Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-11-23

caused nlucn discussion among those
| interested in matters of fish and game
legislation, and while ii has many adj.
| vocates, there has also been some adj
verse criticism of The proposition to
! place resident hunters license law
upon our states.
In order that the public might be
! better informed of the reasons intiu-
encing the Commission in recommend
ing such legislation, Chairman Austin
was asked to go into the matter more
in detail and he accordingly has set
| forth his views as follows:
1.-THE first and greatest object of
resident license is not to raise funds
to keep up the present total revenue
realized from the sale of nonresident
hunters licenses, provided their price
is reduced from s25 to SIS for, in the
opinion of the commission. the increas-
cd number of licenses sold at SIS will
nearly, if not quite, afford the same
revenue to the State as the fewer
number now sold at $25. On the other
hand the main object of a resident
hunters license is to make the en-
forcement of the nom resident Hunt
ers license law possible.
Under present conditions a warden
may may have every reason to believe
that a hunter is a nonresident yet II
he approaches the suspected party and
asks to see his license and is informed
by the hunter that he lives in Maine
there is no possible way for the ward
en- to satisfy himself that the hunter
is nonresident and not entitled to
hunt without license except to camp
on his track during his stay in the
woods and then to follow him home.
which in most cases is impractical II
not impossible If however every hunt
err resident or nonresident was iicens-
ed a warden could at once satisfy him.
self whether such hunter was within
his rights.
THE hundreds of nonresident hunt
ers coming to Maine each year in
greatly increasing numbers by auto
mobile makes the enforcement of the
nonresident hunters law absolutely
impossible lntil such time as the state
decides to make such enforcement pos
sible by the passage of resident
hunters license law OF some kind
which will require all persons Who
hunt to be licensed
AN argument used against the en-
actIRent OF such a law is that it
would be double taxation forced upon
the hunters Of the State. Our answer
to this is that the supreme court OF
the United States has held that the
fish and game of a state belong to the
people of that state and that they
have the constitutional right to make
such laws regulating the taking of fish
and game as they may deem advisable.
ITO apply this principle in another
way-The fish in our waters and the
game in our woods does not belong any
more to the fisherman or hunter who
kiNs than it does to the man in city
or country who never fishes and never
hunts. Thousands of our citizens new
er cast a line or carry a gun yet the
law nolds these citizens have the same
title to our game and our fish as that
small minority of our citizens who
exercise their unquestioned right to
kill within the law.
again, if a resident license law
would be double taxation, what can
he said of the laws requiring the regis
tration of automobiles and the lcens-
ing of their drivers the constitutional
ty of which have never been question
ed in this state. The taxpayer pays
no tax on the game of the State for
it is public property in a way, and
under a license Law he would only be
paying for the privilege of hunting and
destroying that which belongs as
much to his non-hunting neighbor as
to himself In the case of his automo-
bile he pays specific tax to his town
on his car. he then pays another sum
to the State for the privilege Of oper-
ating his car. and still another sum
provided he wishes to operate his car
himself, yet we hear no severe con-
domination of this law as creating dou-
be taxation or as being unconstitu-
tional.
"All argument aside this fact stands
out clearly emphasizing the position
taken by the other states on this ques-
tion-AH but eight states of the union
! have placed upon their statutes some
form of resident hunters license law
Maine is the only state north of Ma
| son & DiXons Line which does not
! have such law, the other seven states
! being MARYLAND. West Virginia, Vir-
| einia North and South Carolina, AR
kansas and Mississippi Seven Canadi-
/ an provinces have also resident
| hunters license law. Thus II would
seem that a great majority of our sis
| ter states and neiehboring provinces
| consider such law both wise and
| necessary.
Eve are willing to leave the WORKING
! ont of such LEGISLATION to the good
| judgment Of the coming Legisla ture
| believing that it will safeguard the
| interests of all our citizens not only
with regard to the proper amount to
be charged for such licenses but as to
the proper exemptions from the laws
| provisions and the manner of working
them out to the best interest of the
| whole State.
Estimates for State Hospitals.
1t IS estimated that it will cost the