Page 158 - Our Vanishing Wild Life

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136 OUR VANISHING WILD LIFE
ceaseless warfare for the birds. Its activity has been tremendous, and itsmembershipHstcontainsmanyofthefinestnamesinEngland. The address of the Honorary Secretary, Frank E. Lemon, Esq., is 23 Queen
Anne's Gate, London, S.W.
Naturally, these influences are opposed by the Textile Trade Section of
the London Chamber of Commerce, and their only argument consists of the plea that if London doesn't get the money out of the feather trade, the Continent will get it! A reasonable, logical, magnificent and con- vincing excuse for wholesale bird slaughter, truly
Mr. Buckland has been informed from the Continent that the people of France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium are waiting and watching to see what England is going to do with the question, "To slaughter,ornottoslaughter?" ForEnglandhasnomonopolyofthe birds'plumagetrade,notbyanymeans. SaysMr.Buckland("Prosand Cons of the Plumage Bill," page 17):
"As regards the vast majority of fancy feathers used in millinery, theContinentreceivesitsownsupplies. Thefeathersofthehundredsof thousands of albatrosses which are killed in the North Pacific all go to Paris. Of the untold thousands of 'magpies,' owls, and other species whichcomefromPeru,notoneskinorfeathercrossestheChannel. The white herons of the Upper Senegal and the Niger are being rapidly ex- terminated at the instigation of the feather merchants, but not one of the plumes reaches London. Paris receives direct a large supply of aigrettes from South America and elsewhere. * * * 'y\iq millions of swallows and other migratory birds which are killed annually as they pass through Italy, France and Spain on their way north, supply the millinery trade of Europe with an incredible quantity of wings and other plumage, but none of it is distributed from London. * * * London,
as a distributing center, has no monopoly of the trade in raw feathers." Mr. Buckland's green-covered pamphlet is a powerful document, and bothhisfactsandhisconclusionsseemtobeunassailable. Theauthor's address is Royal Colonial Institute, Northumberland Ave., London, W.C. The duty of the civilized nations of Europe is perfectly plain. The savage and bloody business in feathers torn from wild birds should be stopped, completely and forever. If the commons will not arise and reform the odious business out of existence, then the kings and queens andpresidentsshoulddotheirplainduty. Inthesuppressionofaworld
crime like this it is clearly a case of noblesse oblige!