, 1922-03-29
wyoming GAME LAWSA EARCE-TREAT-
MENT OF ELK DISGRACE B B {. RUMsEY
inhumane To Encourage The Increase And Make No Provision
For Hard W-inters-Cannot Change Elk Into Mountain
Sheep-Too Much Politics, His Opinion.

ground during the severe winter5i
Just as a stockman's herd Of cat
tie or sheep is commensurate to the
amount Of winter feed he can pro-
vide for them during the severe win
ters! Mild winters will take care of
themselves. This is automatic. At
least it ought to be. 1t is now about
time for some "b~one-headed politi-
clan" to suggest a closed season on
elk,i That will be finel 1t will at
least serve to illustrate the mount
of gray matter with which nature has
endowed them.
Much more to-the point, If someon
had the intelligence to suggest that
we a are Of what we have, before
breeding more to starve to death. But
then you can't squeeze blood out of a
turnip. tho many still are t~rying!t
II we are not going to take care OF
our wild animals. a thousand times
better to exterminate them hui
namely. Should we pursue the lat
ter course. it will be apparent that
our heart is in the right place, tho we
be deficient in the head!
Should We continue to follow the
former. 1t but proves we have neither
brains nor heart. and are much rather
fl subjects for the lunatic asylum
and the Humane Society, rather than
be called rational human beingsi The
state will break its neck trying to
catch a citizen killing a deer for a
piece Of meat. just as 1t will to catch
a citizen taking a, drink. but when it
comes to a cardinal crime-cruelty to
animals-it is childish in its eager
ness to itself and place the
blame on Nature, severe winters, too
much snow. etc, as IL God Almighty
was responsible for elk starving to
death, instead of man!i
Nature may have given us a severe
winter. but man has given us the rot
ten laws taking away the winter graz
Eng groundsi Don't blame Nature for
not conforming her laws to mans
selfish and silly ones. when reason
would dictate hat it would be the
part of wisdom to discover and adapt
his laws to Naturei Never worry,
Nature will provide for our wild ami
mails If man will but let heri
Do not for one moment think that
our elk are trying to become mount
ain sheep thru choice,l They are be-
ing kept in the mountains and deep
shows by man, and man only. and
they are starving to death. not be-
cause of a severe winter-with due re-
gard to the statement of the Forest
Service to the contrary-but because
of this fact, and because the winter
grazing grounds they would come to
naturally have been allowed by the
state legislature to pass into the
hands of a few stockmen, who believe
that their special interests are of
more value to the state and humanity
than are our wild animals. forests.
etc. OF course. the state legislature
has a very different opinion of itself.
Witness the following, written by it.
self:
Whereas. the people of the State
OF Wyoming. through their legislature,
after long experience, and a fine sense
Of the artistic and economic value of
the big game of the state, enacted and
perfected a code of wise and equitable
game laws etc.
Thanks to these "wise and equitable
sense of artisticl and economical val
ue,v our big game, and especially the
elk, have been starving to death..
Such high sounding phrases and ver-
biage are thoroughly consistent with
q class of politicians who think more
of the "trappings on the scabbard