Page 328 - Our Vanishing Wild Life

306 OUR VANISHING WILD LIFE
The power of Uncle Sam is respected and feared in many places where the power of the state is ignored.
The list of migratory birds includes most of the perching birds; all the shore birds {great destroyers of bad insects) ; all the swifts and swallows; the goat-suckers (whippoorwill and nighthawk); some of the woodpeckers; most of the rails; pigeons and doves; many of the hawks; some of the cranes and herons and all the geese, ducks and swans.
A movement for the federal protection of migratory game birds was proposed to Congress by George Shiras, 3rd, who as a member of the Houseinthe58thCongressintroducedabilltosecurethatend. An excellent brief on that subject by Mr. Shiras appeared in the printed hearing on the McLean bill, held on March 6, 1912, page 18. Omitting the bills introduced in the 59th, 60th and 61st sessions, inention need be made only of the measures under consideration in the present Congress.
One of these is a bill introduced by Representative J. W. Weeks, of Massachusetts, and another is the bill of Representative D. R. Anthony, Jr., of Kansas, of the same purport.
Finally, on April 24, 1912, an adequate and entirely reasonable bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator George P. McLean, of Con- necticut, as No. 6497 (Calendar No. 606). This bill provides federal protection for all migratory birds, and embraces all save a very few of the speciesthatarespeciallydestructivetonoxiousinsects. Thebillprovides national protection to the farmer's and fruit-grower's best friends. It is entitled to the enthusiastic support of 90,000,000 of people, native and alien. Everyproduceroffarmproductsandeveryconsumerofthemowes it to himself to write at once to his member of Congress and ask him (1) to urge the speedy consideration of the bill for the federal protection of all migratory birds, (2) to vote for it, and (3) to work for it until it is passed. It matters not which one of the three bills described finally becomes a law. Will the American people act rationally about this matter, and protect their own interests ?
Suppress the Sale of All Native Wild Game.—The deadly effect of the commercial slaughter of game and its sale for food is now becoming wellunderstoodbytheAmericanpeople. Onebyonethevariousstate legislatures have been putting up the bars against the exportation or sale ofany"gameprotectedbythestate." TheU.S.DepartmentofAgri- culture says, through Henry Oldys, that "free marketing of wild game leads swiftly to extermination;" and it is literally true.
Up to March, 1911, it appears that several states prohibited the sale of game, sixteen states permitted the sale of all unprotected game, and in eight more there was partial prohibition. Unfortunately, however, many of these states permitted the sale of imported game. Now, since it happened to be a fact that the vast majority of the states prohibit the export of their game, as well as the sale of it, a very large quantity of such game as quail, ruffed grouse, snipe, woodcock and shore birds was illegally shot for the market, exported in defiance both of state laws and