, 1913-07-26
THE SENATE VERSUS THE BIRDS.

In the tariff act now under discussion by
Congress there is a proviso of paramount
interest to all lovers of the winged folk. Az
accepted by the House of Representatives
this proviso reads rs follows:
t'Provlded, that the importation of Bigre;tes,
egret plunes, o. so-calied osprey plumrs,
and the feathers, quilts, heads, wings, tails,
skins or parts of skins, Of Wild birds, either
raw or mannfactu red, and not for scientific
or educational purposes, is hereby prOhlbi-
ted; but this provision shall not apply to
the feathers or plumes of ostriches, or to
the feathers or plumes of domestic fowls of
any kind"
This passage was inserted at the instance
of the National Association Of Audubon So
cletles, That admirable organization be-
lieVes that the elimination Of these imported
feathers is Of vital Importance in the fight
to protect our own wild bird life. Most of
the feathers used in the millinery trade today
come from abroad and il this source of sup
ply is cut off, such a blow will be given the
truti3 III feathers that the fashion Of be-
deckin : hats with the plumage of dead
birds must die of starvation. This is free
ly admitted by the feather dealers them
selves, who say TINT a fashion must have
material in quantity to be eff -ctive. Such
a INV WOulU, AOI6ONtIt uiNh6 y Gl6 pIO~
lection of our own birds, because in those
States where the sale of pIumage is forbid
den it would no longer be possible, as it is
now, to palm off domestic plumage as "im-
ported from abroad" Nor will this p%roviso
lead to the slaughter of Nesting birds for
such a market as still exists in the city of
Chicago, because the Audubon Societies
gunrd practically all the important breed
ing colonies of Water birds-the source
OF the bulk of decorative material
in the United States. When this OK
cellent prUviso emerged from the FIJI
nance Committee OF the Senate, it WAS
amended by the addition of the following
words; "Or to The feathers or plumes Of birds
commercially recognised IA edible or pesti-
ferrous" This sounds justifnble enough un-
til we find what a tremendous list Of birds
there are that in some locality or other are
regarded either as edible or pestlferods, The
Audubon Societies point out that the list of
edible birds might be construed to contain
all species and v~arities of snipe, sHndpipers,
plovers, oystercatchers, grebes, looms, ducks,
geese, brant, swan, rails, coots, Ralllnules,
quail, grouse. wild turkey, doves, pigeons, the
robin and the bobOlink, chewink, meadow
lark, and, in Ohio, the heron. To make
matters worse, the provision of this amend
~ 1OC " OIAoo AO6UlE N6N'NO
as game birds, but to birds usually killeH for
TODD purposes, This being the case, we
must add to the list The night-hawk, roseate
spoonbill, limpkin, sandhill crane, cormorant,
white ibis, pileated woodpecker, flicker, and
many others. This catalogue contains the
names of the most valuable forms OF bird
life to be found in the United States More
over, it should be notified that even the
legitimate game birds are of little value for
the trimming of hats if they are killed dur
i'll the open season. They must be killed at
nesting time, while their plumage ie at its
best and brightest. The list of pestiferous
birds, since there is no one designated to
decide upon this classification, might be
stretched to contain jays, woodpeckers,
catbirds, robins, herons, egrets. kingfshers,
shrikes, w~arElers, crows, blackbIrds. haws,
falcons, owls, eagles, v%ultures, pelicans, sea
gulls of all species, and terms. Amended
i'll this manner, the whole proviso would
become little more than a dead letter.
1t is hoped that the Senate amendment
will be wiped out of existence before the