Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-02-26

The local hunters and shooters are
up in the air over the five year closed
game season measure which passed
the senate Wednesday. The bill pro-
vides an absolutely closed season on
quail and prairie chicken for period
of five years. Practically every nim-
rod in the city as far as can be learn
ed is opposed to the measure as ii
stands. Some seem to favor such
closed season for the chickens, but
none could be found that favored it
Tor the quail
A large number of letters have been
written from Ottumwa to Represen.
tatfye Clyde Sparks and to Senator
f. G.. Moon asking them to use their
influence to prevent the passage of
the bill by the house. These letters
have been written by the hunters
themselves. and by prominent local
politicians who have been interested
IN the opposition by the nimrods.
A number of we'll known hunters
were interviewed this morning con-
corning the proposed five year meas.
ure and their opinions follow:
Measure is Absurd.
A. L. Reynolds.-'I am against it.
The proposed measure seems to me TO
be absurd. We don't need any more
legislation. What we need is the en-
forcement of what legislation we have
now. If the present laws are enforced
we will always have game The oppp.
sition to the passage of such meas
ure will be taken up by hunters all
over the state. We are doing every
thing we can here. l do not believe
that there is any hunter that is in
favor of it, and the hunters would GER
tainly favor anything that would in
crease the game in this state"
Calls 1t Useless.
F. H. Carter.-'I am against any
such measure as that proposed in the
bill which recently passed the senate.
In the first place it is useless. If the
laws that we have now could be en-
lforced and the game protected except
in season we would have quail for
ever. Personally | favor hunters
license law but | suppose that that is
impossible. Just enforce the present
DAVIS and stop the killing out of sea-
son and we will be alright
Wants License Law.
A. Odenwalder-"Th way l feel
about this game law business is that
we should have hunters license law
and apply the proceeds of the license
to the propagation and the protection
Of the game during the cold winters.
It isn't the quail that is killed by be-
ing shot that hurts AXE the vast num-
Der of birds which die during winters
such as the one we had two years ago.
This five year business is impractical
Suppose we have a five year closed
season on quail. For four years say
the quail would thrive and then in the
fifth year would come nard winter
and clean them all out and we would
not have as many of the birds as we
nave now. | want to see hunters
license law passed, but if we can't
nave that, | want to see the present
legislation enforced and let it 20 at
that
Would Please Farmer.
w. F. McCarroll.-I can't see why
the hunters license law isn't a good
thing. 1t has been successful in the
other states where it has been tried
1t has become popular and has in
creased the amount of game, by pro.
1ecting it and, by applying the pro-
ceeds to the caring for and propoga-
ton of 1t. 1t is said that the farmer
is antagonistic to the hunters license
law because he does not feel that he
ought to pay for the privilege of shoot
Ing at rabbit if he has his gun with
him while walking across his own
fields. We don't want law that the
farmers would oppose because the
game is in the country and we want
a re- hn1p in,
game law | don't like the five year
measure and II the hunters license
law is impractical because of opposi.
ton to it, enforce the laws we have
Hunters Talk too Much.
Frank Peck said the quail law should
be left as it is. eff the legislature
feels especially called upon to do
something regarding hunting, it might
pass law requiring every man who
hunts to pay license of 81 per year,
and use that sum in enforcing the laws
we have got, and in introducing some
of the hardy foreign pheasants AL
most everyone will favor a law of that
kind. One of the things that brings
about such agitation as this that is
now going on is that some Of our quail
shooters are getting to be worse
liars than fishermen They will go
out and hunt all day, shoot away a
wooden bucketful of shells, kill four
birds, and then the next day tell all
the fellows in town that they had to
stop at noon because they had the le-
gal limit of 25 birds. If the legisla-
ture would follow some of these 'le-
gal limit men around in the field for