1004 

The contest for the championship of the State of New 
Hampshire, of which the Peters trophy is the emblem, 
was held on the grounds of.the Derryfield Gun Club, 
Manchester, recently. The contestants were Mr. W. C. 
Gross, of Henniker, and Mr. Elmer E. Reed, the holder. 
Gross scored 91 and won. 
We consider that the authoritative letters on the duties 
of manufacturers’ agents, published in our trap columns 
this week, will do inestimable good in correcting many 
concerning them, or some of them. 
These letters are well worth reading by those who 
shoot, those who expect to shoot, and those who belong 
to the growing class which has shot. 
x. 
the long pending decision of the Court 
of Errors and Appeals of New Jersey was rendered in 
the case of Messrs. Charles W. Davis and Rudolph F. 
Harned, members of the Riverton Gun Club, who were 
the principals in a test case of the act prohibiting live 
bird shooting from the traps in New Jersey. The court 
affirmed the decision of Supreme Court Justice Fort, 
confirming the conviction of the appellants. This finally 
sets at rest the status of live bird shooting in that State. 
Bw, 
Capt. C. G. Blandford writes us’ that 
practice shoots of the Ossining, N. Y., Gun Club will 
be discontinued during the summer months. The prop- 
erty upon which the grounds are situated has been sold 
to be cut up into building lots. A new site has’ been 
which provides a better background (sky light) 
than the old. The new property is on the trolley line, 
and the club house will be moved at once. A grana 
stand will be erected for the accommodation of specta- 
tors, and during the latter part of the summer there will 
be .a tournament and house-warming. It is hoped that 
the old-time interest in this finest of sports will be re- 
vived, and the ninth year of the Ossining Gun Club will 
be more active than any preceeding it.” 
td 
Programmes of the Interstate Association Eastern 
Handicap are ready for distribution. This great event, 
the first of the subsidiary handicaps to be held in the 
East, is fixed to take place on the grounds of the 
Florists’ Gun Club, July 17-19, at Wissinoming, Pa. The 
Interstate Association and the Florists’ Gun Club add 
$1,000, of which $150 is reserved to purchase a $100 
trophy for the winner of first in the Eastern Handicap, 
and a $50 trophy for the winner of first money in the 
Preliminary Handicap. Other moneys allotted as _fol- 
lows: Eastern Handicap, $200, Preliminary Handicap 
$100, seven amateur high guns in regular events (handi- 
caps excluded) will receive $10, $9, $8, $7, $6, $5, $65. 
Among the amateurs who shoot in all the regular events 
(handicaps excluded), and who fail to win the amount 
of their entrance, $500 will be divided pro rata. The $500 
will be further increased by the $1 per day charged to 
each amateur who contests. If there is any surplus of 
this fund, it will be divided among the amateur high 
guns, one money for each $10 surplus. On the first day 
twelve 15-target events are provided. On the second 
day there will be six 15-target events, $1.50 entrance; 
Preliminary Handicap, 100 targets, $7 entrance, handicaps 
14 to 22yds; high guns; open to all. There is a like pro- 
gramme for the second day, except that the special event 
will be the Eastern Handicap, 100 targets, $10 entrance, 
handicaps, 14 to 22yds.; high guns; open to all. Ship 
guns, etc., prepaid, to V, V. Dorp, 816 Chestnut street, 
Philadelphia. Any information will be cherrfully fur- 
nished by E. T. Coleman, Secretary Florists’ Gun Club, 
Camden, N. J., or by Elmer E. Shaner, Secretary-Man- 
ager, Interstate Association, 219 Coltart Square, Pittsburg, 
Pa. 
misapprehensions 
1 June 18, 
“The regular 
secured, 
BERNARD WATERS. 
NOTICE TO NEWS STAND BUYERS 
Give Your Dealer an Order. 
After June 30 the Forest AND STREAM will be 

unreturnable by dealers, but will be supplied by 
them to regular customers and on order. Readers 
accustomed to buy at news stands and book 
stores should not fad to give their dealers a 
standing order in advance, so that they may not 
fail to obtain the paper regularly. 
FOREST AND STREAM. 


Manufacturers’ Representatives. 
HEREWITH we publish a circular letter sent by Forest 
AND STREAM to several distinguished manufacturers. 
New York, May 18.—We have substantial reasons for 
believing that trapshooting amateurs in general have ex- 
tremely imperfect knowledge and false ideas about the 
duties of manufacturers’ agents who act as missionaries 
or shooters. We think that the particular purposes of 
the manufacturers in sending out agents are misunder- 
stood very materially. The professional shooter is gener- 
ally supposed to have a dominant intention to make high 
scores for himself and for his consequent benefit, which 
scores in turn are used for advertising purposes by his 
employers. There is also a notion that the permanency 
of the shooter’s business position is contingent on his 
making high scores day after day. It is a matter of 
rumor that to maintain their scores some professionals 
do not hesitate to browbeat the referees at local shoots, 
and attempt to score doubtful targets as broken targets. 
Also that they are insistent on having place in the first 
squad at such shoots, thereby avoiding a bad light at the 
end of the day and a late stay at the grounds, etc. 
These are mentioned as mere rumors, concerning which 
as to their value you are undoubtedly better informed 
than we are. We do not attempt to pass upon the ques- 
tion at all. Our purpose is only to assist as far as we 
may in placing the professional shooter in a true and 
good light in relation to his company and to his fellows 
when participating in the shoots generally. 
It goes without saying that such gossip as we have 
referred to cannot but unfavorably affect the sport of 
trapshooting, and incidentally must injure the business 
interests relating to it. 
It has occurred to us, then, that a full statement of the 
duties enjoined on manufacturers’ agents by their em- 
ployers, in so far as they may be directly interesting to 
clubs and trapshooters, would be of much benefit to all 
concerned. ‘Thereby trapshooters at large would be re- 
lieved of groundless apprehension; there would be a 
check upon unwarranted presumption, if there should be 
any; and the public would at all times know precisely 
what is sanctioned by the manufacturers in respect to 
their agents and what is not. 
The full scope of our position and purpose in present- 
ing it are obvious, we trust, without further elaboration. 
We believe that the fullest publicity is the true remedy 
in all such matters. We would be pleased to publish a 
letter on this subject from you, if you deem it advisable 
to convey to the public the information suggested, with 
such further information as you may care to present 
therewith. 
To the foregoing we received replies as follows: 
New Haven, Conn., May 22.—Editor Forest and Stream: 
Answering your favor of the 17th inst., in which you 
ask us to outline the duties of our shooting representa- 
tives and tell you about how we expect their work con- 
ducted, we wish to say that the primary object of the 
shooting force is to maintain and promote a healthful 
and sportsmanlike interest in trapshooting. This can 
only be accomplished by having in mind for first con- 
sideration at all times the best interests of the amateur 
shooter. We want the friendship of our amateur friends, 
and. we want them to make the best possible showing at 
the traps. We like to see them slip in and win “high 
average’’ away from our representatives wherever they 
can, because this only helps to demonstrate the possibili- 
ties of the sport from an amateur standpoint. You will, 
of course, understand that we desire our shooting rep- 
resentatives to make a good showing, but it is under- 
stood by all of our boys that the score itself must be 
secondary to the general welfare of the sport, and it is a 
fact that no Winchester shooting representative was ever 
called to task by this office on account of a low score. 
As proof of the policy of our men in matters of this kind, 
we have only to cite the number of tournaments at 
which Messrs. Hawkins, Trimble, Taylor, Hirschy and 
others have assisted in office work, to the detriment of 
their averages; and it is, of course, a well-known fact 
that no one can attend to the details in connection with 
the management of a tournament and at the same time 
do himself justice at the traps. 
We cannot feel that the complaints brought to your 
attention represent the true sentiment of our amateur 
friends in general. We are receiving daily requests for 
the attendance and help of our representatives, and our 
files hold conclusive proof that the efforts of representa- 
tives like F. C. Whitney, L. A. Cummings,*Ward Bur- 
ton and others, who will take charge of a tournament 
and conduct it in a businesslike manner without cost to 
the club, are appreciated to a degree entirely commen- 
surate with the heavy expense which their long jumps 
to different secticns of the country necessitate. 
As regards professionals appropriating for themselves 
favored positions in the first squad, and making unjust 
claims upon the referee, we cannot recall that any report 
of this kind regarding our men has reached us either 
directly cr ind ctly. Certainly there can be no mer- 
cenary incentive, because our men are instructed not 
to shoot for the money unless it is necessary for them 
to do so in order to make their entry, and they need have 
no fear of complaint from headquarters on account of the 
lost average, because we believe every man in our 
employ will do his best for the company, and do it in a 
gentlemanly manner, and when they lose out, we have 
the satisfaction of feeling that they have done their best. 
We should consider any attempt to secure a high aver- 
age by unjust claims upon the referee a direct effort to 
deceive this office; but this is something which will never 
give us uneasiness. We know our men pretty well, and 
do not believe they would ever resort to anything of this 
kind. It is our opinion, however, that the management 
of different tournaments, in their desire’ to feature pro- 
fessionals and secure a good record for their grounds, 
often arrange to give the professional shooters good 
positions; and this is only natural, because they come 
as an advertised attraction, and the crowd turns out to 
see them. This is something, of course, which rests 
with the management of the tournament, and we know 
_ to attract professionals. 
; [JUNE 23, 1906. 
that in a great many cases the professional does not 
even select his position on the programme, but has _ it 
assigned to him by those in charge of the office. We 
think it is safe to say that a shooting representative who 
would lose sight of his own and his company’s interests 
sufficiently to crowd out the amateur, will not long re- 
main in the game. We believe that the hundreds of 
sportsmen who have written, thanking us for the services 
of our men, and expressing approval of their gentlemanly 
conduct, are sincere in their statements, and if this is a 
correct deduction, we have reason #0 feel that the major- 
ity of our friends in the trapshooting world are satisfied 
with the present condition, 
Wincuester Repeatinc Arms Co. 
(S. G. Lewis, Sales Mgr.) 
New York, May 31.—Editor Forest and Stream: Re- 
plying to your recent letter, in which you asked us for 
information regarding the duties of the professional trap- 
shooter, and his relations to amateurs, would say we are 
pleased to note that you have brought this matter up, 
and we shall be glad to make a stament of the facts, 
believing that it is for the interest of amateurs, pro- 
fessionals and the shooting public to know what we ex- 
pect of the U. M. C. experts, and publicity seems to be 
the popular remedy of the day. 
Our shooting representatives are chosen not altogether 
for their score-making abilities, as we expect our men 
to be, above all, true sportsmen in the best sense of 
the word, and thoroughly conversant with modern busi- 
ness methods. By their expertness they command the 
attention and respect of amateur sportsmen, who seek 
their -advice on shooting subjects and emulate their 
scores. We wish our men to belong to the sporting 
fraternity, for there is a bond between every sportsman 
and lover of dog and gun, and we believe that each one 
of our representatives has the password. The modern 
dealer who supplies the demand for guns, shells, etc., 
can only be approached by a thorough business man, 
and we expect our experts to be able to advise with 
dealers as to what shells are in demand and every detail 
not covered by our regular salesmen. 
On the shooting ground the professional is always glad 
to do everything within his power to make the shoot a 
success—to aid the manager with advice or assistance 
when necessary, to vie with the expert amateur, and to 
coach the beginner; in fact, to exert every honest effort 
to promote the sport of trapshooting. 
Our men do not compete for money prizes, and it is 
a mistaken idea on the part of some shoot managers 
that it is necessary to offer a special cup, badge or purse 
The several sporting goods 
concerns are only too glad to send their professionals 
where there will be a large attendance of amateurs. To 
secure a large attendance of professionals, therefore, it 
is advisable that the money purses should be large 
enough and divided by an equitable system such as the 
Rose system, for example, which gives some of the 
money to every one who has made a respectable score, 
instead of dividing it into two or three purses for the 
“‘top-notchers,”’ who are thus benefited at the expense of 
a large number of average shots. 
U. M. C. professionals are never expected to claim any 
doubtful targets. They always accept the decision of the 
referee as final, as they are hired for the purpose of 
creating business, not friction. They are expected to 
make as high a score as possible, but to never let this 
interfere with an opportunity to give advice or assist- 
ance. 
We do not believe that it is usually necessary for ex- 
perts to shoot in the first squad in order to finish early 
and leave the grcunds before the shoot is over, nor do 
we ‘encourage ‘“‘shooting up’’-—that is, shooting faster 
than other competitors, and thus permitting them to 
come late to a shoot or leave early. This is very ap- 
parently unfair to the other competitors, who have faced 
weather conditions occasioned by wind, rain, bad light, 
etc.—such important elements in target shooting. 
We do not expect our representatives to refuse difficult 
targets under any conditions. This is never permitted 
at the Grand American Handicap, and should it occur 
at any shoot, the matter should be immediately brought 
to the attention of the shoot manager. 
In conclusion, we wish to repeat that every shooting 
representative employed by the Union Metallic Cartridge 
Company is expected to have as his one object, the pro- 
motion of the manly sport of trapshooting. Nothing 
unfair or in any way unsportsmanlike will be tolerated 
by either the company or its representatives. 
THe Unton METALLIC CarRTRIDGE Co: 
(A. C. Barrell, Adv. Mer.) 
Witmincton, Del., June 9.—Editor Forest and Stream: 
Your letter regarding the very general misapprehension 
that exists as to the duties of trade representatives at 
tournaments is timely, and if you can do anything to 
correct that misapprehension, it surely ought to be ap- 
preciated. The subject is not an easy one to handle, 
but we will do our best to set forth our views in this 
communication, and if you care to use the whole or part 
of it in any article you ‘may contemplate writing, the 
same is at your disposal. 
In selecting merely an expert shooter one would natu- 
rally look around for only a topnotcher—one who can 
stay there all the time, and who by his censistent work 
with the shotgun must surely direct attention to the 
‘regularity”’ of the ammunition that he is using. And 
“ammunition,” from our point of view means “shot- 
gun smokeless powder.” 
But to fill the bill according to our ideas of what a 
first-class ‘“‘trade representative’? must be, excellence of 
marksmanship, although of course much to be desired, is 
a secondary consideration. In selecting our corps of 
trade representatives, gentlemen who attend tournaments 
and club shoots, we look for various qualifications. They 
had-to be gentlemen, energetic in securing information 
and able and willing to sit down after a long, hard day 
at a tournament and send in a written statement of con- 
ditions, trade and otherwise, as they had found them. 
