Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1920-11-05
SPORTS BEST AID
IS COOPERATION
So Says 5. B. Hawks in Address
Before County League

son county Fish and Game League
banquet.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen:-
1t certainly is a great pleasure tC
meet with you this evening as thi.
makes the fourth dinner of the Add
son County Fish and Game Clul
which have attended, and everyone
of them to my mind, has been a great
/ success. | appreciate the invitations
which | have received and always &c
back to Bennington with some new
ideas and with more interest in Fish
and Game Conservation.
/ believe, that if there were more
such gatherings and Clubs as this one
throughout the State, that the Fish
and Game Laws would be lived up ia
to greater extent than they are to-
day; statistics taken in several of the
States show that over 80 per cent of
the arrests made for violations of the
fish and game laws are men who do not
belong to any sportsman organiza-
tions, and they also show that in
counties where the strongest organiza-
tions are, they have the least viola
tions; Of course there are a few viola
tions in almost any sportsmans or
ganization and it is the fear of the
law and not good sportsmanship that
keep these men from violating, but
believe that the State could have a
Game Warden for every square mile
of territory and there would still be
violations, if it were not for the Fish
and Game organizations.
Just to give one illustration. Several
years ago while | was County Warden
there was one section of the County
where the hunters and fishermen did
not even try to live up to the laws, and
it had the name of being one of the
toughest parts of the State; they
would kill deer out of season and save
all their short trout, and as the stream
that ran through this town was the
head waters of one of our best trout
streams, there was a very noticeable
decrease in the number of trout taken
lower down | went up to this town
with the intentions of staying three or
four days. All the fishermen seemed
very anxious to take me fishing, until
on the first afternoon somebody told
them who | was. and my stock drop
ped about 100 per cent. | went to the
Postmaster, whom | picked as the best
sportsman in the place, and asked
him if he could not get a bunch of the
boys together for a little talk that
evening He said he would try. AS
most of the men came to the postoffice
in the evenings, ANYWAY, l had about
ten or a dozen men there by eight
o'clock But they were a very cool
crowd | felt about the same as l
did when I got caught stealing grapes
once when a boy. To make a long
story short. | talked with them about
one-half an hour and did the best 7
could to explain the fish and game
situation to them, but did not make
much headway until one of the men
finally spoke up and said Some of
the things this fellow says may be
true, and some may not, but l do
know that we do not get the fishing
we used to, and am not going to save
any more short trout, and by God, if
don't none of the rest of you will.
AS far as l know, | don't believe they
nave
Any organization to be strong must
nave cooperation and I think it ap-
)lies to fish and game more than to
anything else; I believe that it is CO.
operation and not competition that
makes business. By cooperation, DO
lot mean of the Club members alone,
1ut cooperation with the farmers and |
and owners. and this to my mind is
me serious problem, the Fish and |
Game Clubs have to solve today. In
several of the Fish and C're Cabs |
the United States, they
lave had posters made and put up Of
ering a reward for information of any
portsman doing damage to farmer S
and the offenders are dealt
With by the club. Along this same
inc the Bennington County Fish and
Tame Club several wears ago in coop
ration with the Bennington section
# the Green Mountain Club deposited
hundred dollars in a local bank, and
lad posters made Offering a reward Of
80 to anyone giving information lead
ng to the arrest and conviction of any
,erson found breaking into any camp,
laving this sign posted on it, and
hese posters were sold to co., own
RS for 50. Before these signs were
,osted a great many camps had oeen
,roken into and, as far as / know,
here has not been a single break since
lust one more little matter in regard
o cooperation and that is the coop
ration of the club members with the
county Warden. Little tips to the
'ountv Warden about violations that
he club members see do more to catch
cal violators than fifty deputy ward
MS would do, because as a rule,
equity wardens will not arrest their
eighbors, some on account of fear,
nd some on account of friendship and
- is impossible for a County Warden
o be in all parts of the County at
nee A few of us who have been
Vardens appreciate how much a good
ip is worth. but 'habitual violators
re bound to get caught sooner or later
nd when they do fall i like to see
hem fall hard; like the man who in
ented a parachute for aviators, and
rent to a capitalist to try and sell the
lvention, and in describing it, he said,
l case something goes wrong with the