Evening journal., 1915-09-07
TUESDAY SEPT. 7. 1915
THAT TRAP-SHOOTING IITIGATION.

THAT TRAP-SHOOTING LITIGATION.
TT is pity that trouble has arisen with respect to
the tenure OF the ground the north side OF the
Brandywne that has been used for several years by
the DUPONT Trapshooting Club That club is the big
gest and best organization Of It's kind in the world II
has large and influential membership. Quite ma
turally the and the women who belong to II arc
interested acutey In the LEGAL proceedings that have
been instituted and hopeful that the trouble will
be adjusted without injury TO the organization.
Trapshooting is a popular and rapdly-growng sport.
not only in America, where it originated but through
the world Conservative estimates place the num-
Der Of trapshooers in this country alone close
threequarters Of a million There thousands OF
clubs at which the sport may be- and is, regularly
ioyed
Almost from the time Of It's organization hye years
ago. the dupont Trapshooting Club has been recog
nzed everywhere the largest best gun club in
the world the leading exponent Of the art of clay
target shooting Men from nearly every state in the
Union. from many Of the Canadian provinces and even
from Europe have shot It's traps and enjoyed the
hospitality Of local shooters and gun club oflcals.
In the matter of expertness. Delaware shooters
in the front rank, and. numbers considered
celled by other State in this respect Naturally the
publicity attendant upon the activities OF the club, and
the attention directed to Wilmington and Delaware be-
prominence in this sport has been valua-
Bile publicity to the city and State Incidentally
local hardware concerns business houses hotels cigar
tent Of than 100000 In business created by
the activities Of the club since its formation.
Investigation reveals the fact that the s-S"nt Trap
shooting Club is an unncorporaed subsidiary of the
E. l. DUPONT de Nemours Powder Company; that it
financed, ofcered and directed by the parent
pany which also the land and provides the build
ings used by the club The general public is and al
ways has been. eligible to associate membership and
welcome to participate in and TO assist with the
duct Of shoots and tournaments
II is learned Also that the local gun club has been
important adjunct and aid OF the powder company
in working out various problems in connection with
the sport Of trapshooting The information and knowl
edge gained at first hand exceedingly valuable in
conducting its advertising and tropshooting depart
ments as well as to trapshooters generally, who
able profit by this experience at cost whatever
to themselves
It therefore follows that the application for in
junction to restrain the DUPONT Trapshootng Club from
further activities the ground that it is nuisance is
than passing interest locally The chief basis
for an action Of this nature it believed rest
in whether the shooting at the club renders the
Of the public highway dangerous because of the
proximity the shooting. the possibility of in
jury from the flying shot
When informed Of the number OF alleged instances
where shot is reported 10 have struck passers-hy the
club officials were naturally dumbfounded That was
because the entire history the organization no
complaint of this nature had reached them Steps
were at once taken to prevent by closing
the closest the road Since then the shooting has
been done traps sufficiently distant from the high
make shooting into thoroughfares an utter
impossibility.
The contention that the club is a Nuisance on the
ground that the noise following the shooting excess
sve is asserted to be apparently un-
reasonable Even the ball games played at Rockford
Tower, but short distance from the Gun Club re-
suit in much more noise than the trapshootng and
such games not always conducted in the most
dery manner. which is the reverse with trapshootng
Again, the continuous testing at the Experimental sta
ton of the DUPONT Company just the from
the gun club produces constant volume of noise that
makes the noise the trapshooting faint by COM
parson.
Inasmuch but two regular night shoots were
held. and completed by 1890 and in view OF the fact
that they eliminated fully two months ago. mem
bers Of the club feel that the attempt make issue
of this feature is far-fetched.
For months exhaustive has been
made with view of securing other grounds for the
club. Many sites have been inspected. without sue
It is therefore anticipated that DUPONT Com
pany will make strenuous effort to maintain the gun
club at its location until more suitable
grounds available.
The legal fight before the Chancellor doubtless will
bring all the circumstances underlying the agita.
ton against the continued use by the club OF the
Of land it occupies