The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-11-19
THE HUNTING LICENSE Law
Revenue to Furnish Means TO Enforce
Game and Fish Acts.


alton of Audubon Societies
The attempts made in me New
England states TO enact laws for the
registration of hunters have not yet
met with entire success. This is 10 be
deplored, for what is most needed
now, is the means To enforce the
game and bird laws ana such laws
furnish the means for enforcement
We are ready enough TO adopt a H.
cense system which taxes nCn-rcs-
dent or alien hunters but we are not
so ready 10 tax ourselves and with
out a license law for resident hunters
the other laws cannot be fully cnforc-
ed.
Connecticut and Massachusetts are
now The only New England states that
have complete effective system for
the registration of resident. nom
resident. and alien hunters All the
other states tax nonresident hunters,
Maine and New Hampshire also tax
alien hunters heavily. but they do not
register or license resident hunters.
and right here their laws fail one
OF the prominent factors in opposition
of the enactment of a comprehensive
law for the registration of resident
hunters is The feeling among country
people that they should have absolute
liberty to roam the woods and fields
Of their native land and kill what
ever they please This spirit. how
ever laudable it may seem at first
sight, is too likely to develop into a
total disregard for the rights of others.
If such unbridled liberty Is to be
given to the farmer and the woods
man II must in fairness. be given
also to the city sportsman and the
hordes of poor people of the cities.
There has been altogether too much
OF this unrestricted hunting by both
natives and foreigners and already
our game is disappearing fast
There are two ways in which this
can be stopped. The first is to stop
all hunting. The second is to allow
hunting but restrict it, and require
those who hunt the game to pay for
its protection. The first of the above
propositions falls by its own weight.
Any bill embodying this feature would
| be killed at once by the hunters of
any state
The proposition to tax the hunter is
! therefore, our only resource. if we are
10 continue to have game to hunt.
! There has been a great deal Of mis-
| information circulated against the
! policy of enacting hunting license
laws, but nevertheless they have
steadily gained ground for the prin-
ciple on which they are founded is
right and just
10 is we'll that the people should
/ know The facts, that popular pre-
| iudice may be overcome. for every
state in the Union will soon have laws
for the regulation or hunters on their
| statute books, and these laws will be
much better enforced If they have the
support OF all honest people
Practically every civilized country
on the face of the earth has hunting
license law The United States have
been almost the last 10 adopt &c..
Fifteen years ago very few of these
states had such a law. Now nearly all
have nonresident hunting licenses.
twentyfour have resident. and six
teen have alien hunting licenses.
! These laws have given such satisfac-
ton that mo- state having once passed
such law has ever repealed TO- The
Canadian provinces all have hunting
license laws and high fees
The objects OF the law are Cd 10
protect the birds and game for the
benefit of the people OF he state. (2)
TO provide revenue for this purpose
and for the propagation OF anne, (3)
to protect the property OF the landt
owner from the depre atoms OF vaga.
bond hunters.
The old system of procuring a rev
enue by state appropriation is ever I'M
efficient. for lt is impossible TO se-
cure adequate appropriations. most OF
the wardens are unpaid. and 90 is
notorious that law enforcement is
law
Under registration system the
funds for enforcing the law are pro
Vided in exact proportion TO the mum
her of hunters These funds increase
automatically as the number of hunt
ers increase. In some states the
money derived In this way already eX
ceeds one hundred thousand dollars
annually. and is steadily increasing.
The Nonresident License Law.
The law is evolved from the prin
ciple that the game of state belongs
10 her people. Il is intended to pro
tect the game from irresponsible out
siders and TO furnish some revenue f0l
the enforcement OF the law As %,
provisions were enacted by one stat,
after another 10 swept the country. foi
each state was bound in sclfdolens,
20 follow her neighbOrs in such legis
lation or else see her game dccimate,
by the people of neighborIng states
The fees for nonresident license.
are from $40 to $50 In the states an,
in Newfoundland the fee Is 500.
The Alien Hunting License.
The alien license is framed To- IRE
vent hunting by class of unnatural
. lied foreigners ignorant OF our laws
g like many Italians. Greeks. ETC.
e who kin not only game. but all Uy.nI
, things that can Doe eutDn. and U no dc
. siroy song birds by the million Tt
, day these people form the creates
p menace to the bird NE of the Ney
b England siatos. The fee Is $40 to S1
70 Both the above laws are ineffective
unless accompanied by "a resident D
consc law, which requires an hunter
To carry q license; for it Is often iu
j. possible for an officer tO dp,crmin,
4 In the field. whether a man is clthc
p, a nonresident of the state. "a res
dent or an unaturalilcd alien Tn
" only law that can be- enforced Is
q comprehensive law requiring an huI
NJ / fUrg n fntFn tuf "a ffnnuan