The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-24
SALE OF WILD GAME
Arguments of A. B. F. Kinney Be-
fore the Meeting at Boston
Discussed by Mr.. Perry
THE POT HUNTERS SIDE
OF THE CASE PRESENTED
The Correspondent Does Not
Agree With Some Statements
Regarding the Moral Effect

ilO9ol NlllS tliC IHOl al EilCOl
Should the sale of wild game be pro-
hibited? 1t is the agricultural class
whose rights and interests will be most
affected by the proposed legislation. AS
one of these, l desire to be heard At
the Boston meeting of sportsmen, it
was A. B. F. Kinney who proposed and
! advocated the legislative measure now
under discussion, according to The
Worcester Spy of Dec. Is. He seems to
be the head and center, and perhaps he
is the only man who fully believes that
such a law should be enacted. So that
a discussion of the question from this
side must largely consist of personal al
lusions to this gentleman's arguments.
He not only proposes legislation that is
contemplate and outrageous but he
Goes 1t under the cover Of moral senti-
ment
Young men must be encouraged to go
into the woods because of the moral eff
rect or this most moral recreation
w mere does the moral come in? Is it
When the hunter stands over his victim
ANSh eNe p4liNiIlS SlIuSSlt. IL ne
would stand there long enough to real
lie all the suffering he had caused, the
amount of pleasure he had cut short to
gratlfy his murderous pleasure, it might
nave a moral effect. In another place
Mr. Kinney thinks that the moral
sentiment of the state will be with US"
AGAIN, 1T is morally right to protect
the game" There is more morality for
you. Sportsman's protection! Is it pro-
lection where an officer prevents the
wholesale shooting of prisoners, and
then stands them up one by one, so as
TO exhibit his skill with his weapon?
one more quotation: '"The game belongs
to the state and it is constitutional for
1t to do what it wishes with it,"
Mr.. Kinney has hunted so long in COW
ers, has had so much moral recreation,
that his ideas slip under cover, take to
1t as naturally as duck into the water
What he had in mind was that any
thing the sportsmen wished to do
would be constitutional. Very much as
though he had said
A FIG FOR THE CONSTITUTION.
Having now sampled the sincerity of
mis- arguments and statements we turn
to the point at issue. 1t was generally
agreed at Boston that few birds We're
found by the sportsmen. The destruc-
ton caused by the pot hunter" was
given as the reason. Mr.. Kinney pro-
posed plan for getting rid of the pot
hunter. 1t was very simple! The pot
hunter Is after the. dollar the game will
bring. If he cannot sell what he shoots.
he VIII not hunt. All the birds will then
be left for the man who kills for sport
What nice plan for the latter Not
only all the fun of shooting the game,
but nobody else but himself and friends
to eat it. For it is the pot hunter that
supplies the public.
In deciding the question, should the
sale of wild game be prohibited, we first
inquire, Is 1t required for the good of
the community? A measure for health
what will be to it's advantage in any
way? 1t is seen that the large public
| have no direct interest in the matter.
There may be said to be four parties
concerned, the farmer the pot hunter,
the sportsman and the eater of pur-
chased wild game. With farmers who do
not hunt, 1t makes
LITTLE DIFFERENCE WHO
SHOOTS
the game on their lands. But if the sale
of such game as squirrels and rabbits
| was forbidden in many parts of the
| country, these, unthinned by the pot
hunters, might work much damage
| These farmers would vote to retain the
| pot hunter. OF the latter it can be said
| that he has sensible end in view. one
| that all but sportsmen can appreciate
He does it for the money that he can
get. That is what most all mankind are
after. Very likely the few dollars he
gets are for the support of a family.
Furthermore, there are a few persons
| tand perhaps as many of these as
| sportsmen) who desire the pot hunters
products. Why are not these eaters en-
| titled to be gratified just as much as the
| sportsmen? But their supplies go with
the passing CT the pot hunter
Now there are two classes of not
hunters: One. who may own little more
than his gun and his dog. AS we bid
this one goodbye, we ask Mr. Kinney
if he can be so cruel as to deprive him
of the fine moral effect of such a moral
| recreation?
There must be hundreds of men own
ing land in the back country districts
to whom the sale of game is of much
| Importance. In many cases these
! farmers are land poor. They would
be If they held hundreds of acres. for
| they have what is hard to sell at any
price. They are far from market. and
| what they produce brings them little
1t is not likely that the sale Of wild
game adds many dollars to each. but
it helps. With perhaps the majority
of men, the
| BALANCE BETWEEN INCOME AND
OUTGO
| is slight. But if at the end of the year
| the balance falls on the wrong side,
| is there is debt. the effect is disheart-
! ening. A few dollars on the right side
! gives courage. Hope whispers it will
! be more next year. Every day in the
year, the few extra dollars in those
| households may be like glow of sun
/ shine
Then, too, these men enjoy the sport
| just as much as do the sportsmen. And
If any men are justified in seeking en-
| joyment at the cost of life, these are
| the men. for their round of duties is
/ dull and tiresome. Now it is proposed
4 to cut off at one fell stroke pleasure
and profit. Why? So that the very
/ influential gentlemen who have the
time and taste to follow in crowds one
poor, little fox, may have more sport.
| Sport at the direct expense of these
poor men. Their game made value
! less, their lands converted into game
preserves for the sportsmenS And
how do they propose to enforce such
law? By surrounding the markets
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