46 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Two Decisions on the Migratory Bird Law 
Meanwhile, the Law Will be Enforced 
In a short time the enemies of the migratory 
bird law will, with great glee, announce once 
more that the law is “unconstitutional.” This 
time the statement will have a little more to rest 
upon than the soap-box decisions of learned 
spring-shooters of wild fowl who never even 
saw the national constitution. 
In the wilds of eastern Arkansas, at Jones¬ 
boro, on May 27, in the United States District 
Court, the case of the United States against 
Harvey C. Schauver, for a violation of the Fed¬ 
eral migratory bird law, was heard by Judge 
Jacob Trieber, who decided that “the law is un¬ 
constitutional.” Of course the United States will 
carry the case up until it finally reaches the 
United States Supreme Court, where, with extra 
expedition, a decision may be expected in about 
eighteen months. 
The first decision of the status of the migra¬ 
tory law was that rendered in South Dakota on 
April 18, 1914, by Judge J. D. Elliott of the Fed¬ 
eral Court, who decided, in the case of A. M. 
Shaw, that the law is constitutional. Mr. Shaw 
pleaded guilty, and was fined $100, which was 
paid. 
Inasmuch as a test case was necessary, we are 
glad that the name of no real game-protecting 
state is in any way connected with it. “The 
Arkansas Case” soon will rival the fame of the 
“Arkansaw Traveler,” and the name of Schauver 
will go thundering down the ages as the inheri¬ 
tance of the children of the man who permitted 
himself to be used in the abortive effort that was 
made in 1914-15 to destroy the only law that was 
able to save the migratory birds of North Amer¬ 
ica from annihilation. 
The friends of birds need feel no alarm over 
this incident, nor anything more serious than mild 
interest. Unless the United States Supreme 
Court deliberately elects to pull down a full 
score of laws that the representatives of the 
American people have enatced in Congress for 
the greatest good of the greatest number, the 
federal migratory bird law will stand. The side 
of the People and the Birds will be taken care 
of, if need be, by a hundred able lawyers, who 
are fully convinced that the law is constitutional, 
and that its stability can be demonstrated to the 
satisfaction of any open and logical legal mind. 
In addition to the score or more of New York 
and Washington lawyers who have offered their 
services to this cause, some of whom already 
have prepared extended briefs, Mr. Frederic R. 
Coudert, one of the most distinguished mem¬ 
bers of the American bar, has volunteered his 
service on the side of the birds—an offer which 
undoubtedly will be accepted. The United States 
Department of Justice, headed by Attorney- 
General McReynolds, can confidently be trusted 
to conduct the People’s fight for the birds with 
all the legal acumen and resources of that Depart¬ 
ment, and the organized spring-shooters of 
Kansas City now will have an opportunity to 
contribute money in aid of their cause and Mr. 
Schauver. 
Of course the enemies of the law will laugh 
first, and claim the decision in advance. The 
Kansas City spring-shooters will make a great 
effort 'to rush the Supreme Court and secure a 
decision in their favor in time to give them their 
beloved spring-shooting privilege next January; 
for dear to the heart of the spring-shooter of 
1914 is the privilege of slaughtering egg-laden 
ducks and geese in March, April, and May. For 
that they are willing to rob the farmers and 
forest owners of America of the only law that 
ever can or ever will adequately protect their 
best allies—the insectivorous birds. It is this 
feature of Kansas City selfishness that is so ex¬ 
asperating, and we may well believe that the 
membership of the Interstate Spring-shooters 
Protective Association contains not one farmer, 
fruit-grower, or forester. 
The decision of Judge Trieber in the Eastern 
District Court of Arkansas will not in the least 
affect the enforcement of the national migratory 
bird law in other states, nor even in other dis¬ 
tricts of Arkansas. At present the decision is a 
local issue, and nothing more. In the forty- 
seven other states of our country the migratory 
bird law will be rigidly enforced, and those who 
violate it will be brought to book and punished, 
just the same as if Judge Trieber never had been 
heard of. Let no man make a mistake on that 
point, and then plead that he “didn’t know it was 
loaded.” The migratory bird is loaded, and on 
July 1 there will be $50,000 available for its en¬ 
forcement. It is quite possible that in Missouri 
another judge can be found who will declare the 
law unconstitutional; but we are not going to 
believe it until we see it. 
Meanwhile, the negotiations for the inter¬ 
national treaty are going right on, just as rapidly 
and as satisfactorily as is possible in such a 
matter. The Canadians realize that in protecting 
the migratory birds we are doing our best to give 
them a square deal! In due time the treaty will 
be signed, and presented to the United States 
Senate for ratification; and when that is done, 
we believe that the Senate will ratify it. The 
resolute action of the Senate, 45 to 17, restoring 
the House appropriation of $50,000 for the en¬ 
forcement of the migratory bird law, by two yea- 
and-nay votes, shows once more that the United 
States Senate is an impregnable Gibraltar of wild 
life protection, and even foes within are power¬ 
less to turn it over to the enemy! 
As a last despairing effort, on Saturday, May 
23, Senator James A. Reed, of Kansas City, Mo., 
moved once more to strike out the fifty-thousand- 
dollar appropriation for the migratory bird law. 
For two long hours he poured into the wearied 
ears of the Senate a speech of mingled bathos 
and vituperation aimed at the undersigned, then 
withdrew his motion because he couldn’t pass it. 
His attack would have been amusing had it not 
been so deadly tiresome. 
That was the fourth defeat that Senator James 
A. Reed, of Missouri, has received from the 
friends of the birds in the United States Senate 
during the past ten months. 
WILLIAM T. HORNADAY. 
FIRES IN FOREST PROVE OF BENEFIT TO 
MANY SETTLERS. 
Houghton, Mich., June 6.—Deputies of the 
state forestry department are preparing estimates 
of the forest fire losses in the districts of 
which they have supervision. State Forestry 
Warden W. R. Oates believes they will show 
that the loss this spring was much less than in 
the spring of former years. 
The reports show that actual timber losses 
are slight. The deputies report, that the dam¬ 
age to bird life, especially to partridge, was 
great. It is the nesting season for partridge, 
and thousands of nests in the slashings were 
destroyed. 
An interesting feature of the report is that, 
for the second time in sixty years the forest 
fires were beneficial to the farmers. So effec¬ 
tive was the fire fighting organization of the 
forestry department that the farmers had no fear 
of their buildings being destroyed, and the fires 
were directed to areas covered with slashings 
and litter, which if it had not been burned, 
would have to be removed by the farmers. 
CHANNEL BASS AT TOPSAIL. 
Raleigh, N. C., June 16, 1914. 
To the Editor Forest and Stream: 
The boys caught eight channel bass at Top¬ 
sail on the new moon in May, five of them run¬ 
ning between thirty and forty pounds. But the 
full moon in June showed that the fish had 
really come in. In two nights, five of them 
caught twenty-one fish, eighteen of which 
went thirty pounds or over. The big fellow 
weighed forty-seven and a half, a record for 
the Topsail Inlet Fishing Club. Lovering was 
high line for size, and R. R. Bridgers came 
second, with a thirty-nine pounder. It seemed 
mighty hard luck to me that I was unable to be 
with them. 
On the May full moon the Ocracoke party ran 
into high winds and poor fishing conditions. 
But fifteen fish, averaging around thirty pounds, 
did not seem to me as poor luck as my friends 
seemed to consider it. 
H. H. BRIMLEY. 
UTAH TROUT AND BASS. 
The trout and bass season for 1914 opened in 
Utah June 15 with the promise for the best fish¬ 
ing the state has ever offered. During the last 
four years over 20,000,000 trout fry and finger- 
lings have been planted in the various streams 
and lakes of the state under the direction of 
State Fish and Game Commissioner Fred. W. 
Chambers; in addition many thousand of bass 
fry has been planted in lakes and streams. 
The opening day of the season found the ma¬ 
jority of the streams high and roily as the re¬ 
sult of melting snow, but many good catches were 
reported both with fly and bait. Within the next 
two weeks the fly fishing will be at 'its best and 
the conditions promise to continue until the close 
of the season. 
W. J. SLOAN. 
The proof of the pulling qualities of the ad¬ 
vertisements in Forest and Stream is attested 
to by the advertisers who use it week after week. 
And, in addition, new advertisers are constantly 
appearing in our columns. 
