East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1914-01-31
FARMERS
TO SHOOT BIRDS
LOUIS SCHOLL JR. SAYS THEY
WILL BE WITHIN RIGHTS TO
PROTECT GRAIN.
Geese and Ducks are Numerous and
Much Damage Has Been Reported
Takes Exceptions to Statement
That Damage Has Been Slight
Birds Swarm in Fields i'm Numbers.

Taking exception to the reports of
game officials that practically no dam
age is being done to growing grain in
the vicinity of Echo by wild water
fowl, Louis Scholl, Jr., well known
resident of that town, writes to the
East Oregonian reiterating his previ-
Gus statements and declaring that he
has advised farmers that they are
within their rights if they shoot these
birds to protect their fields. Mr.
Scholl is justice of the peace at Echo.
His letter in full follows:
Echo. Oregon. Jan. 80, 1914.
Editor East Oregonian.
Pendleton, oregon.
Dear Sir: Ny attention has beeL
called to an article in YOUR issue of
Jan 2Sth, relative to the reported
damage to growing grain east of Echo
by ducks and geese. and / wish to
take exceptions to the same.
| was probably largely responsible
for the first report sent out from here
pertaining to reported damage. /
took this step after the matter had
been reported to me by farmers liv-
ing there. whom / knew to be thor
! oughly reliable and conservative and
had interests at stake.
The district affected lies east of
Echo, beginning about two miles out
and extending some ten or twelve
miles, with width of from five to
seven miles this is practically all
| farmed and there is now growing on
1t several thousand acres of fall sown
4 orr in u.hi inh ;e Io;, ;e.
damaged.
The government reservoir and game
reserve lies few miles north three
or four miles of sage brush land lying
between. The ducks and geese have
their roosting grounds at the reser-
voir from which they fly out to the
grain fields. the geese during the day
time and the ducks at night.
Messrs Lewis Averill and Cranston
came here to investigate Tuesday
morning. they invited me to accom-
pany them. Owing to some business
matters that required attention and
the further fact that high, cold
wind was blowing | did not GO They
left here with a livery team and driver
about IL O'Clock in the morning and
returned about in the afternoon
going out to the W. Reese and ia
cob Rohde farms some seven miles
east, and back to Echo. this trip un-
der normal conditions takes two
hours which would leave them one
hour to make "a thorough examina-
ton of actual conditions in the dist
rict alleged To be infested" Your ar
ticle also states that they went to
nearly every farm yesterday from
which reports of damage had been
received" F." Now l am reliably in
formed that these two places were
the only ones visited bv them, and
the two proprietors the only persons
knowing ANYTHING about actual CON
ditions they interviewed excepting a
short talk with Mr.. George Good
| night in Echo before they went out
Mr.. Reese has about 500 acres in fall
grain. Mr. Rhode 1000, now how much
of this grain did they make a thor.
| ough examination of in this time =
! to say nothing of the other fields.
Any one familiar with the habits of
wild geese knows that they will sell
| dom or never light or feed except i'm
an exposed place from which they can
not be approached. The damage to
the grain is done in such places only.
according to reports. some of il is
badly damaged. some but. little and
in some cases none whatever.
saw Mr.. ]. w. Reese among others
concerning this matter this morning.
He tells me that he had unquestion-
ably been damaged, for some time he