ieee AOD BON BULLETIN 
Published Quarterly by the 
itr eN- OF1 SATU D UB ON SO CLE T -Y 
ROOSEVELT ROAD AND LAKE SHORE DRIVE, CHICAGO 5, ILL. 
Number 86 June, 1953 
Protection for Mourning Doves — IV 
By PAuL H. LOBIK 
THE MOURNING DOVE PROTECTION BILL has become a reality at last. Rep. 
G. William Horsley of Sangamon County has introduced into the State 
Assembly H. R. 514, a bill which designates the mourning dove a songbird, 
thus removing it from the list of game birds to be hunted in Illinois. 
The Springfield Nature League, led by Mrs. N. S. Dorosheff, Publicity 
Chairman, and Mr. William Nottingham, Conservation Chairman, deserve 
a major share of the credit for obtaining the support of Rep. Horsley. The 
bill has been referred to the Conservation and Waterways Committee of 
the Assembly for consideration. Members should write at once to Rep. 
Rollie C. Carpenter, Chairman, and Rep. Claude D. Travers, Vice-Chairman 
of this committee, requesting their recommendation that H. R. 514 be en- 
acted into law. United action by our members is essential if this legislation 
is to pass. 
Events have come quickly following the introduction of the bill. The 
sports section of the Chicago Daily News printed two articles on the dove 
bill by Jim Mitchell, outdoor writer, on May 5 and 6, in which the bill was 
attacked as a threat to the rights of Illinois hunters. Your Editor answered 
with an “Open Letter to the News,” criticizing Mr. Mitchell’s articles point 
by point. The salient arguments in this letter were printed in the News by 
Mr. Mitchell on May 19. On succeeding days appeared other replies, from 
Guy Atherton, Director of Conservation Militant, St. Paul, Minn., defend- 
ing the stand of the conservationist, and from Mrs. Clarence B. Heath of 
Downers Grove, describing property damage caused by thoughtless hunters. 
Mr. Mitchell has given a fair account of the claims made by his critics. 
Interestingly enough, Dr. R. M. Strong reports that Robert Becker, Out- 
doors Editor of the Chicago Tribune, feels that both the mourning dove and 
the wood duck should be removed, temporarily at least, from the game bird 
list. He has observed that these species suffered heavily from hunting: last 
fall, and have not returned in their usual numbers this spring. 
Dr. Strong visited Springfield the week of May 11 and presented the 
views of the I.A.S. on the Mourning Dove Bill before Rep. Horsley, Rep. 
Brydia and Rep. Carpenter. Later he spoke at the annual meeting of the 
Springfield Nature League. The Conservation Committee of the League 
will provide on-the-spot support of the Mourning Dove Bill when the legis- 
lative group meets again on May 27 to complete its hearing. 
Miss Florence V. Cummings of Chicago, who has been assisting our Dove 
Committee Chairman, Mr. Raymond Mostek, traveled to Springfield at her 
rata 
