The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-09-22
vERMoNTS HUNTING LAWS.
NProtest Over the Manner of Their Inter
probation.

pIelauon.
Dear Editor:
The opening of the hunting season
this fall has brought to the light of the
public, and specially OF the hunters, a
new acquisition of powers by the state
| fish and game commission, acquisition
which we fail to see yet by whom was
granted. We thought always that the
governor of the state should, biennally,
with the advice of the general assembly
and Senate, appoint commissioner with
| powers and duties, as assigned by sec
tions from 81 TO II. Looking over very
carefully the dispositions of the above
sections we find that the gentleman who
is assigned commissioner by the govern
or has an avalanche of powers and du-
ties that will require all his valuable
time to see that the laws regarding fish
ing and hunting will be respected.
But it was a general surprise to dis
cover that the game and fish commits
sioner has appropriated to himself the
power of restricting the game laws vot-
ed by the general assembly, an assembly
that represents the will OF all the citi
zens of this state and which is composed
of intelligent members who certainly
don't need any legal Interpretation OF
the laws by the commissioner, but only
require from him the service OF having
the laws not infringed by anybody.
It's true that the commission has the
duty to instruct the town clerks OF the
fees for hunting licenses, but seems to
us that in doing so, he could not 90 in
contradiction with the law.
The section as part 81 of the general
assembly law says that if the appli-
can't is bonafide resident he should be
entitled to the hunting license at 70
cents. Who confers the power on Mr..
Titcomb to change the word Of the law
bonafde resident into resident alien?
If the gentlemen of the general assembly
had in their minds to impose the fee OF
S10.75 on the aliens, they would not have
the need of the commissioners inter
probation upon this point and they would
simply have said in the section, alien,
and not bonafde residents.
But the general assembly intelligently
knew that the bonafide residents, who
contribute, with their daily work, and
with their expenditures as regular resi-
dents, to the wealth and to the develop
ment of the Vermont industries, had
right to have the hunting license for
rs cents; and the following part of
the section which fixes the license OF
$l0.75 was intended for the non-residents
of this state, who came up in Vermont
for l5-day sport during the open hunt
ing season and specially for the deer
season, living and paying taxes for the
rest of the year in some other state.
How could the state commissioner ex-
plain the contradiction which he put
himself in when he orders the town
clerks to give TO the resident aliens a
hunting license at $l075, with printed
heading. Non Resident Licensef
How can the town clerk collect taxes
from anyone who holds a nonresident
license? We are bound TO think, by
this game law incident, that the state
commissioner has been influenced by a
small congregation of narrowminded
citizens, who like to get all the financial
benefits of the residence of the aliens
in Vermont, and in the meantime they
feel blue to see that they should have
fair chance in fishing and hunting in
this state as they have. If this is the
case. why not bind the representatives
of the general assembly to vote a state
game law, as existing today in Penn
sylvania? mo alien can carry gun in
his possession in this state Hunting
is free for any alien in Pennsylvania.
These two sections will, without any
doubts. satisfy the state commissioner
and all his confidential advisors.
Yours truly,
A Bonafide Resident,