April 29, 1905.] 
FOREST AND STREAM* 
8 3S 
Federal Game Protection, 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I seem to have failed to make myself understood by 
Mr. Shiras as to several points under consideration, and 
if is mainly to clear up, if possible, these differences, that 
I deem it necessary to go further with the discussion. 
His migratory bird bill, Sec. i, provides: 
"That all wild geese, wild swans, brant, wild ducks, 
snipe, plover, woodcock, rail, wild pigeons, and all other 
migratory game birds, zvhich in 
uir 
northern and south- 
ern migrations pass through or do not remain permor 
ncntly the entire year within the borders of any State or 
Territory" * * * shall be under Federal protection. 
My point is, that the italicised words should have been 
omitted, as they qualify the whole section and limit the 
protection to such wild geese, etc., as "do not remain 
permanently the entire year within the borders of any 
State or Territory," 
It is true as he say3 that the term migratory has a 
well understood meaning and comprises an entire class 
or subdivision of the bird family, hence, as I claim, the 
lack of necessitv, and the danger of putting into a law 
a definition of the word, especially an inaccurate one. 
All wild geese and ducks belong to the class of migra- 
tory birds, but some of them do sometimes "remain per- 
manently the entire year in a State or Territory," and 
do not, in fact, migrate at all. 
Under Mr. Shiras' definition of "migratory these indi- 
vidual birds are not under Federal protection, and in 
every ease under his bill the prosecution would probably 
be bound to prove that the particular bird in question 
did, in fact, migrate. , , 1 
What the bill is intended to do is to protect the whole 
class of migratory game birds, and if the section re- 
ferred to had been, as I have suggested, it would have in- 
cluded^ the class as a whole, regardless of the particular 
habits of any individual bird. 
If this does not make my point clear, then I will have 
to give it up. . 
Again he says that 1 "refer to the migratory habits 
of many wild animals" and that such reference is far 
fetched "since the bill does not cover game animals. 
(By this it is not meant, of course, to assert that a bird 
is not an animal, except for the purposes of his bill.) 
But let us see if it is far fetched. The fact of migra- 
tion is in the bill made the basis of Federal jurisdiction 
as to birds, and I was discussing whether that could be 
a sound basis, for if so, it would also determine that_ cer- 
tain game quadrupeds and fish (those which were migra- 
tory) would also be under Federal protection while others 
of the same species would not be. That is, if migration 
is a test for bird jurisdiction, it must also be for all mi- 
gratory galtie; , 
Now, as to the Case of Geer vs. Connecticut, which was 
decided by the United States Supreme Court when Mr. 
Shiras' father was a member of that Court, and_ which 
decision, if it is against Mr. Shiras' present position, he 
suggests may be a "visitation of the sins of the father 
upon the son." He asserts that that decision has no 
bearing on the present controversy, because no Federal 
statute then existed as to migratory birds, or was in ques- 
t'on in the case, and therefore the Federal power in that 
respect was not in issue. 
I grant the premises, but deny the soundness of his 
deduction. . 1 J- 11 
In that case Geer had game in possession lawfully 
killed in Connecticut and was undertaking to transport 
it out of the State, and being prevented by the game 
wardens, claimed that the law preventing such transpor- 
tation was an interference with interstate commerce, and 
therefore invalid. 
While it is true that the case did not directly involve 
the power of Congress to legislate on migratory birds 
because they were migratory, it did involve the police 
power of a State to legislate as to all its game, migratory 
and otherwise, notwithstanding such legislation might 
to a certain extent interfere with interstate commerce; 
and even, although as to interstate commerce. Congress 
had unquestioned legislative power expressly conferred 
by the Constitution, and had legislated, the court in the 
case notwithstanding that fact, affirmed the existence of 
the power of the State to absolutely control the game 
within it, and the reasons given for so deciding were of 
a character which would as effectually forbid Federal 
control of migratory birds, as if that very question had 
been involved, and before the court can uphold Mr. 
Shiras' migratory bird bill, it must overrule or greatly 
modify the Geer decision. 
The fact that Mr. Shiras' father concurred in the de- 
cision of the case, which I claim shows his migratory 
bird bill to be Avithout constitutional authority, does not 
necessarily lead to the conclusion as he says, "that the 
sins of the father are visited upon the son." It might, 
perhaps, be more accurate to say that the legal wisdom of 
the father was not visited on the son. 
Mr. Shiras says that his bill has been submitted to some 
of the best constitutional lawyers in the country and re- 
ceived their entire approval, and therefore he is content. 
If by this he means it to be understood that these law- 
yers have approved as constitutional the provisions of 
his bill that a "Department" of the Goverciment can make 
regulations and prescribe penalties for their violation, 
then are the decisions of the courts of little use in de- 
termining such questions. 
And if this assertion of his is to now settle the contro- 
versy, without an opinion to that effect, and the reasons 
therefor, from at least one of these lawyers, it had as 
well not have been begun. 
As to my plan of game protection on all public lands, 
he urges two objections. 
First: The opposition of Congressmen to placing what 
he terms "local" game under Federal control. 
But it seems to me that anyone opposing that would 
also oppose such control of migratory birds, as the latter 
furnish the principal shooting all over the country. 
Second : That it would be so difficult to determine the 
public lands from the private that the law-abiding sports- 
man could not tell by which .law he was bound. I take it 
that the "law-abiding" sportsman would be willing to 
keep within the provisions of that law which was the , 
most restrictive, and would therefore have no trouble, 
while the ether fellows would hunt, if at all, at their 
peril in that respect, and the plea of ignorance gs to where 
''they \yere, at" y.'ould not save them. 
The purpose of what he calls my "checkerboard" of 
laws is to make it troublesome for just such people, and 
the more the grass is tangled in the path of the trans- 
gressor, the less likely he is to travel it. 
Since writing the foregoing, Mr. Shiras has .introduced 
two more bills, copies of which he has sent me, one of 
them being to protect migratory fish in the public waters 
of the United States. 
This bill undertakes to protect these fish only while 
spawning, and goes at it by declaring the spawning period 
to begin when the fish enter the bays, rivers, etc., and to 
end "upon the completion of the act of spawning." 
Inasmuch as the end of the spawning period is not the 
same in all the fish family, nor in all of each species or 
kind, there being abnormal conditions in many of each 
kind, spawn being found at all times of the year in some 
fish, there can be under this bill no simultaneous closing 
of the season, but each individual fish may have its own 
ending of the season. 
Besides this, the male fish, which do not spawn at all, 
will have no open season. This beats my "checkerboard" 
oilt of sight. 
This bill also provides for imprisonment of the violator, 
but fixes neither a minimum nor a maximum of imprison- 
ment. 
The other bill is much in the same line, and both are, 
as I think, open to many serious objections; but I do not 
believe further discussion of the subject will be either 
profitable or interesting to the public. 
I have a draft of my proposed law covering game 
quadrupeds, birds and fish, on, public lands, and in pub- 
lic waters, which when perfected according to my ideas 
I will submit tO' public criticism, as I do not agree with 
Mr. Shiras that a bill which the author confesses to be 
imperfect should be introduced in Congress and there per- 
fected, as that usually results in patch-work legislation, 
which no two persons will understand alike. 
D. C. Beaman. 
Denver, Colo., April 20. 
Massachusetts Notes. 
Boston, April 22. — Editor Forest and Stream: I am 
glad to report the organization of another club for the 
purpose of fostering fish and game interests in Massa- 
chusetts. Mr. Edward H. Richards, a member of the 
State Association, has been active in doing missionary 
work in Woburn and informs me that the interest awak- 
ened among the hunters and fishermen of the town has 
resulted in the forming of the Woburn Fish and Game 
Association. The president is Mr. Charles W. Ames; 
vice-president, L. A. White; treasurer, W. J. Hammond; 
secretary, John H. Sweetser; chairman of the Board of 
Directors, Dr. C. H. Buss. 
The membership already numbers about one hundred. 
The formation of many local clubs in the large towns 
and cities of the State is one of the encouraging signs of 
the times. The late Captain Collins, in a speech before 
one of these clubs last fall, declared that without the 
support of such societies "the work of the Commission 
would amount to very little." In the last annual report 
of the Commissioners (p. i2q) this statement appears : 
"The notable work of the fish and game protective asso- 
ciations deserves the interest and support of all loyal 
citizens." Special emphasis is put upon the activities of 
these associations in liberating quail, "well-nigh the most 
beneficial feathered friend of the farmer," which but for 
this work might have "long ago^ disappeared from within 
our State." 
Such organizations, besides carrying on specific lines of 
work, are of great value from an educational standpoint. 
There is no better way to reclaim a pot-hunter or a fish 
or game hog than to bring him into the fold where he 
will imbibe the ideas of more enlightened sportsmen. The 
number of clubs is constantly increasing in our State, but 
there are yet many communities where they are very 
much needed ; and it is my belief that within a few years 
there are likely to be twice the number we now have. 
George M. Poland, Esq., chairman of the executive com- 
tee of the central committee, has recently secured the 
conviction of a man at Ayer for allowing his dog to chase 
deer, and the man convicted has brought an action for 
damages against the warden for shooting the dog. The 
result is awaited with a good deal of interest on the part 
of all our wardens. During 1904 the number of arrests 
for owning or keeping dogs that chased deer was twenty- 
two, and as the deer are increasing rapidly, the number 
of such cases in the future is likely to be far in excess of 
what they have been hitherto. In the town of Lee it is 
said to be a favorite pastime with the people to watch the 
niovements of deer by the use of field glasses. The pre- 
dictions of some sportsrfien a few years ago that there 
never could be many deer in the State for lack of the food 
they require does not appear to have been verified by the 
facts. Reports of numbers of them being seen are con- 
stantly coming in from every county in the State. The 
same conditions exist in New Hampshire and Vermont. 
Game wardens in Rutland county report that they have 
wintered "better than in the last five years." They have 
come out fat and sleek this spring. In what is known 
as "Long Yard," two and one-half miles southeast of the 
Killington Park House, they say as many as 265 deer 
were counted within the radius of a mile. Good hunting 
for both deer and partridges in the Green Mountain State 
is counted upon for next fall. 
Col. E. B. Parker is getting his tackle ready for a trip 
to his preserve in northern Vermont, and will also take 
along a few cans of trout-fry from the hatchery of Mr. 
Wood, of Plymouth. He proposes to start the last of next 
week so as to be on hand for the opening of the season 
May I. The streams in Windham county have been liber- 
ally stocked during the past few years in part by the Ver- 
mont Fish and Game League, by the Forest and Stream 
Club, of Wilmington, and by large consignments from 
the United States Bureau of Fisheries — these being se- 
cured through Congressman Haskins. The effects of 
generous stocking were apparent last year, resulting in 
the taking of larger trout than usual, but even better 
catches are confidently expected the coming season. 
A party of Boston sportsmen (too modest to allow their 
names to appear in print) have recently returned from 
brant shooting off Nantucket, where in less than two 
weeks they secured more than a hundred birds. There 
has been a wonderful flight at Monomoy, where in a 
single day there were killed about two hundred birds. 
Prof. C. F. Hodge, of Worcester, writes that his cock 
partridge (reared from the egg) began "drumming like 
a house on fire" the other day. He has a lot of elegant 
photos showing the performance in every phase. He has 
discovered, he says, that he has three hens and two cock 
birds. 
There is much interest in our community in the result 
of th6 fight for short (nine-inch) lobsters. Senators 
Harding is expected to resume his seat early the coming 
week, when the subject will receive attention. Courtesy 
for him as a dissenting member of the committee has 
caused the matter to be deferred until his return. 
■ Central. 
. The President's Hunting 
And the little people of the press. 
When the President of the United States, desiring, 
and doubtless requiring, some of the balm of outdoor 
life in the mountains, started for Colorado from Okla- 
homa, he announced that if he was pursued by the 
newspaper correspondents he would simply have to 
give up his trip, and it is safe to presume that the cor- 
respondents of standing, the kind usually selected to 
follow in his train, graciously and decently accepted the 
situation and let him alone. But the opportunity was 
too tempting for the other kind. Gentlemen had 
stopped furnishing bulletins of the movements and do- 
ings of the President of the United States, hence there 
might be. a market for the drivel of other people. And 
in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat of April 16, under 
the statement "Special Dispatch to The Globe-Demo- 
crat. Camp Roosevelt, Penny's Ranch, Colo, (by 
courier to Newcastle, Colo.), April 15," appeared along 
with about a column of other drivel, the following: 
The hunt was on in earnest. Fifteen minutes of mountain 
climbing, and then the leading dog sounded the trail. 
"We've found him," shouted the President, as he drew back, 
hi"? eyes glistening and body all trembling at the sport in store 
for him. 
"Away they go," answered Goff, as he unleashed the fifty 
bounds. 
They started off in mad pursuit, with the hunters and guides 
wildly galloping after them. For an hour the chase kept up. 
Over rocks, across gullies, around trees, down caiions, and up 
mountainsides, the bear led them. President Roosevelt was always 
in the fore. Side by side with him was Wells. For an hour they 
raced, and then together they came on the bear, looking angrily 
and disgustedly at the baying hounds. Goff and Borah were right 
behind them. 
"Your shot, Teddy," Goff called out as he approached, and 
Teddy took the first shot. He used his own rifle, a sportsman 
make of the new .30-10 Springfield rifle now being used in the 
Army. A long and steady rest he took across the horn of the 
saddle. 
"Crack," it sounded, and with it the bear toppled. 
"He's a dandy 1" shouted the President, as he went forward to 
view his game. He was a 600-pound bear, in prime condition. 
Cook Jack Fry will serve bear steaks for breakfast in the morning. 
The doctrine of hunting is merely the doctrine of rest, 
which in these times has to be invoked by all hard 
working men whether presidents or preachers of the 
Word or humbler of their parishioners, and why should 
it be thus belittled? I suppose there is nothing to be 
done about it except to hold it up to the scorn of 
those of us who know. And yet there are some of the 
family of the Forest and Stream who have weight 
with the managers (there are no more editors) of the 
daily papers — they advertise; and would it not be well 
for them to mildly protest? Might they not suggest to 
the manager to employ his little minded folk to ridicule 
the man who works himself to death at the age of 
middle life and leaves his work half finished? Or, 
better still, to employ the little people at little things, 
pending mature growth? The gospel of hunting, because 
it is the gospel of rest, should be respected and re- 
spectable, and its facilities made ample and permissible 
in perpetuity to the citizens of the Union. The trend 
of modern medicine is such that any wayfaring man can 
see the time is coming when the doctor will feel the 
pulse, perhaps look at the tongue, as of old, but will 
then say "Prescription, four weeks in the mountaiiis. 
Fee, $10." And it will be worth the ten. 
George Kennedy. 
Game at Cwmtticfc. 
Currituck, N. C, April 14.— There has been much 
less spring shooting than usual, and ducks are still here 
in large numbers. I saw 3,000 to 4,000 ruddy ducks in 
one flock on the loth of April, besides several small 
bunches of canvasbacks, blackheads and black ducks. 
Quite a number of the latter lay and rear their young 
at Currituck now. English snipe are more abundant than 
I have seen them in five _ years. Yellowlegs, dowitchers 
and creakers are late coming. I think I never saw them, 
so scarce in April as they have been this season. We 
having had no snow of any consequence our quail have 
wintered well, and are quite up to their usual numbers. 
There seems a serious question as to whether we shall 
be able to shoot ducks at Currituck next season, except 
from Nov. 20 to Jan. 20, two months. The representative 
from Anson county, in making laws for his county, 
seems to have made a duck law for the whole State. 
Currituck's representative and senator claim that it was 
an error; and some of our leading State papers claim 
that„ the Supreme Court will hold that we can - shoot as 
usual. The opinion of the Forest and Stream would be 
very acceptable just now. More Anon. 
Mf. Atfcm*s Paintings. 
During the week ending with the date of this 
paper there will be held at Clausen's Galleries, 381 Fifth 
avenue, an exhibition of paintings well worth seeing. 
About a year and a half ago Mr. Louis Akin wenL to the 
Southwest to paint Indians and the general life of that 
section. He had not expected to remain very long, but 
the country got its grip on him and he returned only a 
short time ago. A number of his paintings made in and 
near the Desert are on_ exhibitioii at the address given 
above, and all who are interested in Indians, ar who are 
familiar with the Desert, should see them. 
"Aren't you carrying things with a high hand?" "Sometimes 
it's a high hand," answered the South American President, "ancj 
then again sometimes it's only a bluff."— Washington Star. 
