Los Angeles herald., 1910-05-22
Leftover Work
of Legislature
&c 1910 By Franklin
OI Il wv. Hichb0rr
VIII-Refornn
of the
Game Law
By Franklin
HichbOrn

vestigation be had. There was no in
vestigation.
With the fish and game committees
staked to prevent questioning of the
commissions activities and amend
ment Of the laws governing that body,
reform of the game laws at the session
of 1909 was made impracticable. Such
measures never got beyond the COM
mittees.
Assembly bill 4s3. for example, re-
pealed the act of 1907. by which the
generous sums received from hunters
licenses go to the commissions The
measure was introduced in the assem-
bly, on January 10. 1t was referred to
the committee ON fish and game. That
committee held it until March TO- 1t
was then returned to the assembly,
only fourteen days before adjourn
ment, with recommendation that 1t do
not pass Even had it had a chance
to pass the assembly, at that late date,
ii could not in two weeks have been
forced through the senate committee
on fish and game and to final passage.
Less radical measures were intro
duced for correction of the abuses
practiced under the law of 1907, but
these We're given no better considera-
ton than was assembly bill 433.
The most important of them was in
troduced in the senate by Walker and
IN the o;fiSiiy by Rutherford. Inc
measure provided that Qne-half of the
moneys collected from the sale of
hunters licenses, and on account of
fines for infringement of the state
game laws, should be paid to the coun-
ties in which collected. the second half
to go to the fish commission.
Walkers bill was introduced Janu-
ary 10. 1t went to the senate COM
mttee on fish and game. 1t was not
heard of again.
Rutherford's bill was introduced
January H.. 1t went TO the assembly
committee on fish and game. 1t is
stll with the committee
Sanford In the senate and Preston
in the assembly introduced a measure
which provided that $4,000 should be
paid out of the fish commission fund
each year for bounties for EXTERN
mating coyotes The measure was re-
ferred to the assembly committee on
fish and game 1t was never returned
to the assembly. The senate commit
tee late In the session returned the
bill to the senate without recommen-
dation. But the measure never got to
the third reading.
With the senate and assembly COM
mittees on fish and game standing in
the way of any practical reform of the
fish and game laws, the many meas
ureS introduced to that end were
blocked in the same manner as the
three measures given above. The leg
islature adjourned without any of the
proposed reforms getting beyond the
committees.
But even more persistent than the
objection to the methods of the fish
and game commission was the COM
plaint made at the capitol that the
game laws of the state have not been
framed for the best protection of fish
and game for the whole people, but to
suit the purposes of those able to
maintain game preserves. But all
measures to correct the conditions
complained of were blocked in the fish
and game committees and no progress
was made toward reform of the fish
and game laws.
AS a result juries in the northern
counties of the state are refusing to
convict violators of the game laws,
while at least one prominent newspa-
ner of the state is openly advising its
readers TO ignore the most objection
able of the unpopular statutes.
Under such conditions there seems
little doubt that the work of reforma-
tinn of the fish and game laws at
tempted at the session of 1909 VIII be
one of the features of the session OF
1911.