The Coconino sun., 1916-11-03
SHALL ALL SAME 50 '
 THE WAY OF THE BUFFALO

Under date Of October 26th, the Northern Arizona Game Protective Association invited the Arizona Sportsmen's Association, ,of Phoenix, through an open letter, to publish list of their members together with statement of the purposes of their organization. As reasonable length of time has passed without reply and as election time is drawing near, out association feels that the true facts should be given relative to the matter of game protection in it's re- lation to the proposed amendment to the game and fish laws to be voted on at the coming election.
 We will first take up the points raised against the proposed amend ment, as offered by the Sportsmen Association.
 Their big play was in using head lines stating there was a joker in the proposed amendment. We will leave to your intelligence, Mir. Voter, whether any such joker exists. We feel that you are interested in our wild animal life to the extent of cast ing an affirmative vote for this amendment which will help situ- ation already in critical period.
 We note, with interest, the parties trying to obstruct the passage of the law complain about the immense" sums of money spent by the state de- partment for game protection. We wonder whether this argument can possibly be intended seriously? Surely it must be known that Arizona, one of the largest states in the Union, spends almost the smallest sum of any state on protecting her game and fish. The crying need of the present moment is more money and more paid wardens to enforce the law.
 The present funds will just carry five wardens, and these are supposed to police 114,000 square miles of ter ritory, or 23,000 square miles each. Entirely aside from the question of whether these men have been efficient, it must be apparent to anyone that the funds are miserably inadequate. Our game and fish could bring in millions year, like the state of Maine, where $5,000,00 are brought into the state each year by hunters and fishermen. Yet the Arizona Sportsmen Associa- ton complain that the paltry sum of sS,000 per year is an immense" sum to spend in preventing their entire extermination.
 One of the most astounding asser- tions of those opposed to the new game law is that certain game birds are so destructive to crops that farm CTS should be allowed to thin them out before harvest time. The natural question arising is what game birds are meant and how much grain is raised in this state where game birds do any destruction? It sounds ridi- culous, particularly so when in this day and generation it is common knowledge that game birds are the most valuable insectivorous birds we have. Do the parties opposed to this law know that scientists value the in- sect-eating services of every quail at $25 per year
 Those opposed to the amnedment of our game laws object to raising the hunting licenses fee from $50 to $125 per year. They possibly do not know that Arizona is one of the very few states in the Union having fee lower than $1.00 Who in this state cannot afford to pay fee of $1.25- the "sportsmen?" They emphasized the fact that each child will be re- quired to pay this fee. Apparently they are not well versed in our pre- sent law which allows every child un- der IA years of age to hunt without license providing they are accom- panied by an older person having a license Any child under IA is not safe alone with a. gun. There is no proposed revision to the law on this point as it now stands.
 The point attempted to be made by those against the proposed amend ment relative to no license being re- quired for hunting on private land does not require an answer. There is no proposed revision of our present law on this point.
 The proposed amendment covers the following points, which when passed will give Arizona much bet ter law on both game and fish pro tection: taB | Change the season on deer and turkey so the new season will be from October 1 to November 1; change the s |