The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-03
SPORTSMEN WANT A CHANCE AT
THE DUCKS IN THE
SPRING.
RED LAKE FISHERIES BILL
is AMENDED so AS TO APPLY
TO THE WISCONSIN BOUN-
DAIRY.
PSYCHOLOGICAL IDEA.
1t Is Explained to "a Large Audience
at Representative Hall by
Prof. Windsor.

The senate committee on game and
game laws met last evening at the
capitol to hear further arguments for
or against the general game law, which
is to be introduced, as well as other
measures, which have been brought
before the committee.
There were present a number Of To-
cal sportsmen, including Horace
Thompson, T. L. and G. T. Schurmeier
and others, and Messrs. Turner and
LIE Clair, representing some fishing
companies in Minneapolis which have
rights in some of the Minnesota lakes.
The first subject taken up was thai
of spring shooting, the local sportsmen
urging that they be permitted, at least
for a week or ten days, to have
chance at the ducks as they went
north. They argued that the game
would be fully protected from slaugh-
ter by pot hunters by the fact thai
before it reached this state the local
market would be flooded with game
from Iowa and Missouri where such
spring shooting is allowed, and any
inroads made in the game by hunters
for pastime would not seriously affecr
the numbers. The sentiment of the
committee, however, seemed to be
against the spring shooting.
The bill recently introduced by Sen
ator Greer was also taken up and, IN
the absence Of the Lake City man,
Mr.. LIE Clair explained that, while i:
had been amended since he had seen
it last its effect would be to give the
commission the right to issue leases
for pound nets on Red lake or any
other lake in the state having an area
Of 10S square miles or more. Red lake,
however, was especially aimed at, there
being a strip about eleven miles long
where the lake was outside of the res
ervation where it was desired to fish.
The bill, it was explained, would as
sist in the development Of the country
as the establishment Of fishing trade
would result in the extension Of steam
er traffic on the lake and be a con-
Venience to early settlers. The amend
ment adds the operation of the bill
to interstate waters, IN relation to
which 1t is said to agree with a bill
now pending in the Wisconsin Iegisla
ture. This will apply to the st. Cro1x
and Mississippi rivers, and especially
to Lakes st. Croix and Pepin.
Mr.. lie Clair explained that the use
or pound nets was considered the best
way Of getting the fish, other methods
frequently resulting in a great waste of
the fsh. The demand for fish due to
increasing population, he said, had a
tendency to raise the price, while the
opening up of new fishing fields had an
opposite tendency and was therefore
in the interest of the general public.
He was asked if his firm had been
doing any fishing at Red lake here
tOfore, and said that it had purchased
some of the fish caught by the Indians.
perhaps l,7O0 pounds. The newspaper
reports of a mammoth seizure. he de-
clared, were exaggerated. The fish had
been purchased mainly to see what the
possibilities of fishing there were.
The senate committee on municipal
corporations also met last night to
hear arguments against H. F. 146, the
Dill which gives to city councils the
power to fix rates to be charged by
gas and electric light companies in the
cities in which they are located. r. G.
Evans, for the Minneapolis Gas Light
company; eX-Attorney General w. J.
Hahn, for the Minneapolis General
Electric company, and Judge c. E.
Flandrau and F. w M Cutcheon, for
the ST. Paul Gas company, appeared
before the committee and protested
against the passage of the bill, the
arguments being practically the same
as were presented to the house COM
mittee on municipal corporations
when it had the same bill under con-
sideration.
There were only a few legislators
in the audience which gathered in Rep
resentative hall last evening to hear
the true inwardness of the Hits bill for
the establishment of a chronological
commission, as it was explained by
Prof. William Windsor, a phrenologist
who is just now located in Minneapolis
MI Windsor stated that modern SCI
ence had come to the conclusion that
all men were generally inclined to be
good, and that crime was not inherent
but the result of environment Under
proper influences 80 per cent of any
mans actions would be good The
penal laws of the country were based
on the wrong principle, and instead
of making an inquiry into the circum-
stances which surrounded and impelled
crime, were devoted merely to run
ming down the perpetrator and making
an example of him. 1t was the spirit
Of the hunt which had been inherited
from savage ancestors and which ex-
listed to greater or less extent in ey-
cry human being.
Mr.. Windsor disclaimed that there
was any ''wOOdchuck'' in the bill, SO
far as he was concerned, declaring that
he was making four times as much
money annually as the salary provided
for the commission, and that he there
fore could not afford to and would not
accept the position even if the COM
missiOnership should be created 1t
was the duty of the state, however, to
do it's best to develop to the highest
extent the powers of every individual
in it, and this could best be done by
careful incubation of the scientific
principles of phrenology.
The Whitney bill provides for the adj
dition to Wadena county of a little cor
ner of Cass cut off from the rest of it
by the Grow Wing river. It IS Just
northwest of Staples
1t is said that the senator's who are
figuring on keeping the reapportion-
ment down to a basis of sixty senator's
or less, are assuming that any larger
number would result in a Populist SEN
ate next term. This, in the belief Of
the party leaders, would be more to
be deplored than the temporary inius-
tice to be done the people Of certain
districts pending the redrawing Of par
ty lines on a basis which will permit
an intelligent reapportionment-u
intelligent" in the party understand
ing of it.