South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1921-07-05
CLUB JURY SAYS
OWLS MAY LIVE
Club Makes Report to Pres I
Harding on Bird
Probe.

WASHINGTON. July f-Thc owls
can live. The John Burroughs club
jury appointed by prest Harding
when vIs.-n- tho white house some
time ago o. consider tle question
says 80 and the jury 80 reported to-
. day in a memorandum tled by tae
youngsters with George B Christian.
Jr the presidents secretary. The
nnG.ng OF the jury IS based upon the
clubs Investigation and upon hun-
dreds OF briefs fled with tho Amer
lean Forestry association for the club
from every section Of the country.
These briefs took up every phase
OF owl values AS pest destroy TO-
their tabled influence 0n the lives
OF human beings. Some of the WRITE
ers called upon Prest Harding CO. get
rid az the owls ot once ~ there are
Any in the white house grounds and
Ssdictcd ali kinds of bad luck for
me administration. Tho John Bur-
roughs club. however considered
only the economic value Of the owls.
for the question put 90 them by
Judge" Harding was in regard 90
birds that proved ON other birds be-
ing allowed % live
File Jury Finding
The finding of the jury as filed at
the white no. Sc today follows.
I'm spite 81 the fact chat these
birds destroy others Of their own ink.
they have 20 their credit and in de-
fence OF their lives the fact that they
are or such economic value and have
certain other qualities i'm their IA
vor.
I'VE shall take. for instance. the
crow. whose value in lessening the
number Of harmful insects was so
great that for a long tine scientists
wo st,ins for the government were
unable 10 say whether his bad acts
counterbalanced his good deeds.
Next we take the great horned
owl. who.e bad habits are wei
known, but even ne kills rats. mice
and other rodents.
Finally we come to the coopers
49, sharp-skinned hawks. who, es-
FPecially the coopers hawk. have
brought wrath and hate upon the
heads of even the less destructive
birds OF prey Of the country.
Il Not Natural Law.
But then. can we convict a whole
class of Gods creatures because a
few have been known 90 slaughter
Their own kind2 Can that iucxorable
law OF nature. "the survival of the
Attest which has been since the
world began. be broken by us who
owe SO much 20 il. even unto our
very existence DO we put a SEM
tence OF death on all bears because
a few have been known 90 eat do
mestic animals We kin them If we
know they are guilty. that is all. If
we destroy the feathered murderer
parasitic vine. which encircIes and
saps the life from the sturdy forest
tree.
Nay it is not for us TO do these
things. If IL were Gods will they
should perish. il would be unneces-
sary for us 10 pit our puny selves
against the countless flocks DER our
nation. therefore we, the John Bur
roughs club OF Force school, wish 20
state 10 His Honor. the President of
the United States. sitting as a judge
In this case. that these birds should
not die, but should be allowed 90 re-
main alive I'M their native haunts
with no legislative sentence hanging
a dread menace. over their heads
Signed Harold v T. Roach. Ed
ward r.. Tlndeu, Esther j. Rogers
Charles Keene. Jr.. Hamilton Brad
ley. Dorothy Sheckells, Merrill X
Clementson and James b. Bradley