
FOUNDERS OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETY 

Dr WILLIAM BRUETTE, Editor 

Member of Audit Bureau of Circulation 


THE OBJECT OF THIS JOURNAL WILL BE TO 
studiously promote a healthful interest in outdoor 
recreation, and a refined taste for natural objects. 
August 14, 1878. 
ARBITRARY POWER TOO CLOSELY 
CENTRALIZED 
OR many years FOREST AND STREAM has been 
so completely committed to the principles of 
game refuges that its natural inclination is to 
accept all movements in that direction, particularly 
those sponsored by the American Game Protective 
Association, in which it has reposed great confi- 
dence. We are not unmindful, however, of the dan- 
ger that lies in overlooking things which are bad 
out of the impelling desire to obtain that which is 
good. Therein lies the danger of most legislation. 
At the present moment there is no overlooking 
the fact that the men opposing the Game Refuge 
Bill have their feet on solid ground and there are 
good reasons for the wave of resentment against 
both the bill and its sponsors that has developed 
so steadily. 
The keenest enthusiast over the desirability of 
game refuges will find difficulty in escaping the 
conclusion that the men behind the present Game 
Refuge Bill are asking for more power than should 
be placed in the hands of so small a group. 
Stripped of its verbiage, what the present bill 
actually does is to confer upon seven men—who 
may or may not be sportsmen—arbitrary powers 
which the sportsmen of this country should hesitate 
upon delegating to any seven men who have ever 
lived. 
This bill as written, authorizes the taxation of 
the shooters of this country for a sum of money 
running into the millions annually. The disburse- 
ment of this money is placed in the hands of seven 
men beyond the direct controi of the sportsmen 
who have been taxed. It authorizes these men to 
enact regulations which will have the effect and 
force of criminal law, and it further authorizes 
them to spend millions of -dollars in the purchase 
of lands when and where they will. 
The improvements in fish and gamé conditions 
that have been registered in the past quarter of a 
century can be attributed largely to the develop- 
ment of the official game commissions now func- 
tioning in many states. They have awakened pub- 
lic consciousness and steadily overcome difficulties. 
It is to these state and local institutions, rather 
than to great national organizations that the 
sportsmen of this country must look for the ulti- 
mate solution of their problems. 
88 
Dangers In 
Before the sportsmen of this country freely grant 
to a new national commission the right to place 
another burden upon farmers, widening the 
breach between them that should be bridged, and 
before relinquishing rights and possessions that 
have always been recognized as those of the com- 
monwealth, it will be well for them to concern 
themselves with things well within their hands, 
the disposition of funds that they are now paying 
into their state treasuries, and the support that 
their legislatures are according to their state game 
commissions. It is well to bear in mind that if 
a quail can be made a song bird in Ohio, it would 
not be difficult for a federal commission to declare 
a ruffed grouse or a prairie chicken a migratory 
bird in any other section of the union. 
FOREST AND STREAM has in no way lost-its be- 
lief in the vital necessity of game reservations. 
They were contemplated in the original migratory 
bird law borne of the wisdom of the Honorable 
George Shiras, 3d, and sponsored through the 
legislature of eleven states by this old magazine, 
but it also believes that the sportsmen of this coun- 
try should carefully consider any bill that com- 
pletely relinquishes their rights and control over 
the land and game within the borders of the state 
in which they live. 
POWER SHOULD BE INVESTED IN STATE 
CONSERVATION COMMISSIONS 
We have been informed by more than one mem- 
ber of the American Game Protective Association 
that there is an understanding between Dr. Nelson 
and Mr. Burnham that no lands are to be purchased 
or leased for game refuges without consulting with 
Mr. Burnham. 
We are not reflecting upon the integrity or good 
faith of Mr. Burnham. There are no grounds for 
so doing. The bill has not been passed; no moneys 
have been collected and no moneys disbursed. It 
is perfectly natural that Dr. Nelson in the ordinary 
performance of his duties should desire the ap- 
proval of his acts from the sportsmen of this 
country. What we do desire to point out, however, 
is that Mr. Burnham is not the authorized repre- 
sentative of the sportsmen of this country. Mr. 
Burnham is the salaried employee of an organiza- 
tion devoted to the protection and propagation of 
game, to which he has devoted many years and in 
which he is undoubtedly thoroughly sincere. 
We believe the Game Refuge Bill should be 
amended so as to give the authorized game com- 
missioners of each state control of the moneys col- 
lected within their border. These state officials, if 
they so desire, can create a smaller board to con- 
fer with Dr. Nelson and the officials in Washing- 
ton. We do not believe a bill that confers so much 
power upon so small a group of men in. Washington 
and New York will meet with the approval of the 
country. , 
