New-York tribune., 1911-03-13
HORNADAY ON GAME
Fears Consequences Unless Sale
Is Prohibited.
itor OF The Tribune.

To the Editor OF The Tribune.
Sir: I am glad that you are giving at
tention 10 the question Of the sale or no.
sale OF wild game. II large number OF
thoughtful people will only take time 10
look into this matter and think seriously
about II the chance for the survival OF
fair portion Of our game birds and qualru-
peds will he greatly increased.
As Il seems 10 mo and - many other
men who are We'll able to fudge. the logic
Of the situation TO-DAY ia 'nexorabe We
can choose between only two alternatives
either stop the sale Of wild game or SEQ all
our wild game exterminatedl OF course.
II will be understood all along that refer
10 kiliable wild game as II exists outside
of preserves. Stated little differently. the
question is: Shall the men II to-day. VINO
have had good hunting. turn over 10 the
men and Toys OF Tomorrow gameless
land?
The taste for we'll cooked fresh game
that has not grown stale In cold storage
is lust as legitimate as the desire 10 take
a good dog and gun and go roaming the
woods and fields in quest OF swift bros
that are difficult to hit. The legitimate
sale and purchase OF wild game implies
the existence of n great stock OF wild blrds
which is not I'm danger Of determination.
So long as there Is an abundance for all
we can buy game in the market and eat
It with clear consciences. but in this coun-
try conditions change with startling rapid
ity. What is abundance to-day easily be-
comes scarcity tomorrow. Even the mill
ions Of the American bison were snuffed
out Of existence so quickly that the people
Of this country did not dream Of the fate
that threatened them until they had actu-
ally gone.
Speaking generally. and in comparison
with the abundant past. throughout all the
states east of the Mississippi River and
rorth of North Carolina, Of the quail, wood
cock, rufled grouse and river ducks. and
shore birds generally, only miserable REM
nant remains alive. Let him who doubts
this go out and try to find a dozen birds
OF any one Of those species. II is true that
there are little spots here and there-a
very few OF them-in which a shrewd local
expert can find and Kill good bag Of
birds but what 7 wish TO say is that about
80 per cent Of the normal supply is gone
And what is to be the fate of the ragged
remnant?
Each year fully 80 per cent Of II is being
killed by market gunners for the markets
Of the East. New York state laws forbid
the sale in this state Of any woodcock.
quail or grouse that have been killed in
this state: but all winter long YOU can buy
here thousands of those birds that have
been illegally killed in Pennsylvania, Mas
sac1lusetts, New Jersey and other states
In other words. New York City is a fence"
for the sale Of game killed in other states: :
and the effect Of this, wherever the princi-
pie is practised is to cause unwarrantabe
game destruction in other states and the
extinction Of the general supply.
on Carrituck Sound, North Carolina. per-
hsps two hundred thousand ducks and geese
are killed for the market annually. About
eight large cities get the benefit of them
and only the rich can afford 10 by them
That market shooting robs the people Of
sixteen states Of what is really their share
Of that wild life. for the migrations Of the
Carrituck wild fowl cover that number Of
states. II that slaughter goes on un-
checked. as sure as the world stands the
four hundred market gunners Of Carrtuck
County eventually will wipe out OF exist
ence all the sixteen species Of ducks and
geese that normally spend the winter on
those waters.
VIII the men and women who like the
taste Of wild game insist upon keeping the
markets open until the wild game is all
eXtermnated?
In answer to this question. I confidently
predict that they will not. They will elect
to he satisfied with game that has been
bred and reared in preserves an industry
that promises much. but as yet in this
country is scarcely in its infancy There
Is much 10 he said on that subject in favor
of state laws and state aid but Just now
that is another story. The difficulty lies in
promoting game breeding and sale in
country that s teeming with bold. defiant
and resoTrceful law breakers. as this state
and this nation is to-day. There are some
knotty problems TO be solved regarding the
sale of domestic game-if must coin the
markets without being misused, in covering
the sale of wild game
At the hearing a Albany last Friday the
president of the New York Hotel Mems
Association appeared. and said in sub
stance: We agree 10 the suppression OF
the sale OF wild game " land he voted for
it'll but We do ask the right TO serve
game that has been bred and reared in pre-
And great credit is due the Hotel
Mems Association for its patriotic attitude
Senator Bayne's bill 10 prevent the sale
OF game. first drawn by my counsel
l.. w Trowbridge contained provisions for
the sale Of certain kinds Of game bred and
reared in preserves. II was my purpose 10
60 in that direction 10 the very limit that
the safety OF the wild game would permit.
At the last moment however. IL was found
that game breeding and the sale of domes-
tic game was so large a matter and so full
of puzzles 10 be solved that a conference
OF parties especially interested advised that
all those questions he omitted from Sena-
tor Bayne's bill as matters requiring future
consideration and action. When the proper
time comes the friends and supporters OF
the Bayne bill VIII be quite willing 10 CO.
operate in an effort 70 promote the breed
ing Of game in captivity and the sale OF
all its products that can he sold without
fatal results To the wild stock
The need OF the present hour is the
prompt passage OF the Bayne bill without
any amendments whatsoever When that
is done We will do two things: We Will
take that hill into our ncighboring states
and work hard for its adoption I'm each of
item, and We will cheerfully cooperate
with the game breeders In securing good.
safe, workable laws that will hot only give
tEcm their full rights as food producers,
but will also place at the disposal OF peo-
pie generally a good supply of fine fresh
game of which any person can partake with
"A clear conscience