Bisbee daily review., 1918-05-19
WHITEWINGS AND DOVES

By announcing that prosecutions tor shooting whitewings and doves out of sea- son will not be enforced the state game warden has practically suspended the law prohibiting the slaughter of these birds dur ing their breeding season. Under the law the season does not open until July D.. The game warden, however, calls on all sportsmen to make war" on the birds,
 considering 1t a war measure.
 A few generations ago the North Amer ican wild pigeon was plentiful in the Unit ed States The last of these birds died in the summer of 1914 in the geological gar dens at Cincinnati, Ohio.
 A few generations ago antelope abound ed on the plains of Arizona Now a state law prohibits under severe penalty their molestation.
 Not many years have passed since buff falo were numerous on the plains of the middle west. Now few scattered bands in parks number the herds.
 Within the past few years it has been found necessary in this state to limit fur ther the number of deer which one hunter may kill in each season.
 Protection of game of all character has been the policy of the state. With the sad fate of the North American pigeon in mind, lawmakers have sought to preserve for fu- ture generations the wild life of the south west
 With this in view, a few years ago, Ari- zona enacted law prohibiting the wan ton slaughter of whitewings and doves dur ing the nesting and breeding seasons.
 fox.y he lion from his lair leaped down and slaugh- tered the calves and cattle on Arizona ranges. The state put bounty on the an imals, and the cattlemen added to this re- ward for its hide.
 The Arizona Hobo" shaggy, ferocious wolf, has been almost wiped out in the same manner Coyote and jackrabbit have been hunted down and lessened in numbers because of the premium on their scalps.
 True facts of the destruction and dam age of whitewings and doves are these: A few farmers of the Salt River valley each spring complain that their grain and fruit crops are suffering; hunters of the game hog variety take up the cry of the farmers; within short time the complaint becomes a great wall of the injustice of a law which protects harmful birds Past history of the state sustains these facts Since the law has been in force each spring has heard the same hue and cry from factional few who are unwilling to wait until the breeding season ends before they unlimber pump guns to pot the birds as they feed
 Investigation has proved that the dove does not injure wheat or grain crops. It II 1l them. It feeds from the ground on the seed which has fallen to the earth The white wing, it is true, does light on the stalks, and, in instances, accomplishes some dam age.
 There is no question but grains and fruits are of material value during the war. No person will decry earnest efforts on the part of any citizen to conserve the crops. The nation calls for maximum production. But the damage to crops as balanced against damage to tha future supply of whitewings and doves especially where the complaint is purely regional and represent ative of but small section of the state, is the question which Arizonans must decide
 If the whitewnig and dove are injurious to the state, if they are to be hunted out of existence, if they are to be exterminated, then, let us repeal laws protecting them and place small premium on each bird killed. If they are bird to be preserved from the fate of the North American pigeon, then let us protect them with the laws which the people of the state have provided.
 Constructiveness, conservatism and pa triotism are the keynotes of the announce ment of w. A. Moeur, state land commis- s;o,ar a,J forroar cb.;rr,a1 If tba Mari