The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-09-06
CAMP FIRE CLUB Y. HELPS SAVE SEALS
Congress Passes Bills Advocated By the Big Game Hunters
 Organization.

The Camp Fire Club of America, once dasignated by it's President. the veter- an, Dan Beard. as Societya of Criminals for the Suppression Of Crime has won another uphill fight, the most bitterly opposed of any of its battles for the preservation of wild
 The full seal treaty between he United States, Japan, Russia ana Ens- land has been ratified, "a nd nd. .si n the closing days of the session Congress passed the bill providing for a close season of five years for the. fur seal For both these measures the Camp Fire Club, composed largely or e33sbis game hunters, fought almost single handed, having practically no support from any other similar organization, They were opposed by Secretary Charles Nagle, of the Department of Commerce and Labor; George M. Bowers, Fish Com missioner; one Lem blzy and board of experts, call ed in by the Department.
 The bill passed by the House con tained no provision for the close sea- son, but the Senate inserted a. clause forbidding the killing of seals for ten the two houses united on a recom- m endation for the close period of five years. This was accepted by a un- animous vote in the Senate and the nature.
 The action of the legislative branch or the government VdS III SIr1k1IlS contrast to that of the departmental officials, who, by their advocacy or the continued killing of seals, found themselves aligned on the side of the purely commercial and selfish inter ests.
 pr. Henry W. Elliott, the best post ed authority on the Pribilof seal; pr. w. T. Hornaday, of the Camp Fire Club, and other members of that or ganization, had presented the facts which Congress accepted as proof of Io a UalIIP nf the season as opposed to the practice of indiscriminate warfare waged on the fur seal ever since the purchase of Alaska by this government, the con- tinuation of which Secretary Nagel and his experts fought for.
 It was shown that the Russians. while in possession of the island, had by the same methods reduced the herds at one time to 31,00O head The Russian Government then estab- 1ished a close season of ten years, after which there was strict surveill- ance over, and cautious restrictions, of the killing of the fur seals
 when the United States came into possession of the islands the mum Der of seals had increased to nearly A. 900, 900. These have now, it is con estimated, been reduced to a mere 125, ,0O0.
 pr. Hornaday believes that at the the herd will have increased to well l over 100000. and that with proper restrictions as to killing thereafter the herd will continue to grow in l mum bers and it's value as an income 1 producer to the U. S. Government will l be greatly increased.
 Having been so largely instrurn ental | in saving the fur seals from entire de- struction, the Camp Fire Club has a | very respectable list of achievements. |
 It was very active in opposing the oin permitting the sale of wild bird olurnage in New York, and a bill au- -horizing the spring shooting of ducks on Long Island; in securing a $2O,OoO appropriation for the starving elk in Wyoming, and enlarging the Alberta l game preserve, and in codifying the game laws of New York state which 1 Ire now a model, and in the cam oaign now in progress for the pre- ;erVation of the Adirondack forests
 The Camp Fire Club stood resoIute- | y beside Dr. Hornaday in the fight | for the Bayne-Blauvelt bill absolutely prohibiting the sale of all wild game | n the State of New York, the great est protective legislation ever enacted l