The Winslow mail., 1923-11-30
try into the maelstrom OF European
troubles.
Game Refuge Bill Coming UP Again.


The federal game refuge bilP' will
be introduced again into congress in
December The measure is one IN
tended to establish public shooting
grounds 1t passed the senate at the
last session, but was defeated in the
house by less than a handful Of votes.
w. Emlin Roosevelt has given eleven
acres of Wild land for a bird refuge"
around the grave of his cousin, Theo-
dOre Roosevelt. The land thus given
will be a sanctuary for the songbirds.
1t is, of course, immOdest and all
that sort of thing to reproduce any
thing printed in which ones name is
mentioned, but perhaps there is eX-
cuse in the present case. An editorial
appeared a few days ago in the New
York Tribune entitled 1.-The Roosevelt
Bird Refuge" In it was reference
to the writer of this article, refer
ence which will show that l am at
least sincere in my belief that the
birds need resting and breeding places
to save them from determination, and
will show, also, that there is sincerity
in the writer's advocacy Of the pas
sage Of the federal game refuge bill.
The Tribune editorial is as follows:
"In the exciting days that preceded
the Roosevelt bolt from the 1912 Re
publican convention the colonel was
receiving at his headquarters in Chi
cago an unbroken line of governors,
senators and political personages ask
ing what he was going to do.
Wrens Rested Roosevelt.
''In the line was a Washington cor
respondent, Edward B. Clark, who had
written the magazine article in which
Colonel Roosevelt attacked the nature
fakers' Him the colonel summoned
into an anteroom.
"'Clark,' '~said he, let us deviate into
ornithology. Why have the house
wrens left Oyster Bay?
"The answer was: Great heavens,
colonel. why talk about house wrens
now?
because they rest me. Give me
ten minutes of house wrens and can
talk to seventy governors.
''The love of birds was an inherent
part of the many-sided character of
Theodore Roosevelt Mr.. w. Emlin
Roosevelt does a fitting thing in giving
sIeven acres of wild land for bird
refuge around the tomb of his cousin
lt Oyster Bay The colonel would
enjoy it as keenly as his feathered
friends"
AS already has been said, this bird
refuge at the grave of a great lover OF
the feathered kind is to be a songbird
sanctuary. An occasional game bird
will find it's way into it, but the in
tention of the federal game refuge bill
is to provide tracts of land for game
birds in order that in the close seasons
they may have proper resting, feeding
and breeding places, and that in the
open season the reserved lands may
provide shooting opportunities, within
limitations, for persons who today find
that too great expense attaches to
travelling to distant places where
shooting can be obtained.
Bill Is an Economic Measure.
This matter has bd9n touched upon
before in letters from Washington
but the time is coming when America
must choose between two things-the
entire loss of its game supplies, or
their preservation without loss of
game for proper shooting afield.
The federal game refuge bill is an
economic measure of considerable mo-
ment to the country. 1t aims to give
shooting privileges to the men who
now can afford them and yet at the
same time to establish restrictions
which will insure an increase in the
game supply.
In a few words, the measure pro-
vides for the taking over by the gov
ernment of marsh lands which are
unfit for agricultural purposes even if
drained, and for the maintenance of
them as resting and feeding places for
the ducks, the geese and other migra-
tory water birds as they pass from
south to north and from north to
south in spring and in fall.
| 1t is proposed to impose an indi-
| vidual federal license fee of 81 for
shooting purposes, the money to be
used to support the service. There
was little or no opposition to The bill
manifest in the senate at the last ses-
sion. The house defeated it because
of what bird lovers seemed to think
was a misunderstanding of its merits.
| Since the migratory game birds of
| the country have been placed under
federal jurisdiction through the law
which puts into effect treaty with
the Canadian government, the wild
fowl have increased materially. The
danger that lies in the future-in fact.
the danger that is present today-is
that the birds, lacking proper feeding,
breeding and resting places, will dis
appear through the workings of nat
ural law. The proposal is to save for
the birds the feeding places which it
is known cannot be used to advantage
for the growing of crops or for any