Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-10-03
Non. Resident Hunters and the Tax.

Non. Resident Hunters and the Tax.
Today in Maine the deer is ION the
rum" and nonresident gunners, who
carry upon their persons brilliant YER
million license, price SIS net, may
slaughter two deer and a moose. But
just now the sport in Maine seems to
have lost some of it's oldtime fascina
ton for Boston hunters. Bulletins from
the woods indicate that game is album
dant, yet Veterans, accustomed to fol-
low the deer.ff0m the day on which the
bars are ega3tdown. are still at home,
and some of them say they intend to
go shooting in New Brunswick instead.
! The reason Is found in the elaborate
vermilion affair." which each non-resi-
dent hunter must have. Many men who
do not mind the price feel that it is an
imposition and intend to show their re-
sentiment by skipping Maine this year,
with a hope that the next Legislature
will rescind the discriminating statute.
One wealthy and well-lnown local gun
ner said last night: 1.-The nonresident
hunters license is wrong and Maine will
appreciate the fact financially. 1t
amounts to legalzed robbery, and l
won't contribute that way How long
in allowing Game Commissioner Garlic
ton to satisfy his self-esteem by push
ing through a law which affronts a
large class Of profitable visitors remains
to be seem" His opinion was echoed
by others. who joined in his denuncia-
ton of the Maine game commissioners
With Boston spOrtsmen. at least Garlic
ton is not the most popular man on
earth.
SO the chief effect of the new Maine
law is stimulation of interest in hunt
ing through New Brunswick. Heber
Bishop, DR.. F. s. Davis, Agent Flanders
of the b. & NJ. and other wellknown
Bcstonians are there or have lately re-
turned. and several large parties will
try their luck there soon. SO far. the
shooting in New Brunswick has been
excellent, many gunners securing the
fnll quantity of game.-Boston Adj
vertiser.
We fear the Advertiser man is look
ing at things from a somewhat preju-
diced and distorted point of view.
Another Boston paper, the Journal, on
Thursday morning when the above edi-
torial appeared in the Advertiser,
had a long article m it's news columns
declaring that Hundreds of Boston
hunters arc off to the Maine woods"
and that 1.-The new law has caused no
falling off, apparently, in the Boston
contingent" AS far as can be judged
from the numbers of sportsmen seen on
the trains, this week, the Boston Jour
nal is right and the Advertiser is
wrong" The spoftsinen from out of the
state are coming by hundreds to hunt
the deer in the northern woods, and
there VIII be another great rush when
the law is off moose. October Il. From
che Augusta office of the fish and game
commissioners over 200 licenses have
already been issued to nonresident
hunters, and at the so or more other
places where the licenses are to be OBJ
tanned great many are being sold,
but no returns have yet been made.
The Advertisers contention that
many Massachusetts hunters will now
go to New Brunswick rather than to
Maine. seems rather absurd in view
of the fact that the New Brunswick Ii
cense fee for nonresident hunters is
$50, just double that of Maine. In New
Brunswick. moreover, the deer are
scarce and there are no more moose
than in Maine. The New Brunswick
authorities realize that their game is
fast disappearing and are agitating
more stringent protective laws. The
Boston hunter who goes 10 New
Brunswick intead Of Maine. simply
goes farther. pays more and fares
worse.
The wealthy and well-knOwn local
gunner" whom the Advertiser quotes as
saying that the nonresident hunters
license is all wrong and only form OF
legaliZed robbery, is up against the
cold fact that % states of the Union.
including practically all which have
any game worth hunting or protecting,
have this same system of a license for
nonresident hunters. In most states
the fee is $25 though in one, wy
Oming, it is as high as $40 Some pre-
vent non-residents from hunting at all.
Maine is late in falling into line. but
it is forced to take the step to protect
its game. The law was passed for the
good of the State. not to satisfy the
self-esteem of Commissioner Carleton,
and it is not believed that it will af-
front any sportsman whose presence
within our borders is desired. Mr..
Carleton devotes his energies to the
welfare of Maine, and is not seeking
to be 1.-The most popular man on earth"
with any game hogs. pot hunters and
picayunish "sportsmen" that Massa-
chusetts may be unfortunate enough to
possess among it's citizens.
With George B. Mcclellan nominal