all reported offenses 

 against the game law. Governor Blanchard 

 has called the attention of the sheriff's to 

 the same laws. Hunter. Monroe, La. 



He — How is it that the greatest fools al- 

 ways marry the prettiest women? 



She (coyly) — O, you flatterer! — Ex- 

 change. 



