Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-03-21
SPRING HUNTING
WILL BE DOOMED
Illinois House and Senate Told that
Governor Lewden VIII Veto
Bill.
CONFLICTS WITH FEDERAL
Chief Game and Fish Warden Tells
Joint Committee Stand Ex-
ecGtiVe VII Take,

Rock Island hunters will be IN
terested in knowing that the spring
shooting season in Illinois is DOOM
ed.
Ralph Bradford Of Pontiac. chief
game and fish warden of the state.
appeared before joint session of
the house and senate fish and game
committees and told them that any
fish and game codifcatiOn bill, con-
tanning a spring shooting season
contrary to the regulations of the
department at Washington found
ducks allowed to be killed in the
spring, would probably be vetoed
by Governor Lowden upon the ad-
vice of Attorney General Brundage.
Warden Bradford plainly told the
committee that it must abide by the
Washington regulations eliminating
the spring season despite the hard
ship to Illinois spoTtsmen.
He declared it would be useless
to provide spring shooting in Hi
nois if the federal government has
regulations against it.
Representative Deitrick of Boards
town suggested the legislature
should take it for granted there will
be no spring shooting. but added
that it might be possible to make the
Illinois codifcation act flexible
enough to permit spring shooting at
any time the department at Wash
ington found ducks becoming plen-
tiful enough to permit it.
The committee placed in Warden
Bradford's hands the matter of
drawing up a bill and getting from
Attorney General Brundage a writ
ten opinion as to the validity of any
law that carries a provision per-
hitting spring shooting.
Treaty Eliminates Season.
George A. Lawyer, of the bureau
biological survey at Washington,
opened the debate on the federal
migratory bird regulation prohibit
ing the killing of ducks and geese
during the spring season.
He told of the treaty with Canada
which eliminates this season and
declared that unless it is abided by
and enforced there will be no. ducks
and geese in five years.
Relative to prosecutions of the
violation of the order he declared
that 81 convictions have been secur-
ed and that all cases will be prose-
cuted and expressed confidence that
the United States supreme court
would uphold the validity of the or
der
The battle between the CONNER
Cial fishermen and the sportsmen's
the discussion The sportsmen ask
cd the committee to increase the
mesh of seines to two and one-half
inches as a means of saving the
smaller fish.
There was considerable opposi-
ton to the provision limiting the
length of seines to 200 yards. Sever
al committee members feel such a
provision would be a hardship to
the commercial fishermen of the
state.
NGOOse About Dead"
One sportsman declared that "the
goose that lays the golden egg in
the Illinois river is about dead" and
will die in few years unless some
restriction is placed on commercial
fishing.
He declared that constant SEEMING
is running the sport for sportsmen
and pointed out that the sportsmen
IRE getting the worst of the deal in
Esmuch as they pay approximately
$4,000 annually in license fees
while the commercial fishermen pay
but $4,000.
Some discussion also arose over
the use of trammel nets. One bill has
been introduced for the use of these
nets without 3-inch outside mesh.