The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1944-11-02
SABOTAGE
IS CHARGED
BY JOHNSON
State Game Chairman Says
That Erickson's Criticism
Hurts Eastern Montana
Cites Low Costs at Fort Peck
Farm; Fish Increase
In Territory

Left Erickson. who everywhere in
this section of the state emphasized
his eastern Montana residence. is
doing his best to sabotage a fish
and game program that is the first
to provide anything for eastern
Montana" it was declared here today
by Elmer Johnson. chairman OF the
state fish and game commission.
Erickson, the state chairman con-
tinued, had no criticism to make OF
the state game farm while in this
territory but. when he spoke at
Hamilton, in western Montana, he
said:
According to the governor, it is
not possible to erect new buildings
to relieve the horribly crowded con-
ditions at the Warm Springs state
hospital for the insane but he had
no difficulty in making possible the
building of a new game farm at
Fort Peck using some S63, 845 Of the
sportsman's money"
las a matter of plain fact the
state game chairman asserted. I'VE
paid the extravagant price of $40
apiece for the barracks and other
buildings we purchased as surplus
from the war department to build
the game farm. We + also leasing a
large acreage of good river bottom
land from the same department at
$50 a year for the game farm loca-
ton
LAS near as we can determine from
Erickson's figure of S63 ,845, 1t in
cludes all the cost of establishing and
operating the Fort Peck game farm
for three years. including vehicles,
fencing, such equipment as incuba-
tors, labor and the cost of dlStrlbut-
ing pheaSants all over the state. The
state game farm at Fort Peck is this
year producing more birds than
old Warm Springs and Billings
FERNS combined. ever did. and at a
lo;fer cost per bird"
Sportsmen in this section, the state
chairman added. r familiar with
the Fort Peck farm and are enthus-
iastjc oyer its record and method of
operation. It is regarded as one OF
the most modern setupS in the
northwest and introduced in Mont
ana the latest methods of pheasant
propagation, Matching eggs by in
cubator from brood stock that Is
kept in a wild state. Loss by disease
has been kept at a minimum, COM
pared with the old system at the
other farms. where hundreds OF
domestic chickens were purchased
each year to hatch out pheasant
eggs.
Erickson does not say so in so
many words. but his critical tone
Indicates he would be in favor OF
shutting up the Fort Peck farm to
90 back to horSe-and-buggy
the chairman commented.
He also pointed out that, for the
first time in many sections OF east
ern Montana. the state department
had planted warm water and other
species of fish. This had never been
done before by the department.
sites for such work are those
Havre, Chinook, Malta. Fort
peck. Wolf Point, Plentywood and
near Erickson's former home town
Of Sidney.
our survey and counts prove
definitely that Montana now has
more fish and game than in years
and that eastern Montana has
Shared in this increase Chairman
johnson declared. I'VE adopted the
survey system for the first time in
his state so we could determine just
where there were shortages and so
we could remedy them, on a scien-
.ific game management basis. II
erickson had taken the trouble to
lance at our last biennial report, he
,ould have learned this for himself,
IS well as facts about the operation
If the game farm
1T is also true that, without the
cooperation of the war department
n many ways, we would never have
,een able to establish and maintain
he state farm near Fort Peck. In
act. there is no other location in
he state where a farm could have :
,een established and operated at :
uch a low cost.and the figures on ;
.osts of producing pheasants for the !
of Montana sportsmen prove
his beyond doubt ,