The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1919-10-10

cerned in progress, if they are not
to be buried in oblivion, cannot af-
ford to ignore the terrific speed at
which we are moving in the world of
events. Ideas that were but vague
dreams of the idealist yesterday, to-
lday hav become realities and in many
cases having served their purpose,
are thrown into the discard to be re-
placed tomorrow by ideas born to-
day;
border of civilization, who have been
lcontented to be carried on by the
course of events, have come to the
point where all from the most obscure
back woodsman to the live wire bust
ness man of the city must stand face
to face with the fact that our inter-
ests are so entwined and inter-locked
that we cannot go on much farther
in the old order of things and still
remain in the shadow of progress
!. and efficiency.
Glow well do / recall my early
trapping and trading days that seem
but yesterday, (game preserves not
Iyet dreamed of man was making
no effort towards protecting our for
ests from the effect of fires. For
years winter after winter, / have
watched the coming and going of
most every species of animal life that
inhabits our North woods from the
mouse to the moose. For years
have witnessed the terrible truggle
for the survival of the fittest.
"Many a time while standing on
the peak of some hill, there spread
ing out around me, to the North for
a thousand miles or more, to the East
flor three hundred miles. to the West
for two hundred miles, South to the
shores of Lake Superior, laid a vast
domain, wherein you could scatter
many of the empires of Europe and
lose them, and not unlike those same
empires here just beyond the next
hill and in every valley to the borders
of this vast territory, were being en-
acted every minute of the day and
right that giant struggle that might
shall survive right"
"How often | have wondered If
the time would ever come when man
would take a hand in an attempt
to protect the more desirableaof the
wild life of the woods:
"Then came the day of the Game
Preserve. At first it seemed to be
the solution of the protection of an.
imal life. A large territory was set
aside here and in Canada within
which man was not to enter, leaving
he animals to themselves in the hope
that if undisturbed, they would mul.
tiply in such large numbers, as to
protect them for posterity and the
loverfow would furnish game for the
sportsman. The idea was noble
one, but it went too far, in that, ex.
Guiding man entirely, the only ell.
cement that could step into this strug-
lyle and protect to some extent, the
more desirable of our wild life, il
defeated the ends for which it was
Intended.
"We have witnessed the arrival
and failure of theoretical game pre-.
j serve, game protection, while pro.
Getting in way, but did not produce
what are known as the desirable spe-
cies of wild life. We cannot how.
ever, say that it was an entire fail.
ure, in that it served its purpose as q
marker from which we can start
new and keep up with progress in the
matter of game protection.
"Time has proven that every great
undertaking arrived at its achieve
1nent through several stages. I be-
lieve that the matter of game pro-
lection in our North woods has
passed its first stage of development
and we are about to enter new era
n which all the elements concerned
will take an active interest-an in.
terest so. broad in its scope that will
lgo far towards realizing the dreams
of the most radical game protection
list.
"The first of these and the one the
most concerned is the business man
Tor the business sportsman. More
especially those of you who reside in
this immediate vicinity. The time
has gone by, that, when after lend