The Jersey City news., 1903-07-21
OUT FOR The STUFF
Money Making Game War
dens Who Abuse Their
Authority.
TYRANNIcAL DOG LAWS.
No Animal Must Run at Large
in the Country and Even
House Pets Must Be
Confined.

Laws Tor the protection OF game and
fish are laudable. They are statutes
passed for the greatest good of the great
est number. The Fish and Game Com
mission Of the State has for a number Of
years been doing its utmost to procure
the enactment and to enforce rational
laws for the protection of game and fish,
and has endeavored to do the work in
telligently, with the aid of not only the
anglers aud gunners in the cities. but of
owners Of lands and waters in the rural
districts. These laws were made for the
purpose of restraining the vicious, check
ing pot hunting, snaring poisoning, dyna-
miting and other Illicit ways of destroy
ing game and fish, says the Newark Sun
day "Call''
The sincere efforts of the Commission
were ever combated by prejudice and
thwarted by narrow minds. A rural ele-
ment. honest and conscientious, but more
or less in1uenced by the desires of the
lawless members of rural communities.
opposed nearly all of the game and fish
laws with the false argument that they
We're made for the benefit OF the city
sportsmen and men of leisure They
have repeatedly baked the efforts Of the
Commissioners by tinkering with the
laws through the agency of members of
the Legislature, who merely desired to
please constituents and gave no atten-
ton to anything else than the political
phases of the matter, having no time or
inclination to study the subject. The re-
suit has invariably been confusion Of
the laws. Every effort to codify these
acts has resulted in the injection of
something to thwart the real purpose OF
those interested in the welfare of fish
and game and the interest of true sports
men and anglers.
Evils have crept into the enactment of
the laws, and they are such as to cast
reproach upon the whole system. One
of the greatest of these is the payment
of one-third of the penalty to the person
procuring conviction. The law pro-
yides that one-third of every 6ne shall so
to the Fish and Game Commission and
another third to the person or persons
supplying the evidence necessary to pro-
cure conviction. This has led to
abuses. There are twenty-five fish and
game wardens. One who is selected as
protector receives $100 month, and is
under 81 900 bonds for the faithful per-
formance Of his duties. The others get
500 month and are under $500 bonds
each. There is some restraint upon
them, but in addition to these men there
are in all parts of the State numbers Of
irresponsible deputy wardens, who re-
ceive no salaries and are under no bonds.
Many of these are honorable and enthu-
siastic sportsmeu and anglers, working
in the interest of gentlemanly sport, but
in the. ranks are intruded number who
must be suspected of sordidness. Present
events Indicate that few of these depu-
ty wardens are using their Offices for
gain and even tempting people to break
the laws for the sake of making conn
plants and securing their share of the
fine. These abuses have heretofore been
curbed by the Commissioners. who have
Instructed the wardens that certain APP
parent but purely technical violations of
the laws should be ignored or neglected
when no vicious interest was displayed.
Under the conditions which prevailed pn-
til this year no warden or deputy would
dare to come before the Commissioners
with a case which showed malicious
prosecution or any evidence Of seeking
personal gain.
There has been dh act On the books
for three years unaltered in any way in
regard to permitting dogs to run at large.
It reads:
at shall be unlawful for any owner
lessee or custodian of any dog to permit
such dog to run at large In woods 81
fields inhabited By rabbits OF game birds
except when said dog is in the custody
or charge of its owner, lessee or custe
dian, during the close season herein pro
yided for hare or rabbits, under penalty
of twenty dollars for each onense.''
The plain intention Of this law was te
prevent hounds from marrying young rab-
bits in the close season. This was al
that was aimed at, and there wsre nt
prosecutions under it until recently
These were evidently inspired by malice
or hope Of gain. The latter is indicated
| by the fact that in each instance the
deputy wardens pressed two complaints
when in either. if the complainant had
been animated By desire TO curb an