Arizona republican., 1908-07-21
THE flk'S TOOTH
 AND THE B. P. 0. [.
How the Order Will Arrest the Extinc' ton O. the AntIered Emblem.

Frank c. Connelley, representative from Phoenix lodge of Elks to the an nual reunion at Dallas, returned yes- terday morning accompanied by Geo. Schwartz, past exalted ruler of the lodge at Batavia. N. Y. Selim Michel
 son, who arrived at the reunion from
 Denver. where he was made national democratic committeeman for Arizona, at the conclusion of the reunion hur- ried to Lincoln to pay his respects to | Mir Bryan. He was then going to lChicago where he was to be joined by his wife and thence MT. and Mrs. Nicholson were going to Atlantic City for a season of gayety.
 Mr Connelley said that the Dallas reunion was the greatest in the his tory of the order Most of the pro- ceedings have already been given to the world by telegraph, such as the election of officers, the location of the next reunion and such changes as were made in the laws of the order l One of the most interesting things said MT. Connelley was what may be regarded as final action on the sug- gestion of President Roosevelt that the order discontinue the use of the elks tooth as a badge of the order on the ground that it was hastening the extinction ot that noble animal
 This matter had been presented to the reunion at Philadelphia and while there was a strong sentiment in favor of acting on the suggestion it was de- cided then not to do so but a commit tee was appointed to inquire into the part which the use of the elk's tooth might have in the passing of the elk. The report of the committee, a very exhaustive and interesting one, was presented at Dallas. It consisted of i information which the committee had gathered in 8 special trip to Montana and elsewhere where the elk had for
 merly abounded. Ths-e was included in the report the testimony of a large number of ranchmen and others re- garding the elk It was the opinion that the elk was doomed before the advance of civilization, just as surely as the buffalo. They are forced into restricted quarters in the mountains where they perish in the winter of hunger or by the ravages of carnivor- ous animals. They have no longer lat itude in their wanderings in search of foods at different seasons of the year and while they can live in the sum mer they begin to face starvation when the early winter sets in in the mountains. The committee learned also that the B. P. O. F. were not the first to use olk's teeth for decorations. It was found that the Indians have been do- the earliest times. Indian shirts were found in the hands of collectors cov- cred with elks' teeth. Some of them had from 1000 to 1900 teeth.
 Another point brought out by the report which probably not one brother Elk in a thousand knew, though Mir Roosevelt might have known it. was that an elk yields only two molars. such as are used for badges. It was argued by the committee that no hun | ter wocld kill an elk for such a price as that If he secured the teeth that would be only an incident to the death of the elk. slain for some other pur- pose. Those two mOlars could not be- regarded as an incentive.
 On this report it was resolved not to abandon the badge but the conven- ton to steps which will tend to arrest the extinction of the elk. It was de- cided tJ establish a reservation some where on an extensive scale, similar to the buffalo reservations and stock
 it wIth as many elk as could be obtain led