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Sierra Club Bulletin 



We concur in the view of one of our correspondents that "the labors 

 of the various public-spirited individuals and civic organizations who 

 worked to this end [to prevent this legislation] have not been in vain. 

 The widespread and vigorous expressions of public sentiment in the 

 press and elsewhere in opposition to the unnecessary invasion of the 

 National Parks for commercial and utilitarian projects has been of 

 permanent value in making similar projects more difficult if not im- 

 possible in the future, and our National Parks as a whole are more 

 secure as a result of the Hetch-Hetchy fight." W. F. B. 



Wild Life It is to be regarded as one of the triumphs of an 

 Conservation aroused public sentiment that the lobby of the feather 

 importers did not succeed in running its steam roller 

 through the United States Senate last summer. Through the efforts 

 of numerous public-spirited organizations a carefully worded para- 

 graph was introduced into the tariff bill, prohibiting the importation 

 of the aigrettes^ plumes, and feathers of all wild birds. Through the 

 efforts of the lobby the Sub-committee on Finance was induced to re- 

 port an amendment which exempted "the feathers or plumes of birds 

 commonly recognized as edible or pestiferous." The best legal autho- 

 rities on custom house procedure gave it as their opinion that under 

 such a clause the plumage of every bird species in the world might be 

 imported ! A campaign was immediately inaugurated by the New York 

 Zoological Society and the National Audubon Societies, ably sup- 

 ported by numerous local and State organizations. The California 

 Associated Societies, of which the Sierra Club is a representative mem- 

 ber, conducted a vigorous campaign from this side of the continent. 

 The result was that the champions of the feather importers were 

 routed, and the original text of the measure was adopted. 



It is interesting to note that just ten days after the signing of the 

 tariff law by the President the London feather market suffered a tre- 

 mendous decline. This indicates that, with our ports tightly closed, the 

 enormous numbers of birds usually slaughtered for the American 

 market will not be killed. The Director of the New York Zoological 

 Park has addressed to the Royal Zoological Society of Amsterdam a 

 memorial urging it to induce the Dutch Government to forbid by im- 

 perial decree all exportation of wild birds' plumage from the islands 

 of the Dutch East Indies. Our readers are referred to an interesting 

 communication, in the Notes and Correspondence, from the Paris 

 Society for the Protection of Animals. 



An attempt is being made to impugn the constitutionality of the Fed- 

 eral migratory bird law, which was enacted last spring. It seems un- 

 likely, however, that the legal soundness of the measure can be suc- 

 cessfully challenged. Birds which, owing to their migratory habits, 

 are not native to any one State or section, are clearly amenable to 

 Federal protection. W. F. B. 



