Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1915-01-11
Gives Reasons Why He viii
Ask For Warrant For
Secretary Of State
AFTERMATH OF HUNT
Failure to Secure Game Does Not
Excuse Offense According to views
of Official.

. W 'ItlCldl.
The announcement that Game
Warden II. G.. Cockrell, Of Fairfax
county,. would ask for d warrant for
the arrest of William Jennings Bryan
Secretary Of State, on the ground
of violating of the hunting laws Of
Fairfax county, has attracted wide
spread comment.
The offense charged against Sec
retary Bryan is alleged to have
been committed Christmas day, when
the Secretary went to Fairfax coun-
ty 70 spend the day with his friena
John S. Barbour, a member of the
Fairfax county bar. The two, IN
hunting garb and armed with shot
guns, it is asserted, spent part Of the
day tramping over the hills and
dales in the vicinity of Mr.. Barbour's
country place, but not even so much
as a single rabbit rewarded their Ell
forts.
The fact that the two hunters re-
turned with empty game bags, how
ever, is not to save Secretary Bryan
from prosecution declares Game
Warden Cockrell. Tirginia's game
laws are peculiar in many respects,
one of these peculiarities being that
is given to the board OF
supervisors Of the counties to es-
tablish such regulations as they may
see fit in regard to hunting. Another
feature of the Virginia game laws Is
that hunting Of any kind Of game is
not permitted when the ground is so
covered with snow as to make it pos
sibIe to track game.
The aforesaid hills and dales Of
Fairfax county were covered with
several inches of snow Christmas
day. Furthermore, the board Of su-
pervisors of Fairfax county, at.
meeting held November II last,
! adopted a regulation declaring 1t t'
/! be unlawful for any person not
: resident of Fairfax county to hunt at
all within the county's boundaries
So the Secretary of State, as guest
of Mr.. Barbour, is alleged to have
violated two portions Of the states
game laws. The fact that the viola
ton was unwilling, it is declared,
i does not render Secretary Bryan I'M
mune from arrest and punishment.
Game Warden Cockrell has writ
ten the following communication to
the Fairfax Observer:
To the Editor: have read with
much interest, and | may add consi-
cradle regret, your glowing account
under date of January 2 of hunt"
participated in by Hon. John S. Bar
bour, legal light Of the Fairfax Bar
and Hon. w. J. Bryan, Secretary
! of State. In all due respect to these
! gentlemen, yet holding as l believe
the law does, that all men are equal
before the law, l might suggest that
if would have been more profitable to
the welfare of the people of our
county and State and more honorable
to the gentlemen in question had
they used their legal light in uphold
] ing the law instead Of violating IT,.
! Your article says "that had he kill
ed ANYTHING he would have violated
the game laws of Virginia" here
wish to state that at a called meet
ing Of the Board of Supervisors held
AZ Fairfax Court House on Nov. "a
1914 il was declared unlawful for
any one not Il resident OF FAIRFAX
County to hunt in Fairfax County
and that in a printed notice and
published in your paper it is "earn-
e.rIv solicited that the Game Warden
strictly enforce" the very law which
these gentlemen plainly violated ir
/! that Mr.. Bryan is nonresident OF
the State and county, and as your ar
ticls would appear, Mr.. Barbour
stood as one aiding and abetting the
violation, in that you say they wan
dered together through the hills ani
dales Of the county as Mr.. Barbour;
Z guest and clearly violated the law
snow or no snow. So, as before stat