Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-12
SPORTSMEN PROTEST

~ indignation has
been aroused by the fact a 12-
~ year-old boy of San Joaquin
county who was shooting with %
caliber rifle was halted and bully
ragged because he could not produce a
hunters license. Whether Is the chief
function of the employees of the fish and
game commission the collection of the
license tax, which foots up to consider
ably over $10O, 900 a year, or the conser-
vation of game? Which is the more i'm
portant, tax gathering or taking care
of the game of the state? What benefit
has accrued to the state of California
from the 100000 or more collected by
the wardens? Has it been used for the
purpose of studying, propagating' TAX
ing care of game birds or other game?
Are there in the field any evidences Of
the good results Of the collection and
expenditure of this big sum?
What useful purposes did it serve?
What is there to show for it?
| Sportsmen do not object to paying a
| tax of 81 a year. and the license tax OF
| SO imposed on nonresident hunters, or
in the case of aliens $25, serves to cut
off Italians and Chinese, who almost
! invariably prey upon insectiyorous
birds and song birds.
But what the people would like to
know is what practical return the peo-
ple Of the state receive from a large
annual sum? Not only sportsmen but
all citizens are keenly interested in
! finding out the ultimate destination Of a
fund" that is not only over 100000 but
that runs along toward the 100000
mark!
Why IS there not a better showing ?
sportsmen ask, and well may they ask,
are they to be contented with the few
wild turkeys released in the San Bernar-
dino mountains? Said turkeys promptly
| flew to the nearest ranches and barn
yards after the manner of tame tur-
keys, which they may or may not have
| been in the estimation of the Mexican
ranchers, who helped themselves and
| left not a turkey to tell the tale.
| Are the taxpaying sportsmen to he
/ contented with experiments with orien-
| tai game birds, fancy pheasants and
! such like? The demand that really
exists is for more California quail in
coverts that can be advantageously
stocked with quail trapped In districts
where they are almost pest. Since
| there is a large sum directly available
| for game stocking and preservation
why is it not made use Of in such a
way the beneficial results will be OBJ
vious? What have we In the way OF
/ special protection during the summer
| months and early fail? 1t is notorious
that midsummer dove hunters shoot
! half grown quail. Are any arrests
| made? For years sportsmen who obey
| the law (and all true sportsmen scorn
! to break laws made to protect their
SPORT have gone afield on opening day
only to find the quail wild and running
before the dog and the coverts strewn
with the fresh shells of sooner shoot
ers" who fear no wardens. Long sea-
sons of poaching without molestation
have made them hardly reckless.
The Herald has no intention to criti-
else any local official Warden Morgan
has been efficient but his single-handed
efforts are not sufficient. The state
commission has plenty of funds. Why
does it not give Mr.. Morgan dozen
special deputies during the latter part
of August and the month of September?
The sportsmen may well ask: What
do we get for our money!"
Directly to the point is the comment
! of q contemporary:
Neither man nor boy should be
forced to take out hunters licenses
until the fish and game commission
comes forth with a report showing
what it has done with the vast sums
| already collected from citizens Of the
state. Every newspaper every citizen,
| has a right to demand that report.
1T was a shame to browbeat that
young boy who was out in the field
without a hunters license. 1t is d
shame which each day only intensifies
| for the state commission to continue to
extort this tax from the citizens Of the
state without rendering any substantial
return and without even accounting for