Cavalier County farmers press. (Langdon, N.D.) 1920-1921, 1920-12-02
WOULD PROTECT
ALASKAN EAGLES
Audubon Society Urges Halt in
Destruction, Due to 5O-Cent
Bounty Law.
BIRDS or FREEDOM LIBELED
Official Cites Instances of Mistaken
Bird Campaign in Asking Suspen-
sion of Bounty Law-12,o0o
Killed Since Law Enacted.

New York.-American eagles in
Alaska frequently kill full-grown
deer, and are d%etastatorS of sheep and
other live stock, f~ur-bearing animals,
domestic and wild fowl, salmon and
other food fish, according to Alaskans
who have been writing on the sub
ject to L. Gilbert Pearson, secretary
of the Audubon Societies National as
ISOLATION.
Mr.. Pearson has been directing from
the New York offices of the ~associa-
ton an agitation to save the American
eagles IN Alaska by removing the
price of so cents a head, which was
placed on their heads by the Alas
kan legislature in 1917, which made
them outlaws because of their sup
posed destructiveness. The accusers
of the bird Of freedom in Alaska have
made out a very black prima facie
case against him, but the bird experts
Of the Audubon societies generally be-
lieve that the eagle has been convicted
on hearsay evidence and without much
of a trial. BY way of giving the bird
his day in court, the department Of
agriculture has sent a scientist to
Alaska TO make a close study of ways
and habits of the defendant.
The number Of eagles killed in
Alaska since the bounty law went into
effect is not less than 10000, accord
ing to estimates today. c. D. Gar
field, secretary of the Alaska Fish and
Game club, in a letter to MI. Pearson
in August said:
"a vast difference is noted in the
numbers of these birds showing in
southeastern and western Alaska, and
it is safe prediction that, If the
slaughter continues for a few years
longer, the species will become prac-
tically extinct in this country"
Asks Suspension of Bounty.
According to Mr.. Pearson, n sec
ton or another Of this country is al
ways working itself up into a witch
burning zeal against some particular
bird, which usually proves in time
to be not only innocent, but benef-
cial.
"Of course, human beings are more
important than BIRDS" he said, land
their concerns are entitled to first con-
sideration. If the charges against the
American eagle were all proved, the
bounty law would be justified. But
there have been so many mistaken
slaughtering campaigns against valu-
able or harmless birds that we are ask
ing in this cast a suspension of the
bounty law until the study of the hab-
its of the eagle, which have been I'M
%dertaken, show whether he really de-
serves slaughter or not.
"a few years ago there was an anti
meadoW-lark campaign in California.
Speeches were made in the legislature
to the effect that they were running
the grape crop in some sections. For
q time it seemed as if the meadow
lark was doomed. but a careful inves-
tigation of the origin of the outcry
against the lark showed that it all
started with & statement of a farmer
that he had seen a lark sitting on the
grapes.
"New Jersey had a similar period
of hysteria against the robin, Which
was, alleged to be destroying the
cherry crop. There was a great propa-
ganda in Arkansas and Texas for a
time because of the untrue charge
that they We're destroying rice fields.
Gone of the most exciting cam
noiTnS of narSnr1tipn oroinct 81 III,
eral bird started along the gulf coast
in 1918, when it was alleged that the
brown pelican was destroying food fish
at the rate of nearly a million dollars
q day, and Us it was put in one in
dictment-'every day they consumed
more food fish than the people of
Texas got in a year.
Mistakes Campaign Against Gulls.
THE aSsailants Of the birds placed
their numbers at a million and started
the slogan: Kill the pelican or the
kaiser will get YOU They appealed
to the federal food administration to
aid in destroying the bird to save the
fish. BY cooperation between the
federal and state authorities I under
took an investigation of the habits
of the bird and made a cruise with a
party visiting all but one of the is
lands on which they were supposed to
breed. This showed that, instead of
numbering a million, their number
could not exceed $4,000. 1t also
showed hat they lived exclusively on
menhaden, a fish not eaten by hu.
mans.
"One of these periodic flare-ups
against birds actually left q deep mark
on the development Of the country and
is truly an historic episode. 1t is re
counted by e. II. Furbush, state
ornithologist Of Massachusetts, that
the inhabitants of Southern HarbOr
great many years ago became alarmed
at the great tlocks of guIls which con
gregated there to eat the heads anG
remains Of the fish which were thrown
into the water. 1t Is II frequent charge
against the gulls that they destro,
food fish, hug the fnct is that they are
almost exclusively ~scGyengersA TIL,
nptf.hipt fnynp sppnn1 aNnp thIc nan,