74 
BY THE WAYSIDE 
now have about three months’ hunting 
in the fall of the year, and it is pro¬ 
tected the rest of the season; but there 
are always persons who demand hunting 
in the spring. I am opposed to that. 
The birds are in poor condition in the 
spring, and moreover, that is their mat¬ 
ing time. If one of them is shot, it is 
more than likely that there will be no 
brood that year.” 
Further opposition to spring shooting 
this year comes from the Wisconsin Au¬ 
dubon Society: 
“The Wisconsin Audubon society be¬ 
lieves that under present conditions the 
introduction of any open season for 
game birds, other than as now provided, 
would be wrong in every respect. On 
behalf of our citizens who love the beau¬ 
ties of nature and wish them preserved 
for those who come after us, we hereby 
solemnly protest against the passing of 
any law permitting the spring shooting 
of ducks.” 
The strongest advocates in favor of 
the slaughter of our ducks in the spring 
are to be found in lan organization called 
the Wisconsin Hunters’ Association, of 
which a Milwaukee saloon keeper is sec¬ 
retary. 
The writer will attempt, to the best 
of his ability and according to his point 
of view, to answer some of the argu¬ 
ments as propounded by the spring 
shooters. 
The spring shooter: “We favor 
spring shooting for the reason that other 
states do not care to protect game in 
the early months of the year.” 
Answer: In every state of the Union, 
with but a few exceptions, where ducks 
are known to breed in the spring time, 
aquatic game birds are given ample pro¬ 
tection from gunners during the spring 
and summer months. Every citizen or 
sportsman is well acquainted with the i 
fact that Illinois beckons admittance to 
all game hogs, market hunters and their 
contraband game birds or animals. 
Were we to visit Illinois during a time 
when the legislature convened, we would 
find that the true sportsmen have been 
making strenuous efforts year after year 
to strike the spring shooting measure 
from the statute books. And not unless 
political favoritism and the force of the 
almighty dollar become less potent in 
game legislation can better results be 
achieved. Furthermore, states keep 
falling into line against spring shooting 
year after year. Before making his mis¬ 
leading statement that ‘‘all the other 
states permit spring shooting” the game 
hog should carefully consult the laws of 
all states and speak conscientiously about 
states wherein the ducks breed in the 
spring time. 
The spring shooter: “What will be 
the difference if a duck should be killed 
in spring instead of the fall of the year? ’ 
There is a great difference indeed. 
When one kills a bird in the spring 
time, whether it breed in Wisconsin or 
some other state, a possible mating of 
the bird has been prevented. Had it 
been allowed to live, this bird would 
have been* responsible for the existence 
of six or eight ducklings in the fall. 
Then, too, one live duck in spring 
can be credited for the living offsprings 
many years hence. It is simply a mat¬ 
ter of allowing the laws of nature to 
take their right course and compelling 
man to abide by the same. 
The spring shooter: “We wish to 
shoot ducks in the spring because some 
other states do not restrict the same. ’ 
Our civilized white man of the twenti- 
