The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-10-06
CALLS THE GAME
LAW HUGE JOKE
FORMER CHIEF DEPUTY BREW
STER DUBS 1T FREAK
LEGISLATION UN-
PARALLELED.

The game law enacted by the last
session OF the legislature will, ii is
expected, be knocked out within a day
or two and game regulation will fall
back under the provisions Of the old
laws.
The case comes up in Monroe coun-
ty and the attorney generals depart
ment believes there Is sufficient ground
to knock out the law. The ground
raised is that the action of the confer
ence committee was not formally acted
upon by the house, so that the law
slipped through illegally and uncon-
stitutionally.
Charles T.. Brewster, game law eX-
pert with the geological survey of the
department Of agriculture at Wash
ington, and former chief deputy game
warden of Michigan expresses the be-
lief and the hope that the act would
be knocked out in some way and
thought this attempt would be effec-
tive. He has all sorts of criticism TO
offer to the act and declares II one
of the most pernicious passed by any
| legislature in the United States.
The act is so loosely drawn, so
garbled and so susceptible to almost
any Interpretation" he said. that our
department has had more correspond
ence in search of rulings with the at
torney generals department of Michi-
gan than will all other states put to-
gether. You can prove anything you
want to In this act and 1t keeps us
constantly asking the attorney general
for ruling on some feature of the
act in order to find out what it does
pretend to mean.
"rhe most pcrnicous feature of the
entire bill is that it expressly repeats
all those special acts by which deer
were protected in certain northern
throws open every county in Michigan
to the slaughter of deer. In my esti-
nation this would mean the exter-
mination of deer in Michigan within a
comparatively few years.
Protects the Poor Rabbits.
bits by placing them on the game list
The rabbit is the poor mans food. 1t
mutiplies so fast that such protection
is absurd The season for deer is
heightened and there are a dozen other
things in the bill which make it per-
nicious. The most important feature
of it, SO far as | have been able to
discover. is to prohibit the hunting of
rabbits with guinea pigs. This is the
most ridiculous feature of the whole
bill and we have ii hung up among
our specimens of freak legislation
along with a Dakota act which pro-
hibits the hunting ofSwater fowl with
an automobile. Why the guinea pig
is the best friend rabbit has. In
New England they place guinea pigs
in rabbit hutches to protect the rab-
bies from predatory animals, but in
Michigan the savage little guinea pig
is prevented from hunting rabbits. It's
too absurd for anyth 'ng except to
laugh at"
Mr.. Brewster also takes exception TO
the ruling of the attorney generals
department last week that the aig-
rette is a manufactured article, and
that its sale, therefore. may not be
prohibited.
THE man who wrote that opinion
showed his ignorance most conclu-
sive." said Mr.. Brewster. He has held
Michigan up to ridicule and at the
same time placed the state in a most
unique position of being the only one
in the United States which permits the
sale of the aigrette.
"iIe says the aigrette is manufac-
turcd article. All the manufacturing
done with it is to clean it and wind
little wire about il to form the stem.
The aigrette is the plume taken from
the breast of the heron and as worn
on the women's hats is exactly i'm it's
natural state. The taking OF the aig-
rctte is a most barbarous piece of bus
mess. The plume is used by the moth
er bird, upon which alone IT grows,
for covering her young. while in the
nest. 1t is fully developed only at
the time she is on the nest, and this
is the only time when it is sought.
Barbarous Hat Adornment.
in the Florida everglades where the