Page 326 - Our Vanishing Wild Life

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CHAPTER XXXII
NEED FOR A FEDERAL MIGRATORY BIRD LAW, NO-SALE- OF-GAME LAW, AND OTHERS
We are assuming that the American people sincerely desire the ade- quate protection and increase of bird life, for reasons that are both sentimentalandcommercial. Surelyeverygoodcitizendislikestosee millions of dollar's worth of national wealth foolishly wasted, and he dis- likes to pay any unnecessary increased cost of living. There must be several millions of Americans who feel that way, and who are disposed to demand a complete revolution in bird protection.
There are four needs of wild bird life that are fundamental, and that can not be ignored, any more than a builder can ignore the four corner- stonesofhisbuilding. Listedintheorderoftheirimportance,theyare as follows
1. The federal protection of all migratory birds.
2. The total suppression of the sale of native wild game.
3. The iotal suppression of spring shooting and of shooting in the
breeding season, and
4. Long close seasons for all species that are about to be ''shot out.''
If the gunners of America wish to have a gameless continent, all they need do to secure it is to oppose these principles, prevent their translation into law, and maintain the status quo. If they do this, then all our
. best birds are doomed to swift destruction. Let no man make a mistake on thatpoint. The"openseasons"and"baglimits"oftheUnitedStates to-day are just as deadly as the 5,000,000 sporting guns now in use, and the700,000,000annualcartridges. Itisonlytheignorantorthevicious who will seriously dispute this statement.
The Federal Protection of Migratory Birds.—The bill now before Congress for the protection of all migratory birds by the national government is the most important measure ever placed before that body in behalf of wild life. A stranger to this proposition will need to pause for thought in order to grasp its full meaning, and appreciate the mag- nitude of its influence.
The urgent necessity for a law of this nature is due to the utter inadequacy of the laws that prevail throughout some portions of the United States concerning the slaughter and preservation of birds. Any law that is not enforced is a poor law. There is not one state in the