Seni ee U Dee OeNresR UG Liberal N 43 
member, Mrs. Rosalie Edge, a sort 
of conservation Carrie Nation, 
shook the Society to its foundations 
— and in doing so permanently 
shook off thousands of its members 
— by disclosing that Audubon’s 
national officials had secretly been 
hiring the trapping of muskrats in 
one of its own wildlife sanctuaries 
and selling their pelts. One year’s 
receipts. from this nefarious busi- 
ness were reported to have 
amounted to one hundred thou- 
sand dollars. 
Mrs. Edge, who also could turn 
out a telling phrase, once called the 
Bureau of Biological Survey the 
“Bureau of Destruction and Ex- 
termination.” What an apt name 
for our present day federal and 
state predator control organiza- 
tions! 
It would be unfair to the author 
to overemphasize the stress he 
places on Audubon and on bird 
protection, for he also presents a 
veritable ‘“‘Who’s Who” of conser- 
vation during the past century, from 
William Temple Hornaday to Stew- 
art L. Udall. He gives us not only 
documentary records of these per- 
sons; he makes them come alive. 
For example, Hornaday is shown 
as an opinionated, prejudiced, abra- 
sive character who nevertheless 
accomplished great things in con- 
servation, partly through his 
friendship with President Theodore 
Roosevelt. 
“Teddy” is shown as a far more 
effective conservationist than most 
latter-day nature lovers give him 
credit. Perhaps his true stature has 
been obscured by the tremendous 
publicity given his exploits as big 
game hunter in Africa and South 
America. Through his foresight, 
sometimes implemented by “big 
stick” methods, he set apart our 
first wildlife refuge and later many 
others, paving the way for dozens 
established during the past seven- 
ty years. 
Perhaps of still greater impact 
was his institution of the Forestry 
Service, accompanied by vast in- 
creases in the establishment of 
national forests by Presidential 
edict, the beginnings of forestry 
management and the long overdue 
curtailment of depredations by the 
19th century ‘timber barons.” His 
efforts were successful largely due 
to the “father of American forest- 
ry,” the brilliant and forceful Gif- 
ford Pinchot. 
Graham says that we have had 
two great conservation Presidents 
— men of two opposing parties, 
but with the same last name — 
Roosevelt. F.D.R. continued and 
advanced the cause of land acqui- 
sition for National Parks and Mon- 
uments, National Forests, Wildlife 
Refuges and Bird Sanctuaries in- 
cluding the Red Rock Lakes Mi- 
gratory Waterfowl Refuge (1935) 
which resulted in saving our Trum- 
peter Swans. Most noteworthy, ac- 
cording to the author, was his 
depression-spawned Civilian Con- 
servation Corps. 
Frank Graham, Jr. is a prolific 
writer, producing a book every 
year or so as well as numerous 
articles for AUDUBON and other 
magazines. Perhaps he writes a 
little too fast for accuracy. Witness 
these “goofs”: He has John Muir 
brought up and educated in Min- 
nesota (of course it was Wisconsin). 
And he lists the first four State 
Audubon societies organized from 
1895 to 1897, but omits I.A.S. which 
was the fourth one organized, if 
not the third. These mistakes are 
not important but make one won- 
der how many others of his state- 
ments that we are unable to verify 
may be in error, 
—Ray M. Barron 
