Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-03-13
WHY WE NEED AUDUBON SOCIETIES

VII w WG NCE<b AOoOb DUN oOSlL lIo and a good shot, the chances are that he will kill the tiger; if he goes unarmed, the tiger will kill him just as sure as eggs are eggs.
 Man has to seriously consider then under what conditions he is most like ly to survive. In the case of the person. al encounter with tiger, a rife was one of the conditions; where he Is confront ed with enemies against which rife is not effective, other conditions are nec- essary. It is a well-known fact that the welfare of the people of this country at least is dependent on the success of the several crops of grain and vegetables and fruits, and anything which tends to make these crops failure, must be combatted as an enemy, not only of the agriculturist, but of the nation.
 Among the most dangerous of these enemies may be included floods, droughts, many species of insects, many species of small mammals, and noxious weeds. If the agriculturist had to de- pend entirely upon his own efforts, even with. the aid of gun, to keep these enc mics in check, he'd have no time for ag- riculture, and the enemies would not be checked to any appreciable extent, after all. He must therefore depend to a large extent upon certain allies to fight his enemies for him, and it would seem that as a matter of ordinary common sense, not to mention common decency and fairness, that be in turn should do all in his power to save these allies from destruction.
 In fighting the first two of these ene- mics, man has no more powerful allies than the forests, which tend to prevent both flood and drought. Against all the others mentioned, the strongest allies are the birds, and it is for the purpose of seeing that this great army of unpaid workers-soldiers, if you like-get something approaching fair play, that a great society has arisen, with branches in many states. Most appropriately it is called the Audubon society, after the great John James Audubon, who devot- ed his life to the study of American birds and quadrupeds, but chiefly to the former, of which he has left hundreds of powerful descriptions and hundreds of wonderful drawings as worthy monu- ment to his remarkable ability, tireless energy and magnificent courage.
 The founding of the Audubon society was made necessary by the rapid settle ment of our country by people who had not been taught the value of birds, and who could not believe that the enor- nous feathered population of hundred years ago could ever be diminished. And with reasonable care there would have been no appreciable diminution for a long time to come. But birds of all kinds were slaughtered without the slightest thought for the future-this one for food. that one for the milliner, until species after species has been ex- tinct or nearly so. This work of destruc- ton was assisted materially by those who made extensive collections of eggs. bird skins or mounted birds. and by those who captured song birds to be put into cages. It was seen by certain thoughtful persons. that unless a halt was called many sections of the country at least were going to be practically birdless. and that the entire country would have to pay the penalty So. the Audubon society was organized. and is now a great power for good in the land. Next week propose to tell the story of its organization and give an account of some of the work it is engaged in for the benefit of bird and man.
 ERNEST HAROLD BAYNEs.