Evening star., 1899-04-01
THE GAME LAW.
An Amendment Should Re Made as to
Property Rights.

To the Editor of The Evening Star:
The bill for the preservation of game
was passed March 3. Ii was surprise |
think, to everybody except the gentlemen
who were pushing the bill The motives
for getting such law were excellent.
Some stringent and effective measure was
certainly necessary to prevent the pot
hunters from destroying all the game, put
ting an end not only to the sport of hunt
ing, but 10 a permanent foed supply. The
men who were engaged in getting living
by killing game do not seem to regard
anything except their own immediate in
terest, and sometimes not that. About the
end of the last woodcock season several
hundred woodcock We're killed in a condi-
ton poor that they were not market
able 1t was attempted to sell them in diff
ferent cities, but without success. These
men would Kill the last coVey of quail. The
same rapaCity for gain very nearly destroy
ed the whole fish supply in the Potomac.
We can remember when scininS was car
ried 10 such an extent that no large fish
could push up the river without being
caught, and the banks of the Potomac were
made odorous by the millions of small fish
cast upon them to rot. 1t Will take few
years more of careful watching and enforce
ment of the law to prevent the destruction
OF This important food supply. similar
cause has destroyed the buffalo herds in the
than thousands of buffalo carcasses lay on
the praires, the hunters not having taken
even the trouble to take off their hides. The
natural food supply Of the Indians has been
destroyed and the unfortunate tribes have
TO depend almost exclusively for support
upon the United States government.
The least acquaintance with the subject
would make every man desrous of prevent
ing the indiscriminate slaughter of birds in
the open season. There are, however, one
or two points in which the game law might
be amended. AS it stands it amounts to d
total destruction of the right of property in
any birds killed in the open season, if they
are not consumed before the close of the
season. 1t is made misdemeanor for any
one to keep in possession such birds The
owner himself cannot keep them, nor can
he employ cold storage company to keep
them for him. Now. the birds were lawfully
killed in the open season. At that time they
were property vested in the owner. That
right of property cannot be destroyed with
out compensation to the owner. for which
this law does not provide. If the game is
property it can undoubtedly be kept over
by the owner from one open season to an
other.
AS to the right of the government to for
bid its sale in the close season I have no
doubt. There are other cases in which the
courts have uniformly sustained the right
of a legislative authority to forbid the sale
of property at certain times. Take the
familar case of the prohibition to sell
liquor in saloons between midnight and
daylight. The liquor is undoubtedly prop
erty, but for police purposes the govern
ment can prohibit its sale at certain times
1t is competent, tn arefore, for the govern
ment to prohibit the sale of game in the
close season, and 1t has the right to define
the close season. In the law, as 1t stands
a is punishable for having his own
property in possession. He cannot even
have it in his possession long enough to
get it out of the District. He may be fined
for having it iI possession even for mo-
ment of time, and nobody else can have 1t
in possession for him without being Unable
This amounts really to destruction of
property without compensation. 1 cannot
think it possible that any court would up-
hold the law in this respect. 1t will GER
tafnly, however, sustain the police regula-
uens prohibiting the sale of game In the
close season. The public interest 1t seems
to me, demands the preservation of the
law, amended so as to respect the constitu-
tonal right of every man to his property
Mr.. SharD's invitation to the dealers to
put their birds in open market for sale and
thus NIKE test case is not fair one The
courts would decide that the birds should
not be sold in open market. The true way
to make test case is to bring suit against
the dealer who. 1t Is said, has Informed the
police authorities that he has a quantity of
game in cold storage. deposited there dur
Ing the last open season, to remain until
the next open season. Then the court would