The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-07-27
FULLERTON CALLED DOWN.
HIS Statements Regarding Itasca
County Denied

County Denied.
To the Editor of the Globe.
icy attehtlon has been called to an inter-
view With Agent Fullerton of the stare game
and fish commission published in tba n io
on the list inst, relative to the non-inforce-
n,binh u s tne game laws in Itasca county,
Tind iH a,r ueetn worthy Of rep:y. If you will
hnuly grant me a hearing. If il were nos
side 10 perform the eXacting and intricate du-
tues or game warden through the coInnnns %
the DAILY press, Mr.. Fullerton would score a
lehdrkdDle ana pronounced success He
manages to keep his name before The n,,bIic
the year round, but aside from FURNISHING
wordy interviews concerning his great work
IN behalf Of protecting the game and fish ~
the state, ne mas been decided failure from
the time of his appointment to the nreeent
day. The people Of Northern Minnesota md
especially those of Itasca county, will ear
hestly cooperate at all times with the prom
er authorities to prevent violations of the
game laws, and no one knows this better than
goes Mr.: Fullerton himself In his interview
Mr.. Fullerton Is quoted as follows:
Last year we made seventeen arrests In
Iiasca county. but did not secure one con-
Vlctlon This was only a repetition of the re-
s st Oh previous years, and so we concluded
SiidC we would withdraw our game Wardens
from that territory and throw upon the neo-
PIE themselves the responsibility for the work
ohat was going on. 1t costs money to keep
nor ~ e, maroen IN the field and if we were
tIls money Tor nothing. Recently a club of
sportsmen has been organized which we
boen ,, on 70 help u.s. But heretofore it has
D TI useless 10 try to do anything I'D there
Inc very best men in the town of Grand
IdpIus encourage this Illegal killing and ate
rne cohssraDand meat. Why, there is every
t ooSon Ior Deneying that moose meat has
peen served nearly at all times NJ tbe year
on on the tables of the hotels in Grand Ra6ids
One OF these hotel men has been a member
Vi Lhe legislature for two sessions and the
other is the present mayor of tbe town d.
iloC charge that these men, or any of their
tbo+ e. hiIIeu the game, but it is apparent
CO &C. or tley Dougnt 1t from those who did and
81 encouraged the slaughter With this sort
Vi an example set before their ewes the vear
round 1t Is not strange that he average man
in inc lC "a county felt encouraged in the kill
t tns vi moose: He was not only sure of pro-
tectlon, but felt that at all tines he wdI,Id
ma market for his game"
t,r me arst statement in the foregoing is en-
modo ia tai3 Sc mere was not a single arrest
lf fs. III iIaSca county last year through the
eilorts OF the commission and no attemnf
Mas lHdue py the agent or any Of his as
i Hist@iIs 10 enforce the provisions of the
law. During the summer of 1895 man namad
lcLaushln was sent into this county as
deputy game warden. The leading citizens of
Grand RAPIDS were ready to lend him all
possible assistance, and did do so. He caused
NUMBER OF arrests and in every instance
WIN one single exception, he moved for a dis
mlssal of the case or failed to appear before
5 Ii court as prosecutor. The deputy was
directed by myself and others to localities
where fragrant and shameful violations of the
law were generally known to be of FREQUENT
occurrence This profered assistance was un-
needed, the deputy preferring TO oDerate ac-
cording to his own plan. The same wear Mr.
Fullerton visited Grand Rapids and our people
experienced a repetition Of the deputy's in
competency .I the bombastic agent did not leave
the limits of the village during his sojourn
IN ltasca county, and very naturally accom-
pnshed no good. Last year, as l have stat
ea, not single arrest was made and no
enort put forth through the commission to
prevent the slaughter of game in this section
Oh the state. Public sentiment in this county
lndorses the provisions of the game law and
therefore it is. not openly violated as the
executive agent would have the general public
believe.
When Mr.. Fullerton states that there is
reason to believe that the two leading hotels
Of Grand Rapids have served moose on their
tables at all times of the year or at any
time of the year he deliberately and willfully
misrepresents the facts, at least so far as
Hotel Pokegama, of which I am the proprietor
is concerned.
There has never been served upon my ia
bles an ounce of moose meat at any time,
and so long as [ remain in charge of the
house there never will be. Without any ref
erence to the state laws bearing upon the
subject of moose killing, l would about as
soon serve a mess of snakes upon my table
as the flesh of moose.
AS a politician, aiming to make doubly Sc
cure his fat job with the state Mr.. Fullerton
may be operating on the proper lines to that
end, but he has not succeeded in foOiing the
people who reside in those sections of Min
nesota where game and fish really require the
protection that should be rendered through
the commission by law created for that pur-
pose. The real intent of the law is for the
preservation of live game and fish, and not
for the conhscation of what may be slaugh-
tered. While confscation is one of the mea-
sures employed to a certain extent. it Is by
no means the object. Yet we find that The
present executive agent has devoted his
whole energies to the business of cnnfsca-
ton, and has absolutely done nothing to pre-
vent slaughter.
He sends out deputies who make 10 effort
to stop the killing of game and fish, but
whose work indicates that they have been
instructed to report only shipments, that
Mr.. Fullerton may continue to do thriving
cold storage business in St. Paul. 1t is
urged that under the direction of Mr.. Full
to the state treasury under the provisions Of
the act that created his Office than ever be-
fore, and am free to grant the correctness
of the claim. But what does this fact indi-
cate? Simply that there has been more vio-
lations of the law than ever before: that
shipments have been greater; that less has
been done to prohibit slaughter and greater
caution used to bag the game of the hunter
than under any previous administration Of
the Office.
Mr. Fullerton may be able to deceive the
newspaper reporters and those who do most
of their hunting in and about the state
capitol. but the people Of this region have
long understood his motives, and are we'll
aware that the law, now administered Is
well calculated to deplete the forests AMI
streams of the state of he game and fish that
the legislature hoped TO preserve.
D. NJ Gunn.
Grand Rapids, MIMI, July "a. 1897.