The Portland daily press., 1893-03-20

A<oto VI OIdtOTy DuTAuS5 tAIC 4dSo fsOOAA-
The Savings Bank Listing and Drug
gist Bills-The General Court Not Like
Iy to Adjourn Vet Awhile.
AUGUSTA, March 1S-The owners of
wild lands are behind the bill to require
he licensing of guides taking parties into
the woods. Fear of destructive forest
fires has prompted their action, they say
that they have no desire to cause trouble
OF expense to well .disposed visitors in
the great Maine forests but they do want
some system which shall tend to make
sportsmen exercise care to guard against
the destruction of valuable property.
With this end in view, the wild land
owners have thought that if visitors to
the woods knew that their names and
residences, the time of their travels
through the forest and the route they
followed were matters of record at the
State capitol. they would be less liable
to oarelessness in the matter of fire par
ticularly than now, when there is no
cans of ascertaining who has been in
the vicinity when fire breaks out The
bill provides that every man acting as
guide shall take out a license, to be pro-
vided by the forest commissioners. For
this license the guide must pay one dol
lar, and that is the only expense there is
connected with the system, except that
of printing and issuing the licenses and
keeping the records, which is to be borne
by the state. Whenever a guide takes a
prrty into the woods he must, on a blank
furnished for that purpose by the state,
enter their names and residences, the
date of the trip, its length, the route
followed and the location of the camp
fire places. This record is to be kept
on file in the Office of the forest
commissioner. That is in substance the
whole of the measure. There is nothing
in the bill to prevent people roaming
about without guides and here is likely
to arise the chief objection to the meas
nre. OF course anything which can be
done to ferret out the causes of loss by
fire in the numbering regions will be
generally commended, but well disposed
sportsmen who spend some time in the
woods and while there exercise proper
caution may very naturally object to
having a complete record of their move
ments on file if it is likely to cast upon
them suspicion of causing loss which
may really have been due to the faults of
some irresponsible and careless hunter
who was in the vicinity at the same
time and of whole presence no record
was made. When the question of exact
ing license fee from visiting sports
men was under discussion in the Senate
some days ago, it was urged that these
visitors who annually leave so much
money in the state, were jealous OF any
thing which would seeem a discrimina-
ton against them. Which the plan of
registration proposed by the land owners
bill, applies to all parties with guides
and puts the duties on the guides, if
sojourners in the woods are as sensitive
as some of the senators seemed to think
them, the machinery of the measure
might frighten them away. In answer
to this objection, the land owners say
that really those who go into the woods
are tresspassers and should not object to
any reasonable requirement..
The necessity of legislation to preserve
the forests is receiving great deal OF at
tention now in other states as well as in
Maine. The creation Of the Office of
forest commissioner in this state two
years ago and the powers conferred up
on that officer were a step in the right
direction; and in the last two years there
have been few bad fires in Maine woods.
Besides the mere question of a supply of
lumber, the existence of forest areas
must of course be maintained in order
to prevent the extirpation of the larger
game; and equally important with both
of these considerations, is that of the
charge in the rainfall and climate of a
state which the loss of its forests would
cause. So important are these things
1 L L 4. Co o1r
region in New York has been made into
a great state park, under the constant
supervision of paid wardens, who see
that the laws regulating the taking of
game and the manner of life in the
woods, are observed by visitors. But
the state does not stop there. Logging
is carried on in this Adirondack region
but the law imposes restrictions upon it
SO that the forest may not be entirely
cut away.
The need of concerted action among
sportsmen, as well as exercise of the
states authority is recognized by the
gentlemen who will, under the charter
granted by the legislature organize ''The
Maine Sportsmen's Fish and Game Asso-
ciation." The charter names over 100
prominent men from all parts of the
state as members. In the list are Harry
r. Virgin, ESQ.,, and T. B. Davis Of Port
land, and Hon. E. B. Mallet, Jr., of
| Freeport. The association is formed
''for the purpose Of assisting in the pre-
servation of our forests and the proven
ton of forest fires, in the protection OF
the fur, fish and game of the state, in
their propagation and in the enforcement
of the fur, fish and game laws; in the
publishing and distributing of valuable
information for the benefit of all classes
of our citizens, so that they will become
better qualified to judge and understand
their rights and wants, thereby securing
their sympathy and confidence, for the
purpose of aiding the state in the en-
forcement of the laws relating thereto;
to have and use seal; to make and en-
force bylaws for the management OF its
financial and other affairs, not inconsist-
ent withthe laws of the state
In order to do these things, the associa-
ton is empowered to construct hatcher
les, fish ways, etc., under the supervision
of the fish and game commissioners and
may use state land as the Governor and
Council may determine.
A Week of Speeehmaking.