The Ely miner., 1930-01-03
On This
Occasion
lust few thoughts by the Editor on thing
Material and ImmateriaI.

+ -
And it came to pass A. D. 1929, that
dissatisfaction arose among the null
titude on the administration OF the
position of Game and Fish Commls-
sioner of the State Of Minnesota, ny
Mccullough. It also came 10 pass
that the multitude clamored Tor an
appointment to succeed Mccullough,
and great pressure Is brought 70 bear
on the appointive powers tor one os
their number to succeed the present
commissioner. It was ever thus. fhe
same thing has happened every year
or so since we have peen in this Sec
ton of the country, the only section
where there is game and the section
from which the. Commissioner should
come, if the conserving OF ftSn ana
game is the object OF the commission.
However, the multitude is seldom
satisfied. Even if there were 10 COM
missioner and no game laws would
they be entirely satisfied. With some
classes of people, the game laws arc
the most unpopular and this unpop-
ularity is second only to the unpop-
ularity of the 18th Amendment in some
quarters If Governor ChriSt.ansoa
was to name the best man in the world
as game commissioner, Tom, DICK ana
Harry would still contend that this Is
a free country and the game OF the
forest belongs to them to kill or keep
as they saw fit.
Every commissioner has had the
same to contend with as long as We
can remember or as long as there mas
been such an officer. The commls-
sioner popularizes himself in his new
position for a few weeks or until he
cuts his eye teeth and becomes OF
value in the conservation of game and
fish. After this he is no good in the
ewes of some of the multitude and the
rocks begin to fly. What they act
ually want is no game laws, no COM
missioner and no restraint on poacn-
ing activities. Get all you can and get
it before the neighbor, who may be a
trifle slower or a trifle more honest,
gets his In fact, there are those who
feel the same about all laws.
There was Fullerton, Avery, Ryder
and Gould and now Mccullough. All
had to 60 as soon as they stepped on
the toes of the fellows higher up In
the fur game. The wardenS under
Mccullough probably became too Of
ficious and gathered in few higher
UPS. The multitude was appealed to
and were told that their personal lib
erty" was at stake. The dethroning
of the commissioner is demanded with
the implied understanding that some
one they can rely upon should be ap-
pointed In the course OF few
months the same condition would
again arise and another Official would
be sacrificed for the good Of the ser
vice.
We concur with some of our eX-
changes in their statement that the
Arrowhead Country, the actual home
of the game and fish of the state,
should be represented in the Fish ana
Game Commission. However, we hate
to see a man capable of filling such
a position-and we have many OF
them-Sacrif1ced and spitted on the
poacher's cross. Past history proves
that some start like a race horse and
like the horse, end in the glue fac
tory. Unpopular law" says the
poacher. Unpopular law" says the
bootlegger. "To'ell with laws" says the
Communist. 1t would be a fine idea
nevertheless if some northern Min
neSota man could be tried out.
Another thing. The people of the
northern section are getting mighty
tired of having their courses of con-
duct mapped out and catalogued by
the south end of the state and poincS
south as far as Indiana, Illinois, etc.
BY sheer voting strength they saddle
us with taxes of all descriptions on
our mines; fix our hunting and fishing
laws to suit their whimS and fancieS.
The big effort just now is to place
everything north of township line 60
into a park, closed to the only re-
naming iron ore and timber prospect
in the state; financially handicapping
Lake and Cook counties; throttling
industry and development; and even
tually placing this same area in a
game and fishing .reserve-and how
and for whom?
At least this is the way it appears
to us. We may be wrong. Read
over the Shipstead- Newton bills before
Congress in another place in this
paper and let us know what you think
of it. The editors personal opinions
may not amount to much but in order
TO get them before the people he prints
them for all to see The reader has
the advantage in this. He can keep
his mouth shut and then hide behind
the Australian ballot system when it
becomes necessary for him to act
Let us hear from you. We give you
the same opportunity to air your views
to the public the editor has. Your
name need not appear in print but
don't be afraid to sign and express
your opinion.