Sf.pt. 30, 19 11 -] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
519 
The Sullivan Law. 
Tucicahoe, N. Y., Sept. 17 .—Editor Forest 
and Stream: I have seen no reference in your 
paper to the clause in the new “Sullivan Pistol 
Law” making any alien who carries a shot¬ 
gun in a case liable to arrest as a felon. I am 
a member of three gun clubs in the vicinity of 
New York, and have been trapshooting for 
about three years, though I do not hunt at all. 
Kindly let me know what you think about this 
law, which is aimed at the evil doer and which 
hits an innocent person, who, though not an 
American citizen, is a law-abiding and respect¬ 
able man. It looks as if I would have to give 
up my favorite sport. There must be many 
others similarly affected. D. 
| Under the Sullivan law it is clear that your 
right to carry a firearm-—even a trap gun, taken 
apart and in its case-—is denied. But there is 
comfort for you in the fact that the New York 
county Grand Jury has on several occasions re¬ 
fused to hold aliens who were arrested while 
carrying shotguns in cases. The Becker case 
is one of these. Its history was given in the 
Times by Oakes & Schurz, counsel for the Ger¬ 
man Consulate in New York city, as follows: 
Mr. Becker, who is a German subject, arrived in New 
York at the station of the Pennsylvania Railroad in Dey 
street early on the morning of Sept. 7. He had sent 
his trunk in advance, and had with him a bag and a 
leather case containing a shotgun. With the intention of 
proceeding to the express office to claim his trunk, he 
came out of the station carrying his bag in his hand, 
and with his shotgun in the case slung over his shoulder. 
As soon as he got into the street he was arrested, taken 
to the police station, where the gun was taken from him; 
a patrol wagon was then called, in which he was placed 
in custody of an officer, and taken to the Tombs. Later 
he was arraigned before a Magistrate, held without bail, 
and returned to the Tombs. The Grand Jury was not 
in a position to take up cases of this kind until Monday 
morning, Sept. 11. 
During the interval we busied ourselves with the 
legal aspect of the case, and consulted with the District 
Attorney’s office. On Monday morning. Sept. 11, the 
matter was presented to the Grand Jury and the prisoner 
was discharged. 
In the Tombs Mr. Becker was placed in a cell in 
company with a common criminal accused of petty theft. 
It remains to be said that Mr. Becker is a young man 
subject to military service in Germany, and that his 
leave of absence expires on Sept. 25. If Mr. Becker 
had not been discharged in time to sail on Sept. 12 
he would not have been able to reach his home and to 
report to the military authorities before the expiration 
of his leave. In this event he would have been listed 
as a deserter and would have had to clear himself from 
this charge. Any one having any knowledge of the 
severity of military discipline in Germany will under¬ 
stand that this would have been a very serious matter. 
Thus Mr. Becker, without any wrongdoing on his 
part, was kept in an ordinary prisoh with common 
criminals for four days; he missed the steamer on whicn 
he was originally to have sailed; he ran the risk of 
serious complications with the military authorities in 
Germany, and all this in a civilized community. 
It is quite apparent that there is something radically 
wrong with a law which makes ocurrences of this char¬ 
acter possible. If this law is not to succumb to its own 
shortcomings it must be promptly amended. 
In an opinion made public last week, G. V. S. 
Williams, counsel for the Conservation Commis¬ 
sion at Albany, said that the Sullivan law does 
not affect the carrying or having in possession 
by a citizen over the age of sixteen of shotguns 
or rifles of such size that they are incapable of 
being concealed upon the person, unless the 
weapons are carried or possessed with intent to 
use the same unlawfully against another.—- 
Editor.] 
In view of the general confusion as to the 
terms of the Sullivan law, it is given below: 
Section 1896. Making and Disposing of Dan¬ 
gerous Weapons.—A person who manufactures, 
or causes to be manufactured, or sells or keeps 
for sale, or offers, or gives, or disposes of any 
instrument or weapon of the kind usually known 
as a blackjack, slungshot, billy, sandclub, sand¬ 
bag, bludgeon, or metal knuckles, to any per¬ 
son; or a person who offers, sells, loans, leases, 
or gives any gun, revolver, pistol or other fire¬ 
arm or any airgun, spring-gun or other instru¬ 
ment or weapon in which the propelling force 
is a spring or air or any instrument or weapon 
commonly known as a toy pistol or in or upon 
which any loaded or blank cartridges are used, 
or may be used, or any loaded or blank car¬ 
tridges or ammunition therefor, to any person 
under the age of sixteen years, is guilty of a 
misdemeanor. 
Section 1897. Carrying and Use of Dangerous 
Weapons. — A person who attempts to use 
against another, or who carries, or possesses, 
any instrument or weapon of the kind common¬ 
ly known as a blackjack, slungshot, billy, sand- 
club, sandbag, metal knuckles or bludgeon, or 
who, with intent to use the same unlawfully 
against another, carries or possesses a dagger, 
dirk, dangerous knife, razor, stiletto, or any 
other dangerous or deadly instrument or 
weapon, is guilty of a felony. 
Any person under the age of sixteen years, 
who shall have, carry, or have in his possession, 
any of the articles named or described in the 
last section, which it is forbidden therein to 
offer, sell, loan, lease or give to him, shall be 
guilty of a misdemeanor. 
Any person over the age of sixteen years, 
who shall have in his possession in any city, 
village or town of this State, any pistol, revolver 
or other firearm of a size which may be con¬ 
cealed upon the person, without a written license 
therefor, issued to him by a police magistrate 
of such city or village, or by a justice of the 
peace of such town, or in such manner as may 
be *prescribel by ordinance in such city, village 
or town, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 
Any person over the age of sixteen years, 
who shall have or carry concealed upon his per¬ 
son in any city, village, or town of this State, 
any pistol, revolver, or other firearm without 
a written license therefor, theretofore issued to 
him by a police magistrate of such city or 
village, or by a justice of the peace of such 
town, or in such manner as may be prescribed 
by ordinance of such city, village or town, shall 
be guilty of a felony. 
Any person not a citizen of the United States, 
who shall have or carry firearms, or any dan¬ 
gerous or deadly weapons in any public place, 
*So in original. 
at any time, shall be guilty of a felony. 1 his 
section shall not apply to the regular and or¬ 
dinary transportation of firearms as merchan¬ 
dise, nor to sheriffs, policemen, or to other 
duly appointed peace officers, nor to duly 
authorized military or civil organizations, when 
parading, nor to the members thereof when go¬ 
ing to and from the places of meeting of their 
respective organizations. 
[Section 1899 relates to destruction of danger¬ 
ous weapons.] 
Section 1914. Sale of Pistols, Revolvers and 
Other Firearms.—Every person selling a pistol, 
revolver or other firearm of a size which may 
be concealed upon the person, whether such 
seller is a retail dealer, pawnbroker or other¬ 
wise, shall keep a register in which shall be 
entered at the time of sale, the date of sale, 
name, age, occupation and residence of every 
purchaser of such a pistol', revolver or other fire¬ 
arm, together with the caliber, make, model, 
manufacturer’s number or other mark of identi¬ 
fication on such pistol, revolver or other fire¬ 
arm. Such person shall also, before delivering 
the same to the purchaser, require such pur¬ 
chaser to produce a permit for possessing or 
carrying the same as required by law, and shall 
also enter in such register the date of such per¬ 
mit, the number thereon, if any, and the name 
of the magistrate or other officer by whom the 
same was issued. Every person who shall fail 
to keep a register and to enter therein the facts 
required by this section, or who shall fail to 
exact the production of a permit to possess or 
carry such pistol, revolver or other firearm, if 
such permit is required by law, shall be guilty 
of a misdemeanor. Such register shall be open 
at all reasonable hours for the inspection of 
any peace officer. Every person becoming the 
lawful possessor of such a pistol, revolver or 
other firearm, who shall sell, give or transfer 
the same to another person without first notify¬ 
ing the police authorities, shall be guilty of a 
misdemeanor. 1 his section shall not apply to 
wholesale dealers. 
Biltmore Forest School. 
Marshfield, Ore., Sept. 15 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: The work of the school for the past 
month has been of the most wonderful value and 
interest. We are in the Coos Bay country. With 
such phenomenal second growth, arguments are 
all in favor of reforestation. On the cut-over 
land the debris is burned and one to three trees 
per acre of the unmerchantable ones are left for 
seed trees. The wisdom of this natural seed 
regeneration is apparent, not only for the pro¬ 
duction of timber, but as a fire piotective meas¬ 
ure. “Barren wastes are fire traps; a second 
growth protects itself as well as its neighbors." 
E. T. Allen, formerly district forester in the 
Forest Service, and now the executive of the 
Western Forestry and Conservation Association at 
Portland, gave us an outline of Western condi¬ 
tions with special reference to Western owner¬ 
ship of timber and Western forest fire protec¬ 
tion. 
We leave Marshfield on Sept. 16 and shall, 
after traversing various National Forests and 
private operations in the Northwest, embark in 
the S. S. New Amsterdam at Hoboken, on Oct. 
3, for our winter quarters in the German forests 
at Darmstadt. Geo. 1 . McCaskie, Jr. 
