Montana labor news., 1944-08-10

more lully Will ASNClal buA Sou9 NAaAN-
garding state rights and the wishes of
the vast majority of the sportsmen?
Let us be ever mindful of the solemn
admonition of Senator Gerry Of Rhode
Island: Beware of federal bureaus bear
ing gifts When Uncle Sam extends the
right hand Of financial assistance he is
at the same time reaching with the left
hand for the administrative jurisdic-
ton"
When the present Fish and Game
Commission entered office they in
formed the sportsmen that they had in
mind a long-range program. A program
that would make this state a hunting
and fishing paradise. 1 have shown
you briefly the changes that we're made
by the present Fish and Game Commits
sion relative to our fish and bird life.
Do you consider these changes bene-
ficial to all concerned, Are the citizens
of Montana to accept these changes in
our wild life setup without protest? Do
these drastic changes in our fish and
bird life tend to make Montana hunt
ing and fishing paradise? We positively
and emphatically say they do not.
The elk and deer situation is a very
serious matter and we feel that the
present Fish and Game Commission have
proven themselves entirely incompetent
to manage this most valuable asset. Dur
ing the winter of l942 and 1943 there
was a movement instituted by the Ma
tional Park service to slaughter several
thousand head of elk and feed them to
the Jap internees This brought about
such a vigorous protest from sportsmen
organizations and citizens throughout
the entire state that the Park service
were forced to rescind their proposed
action. Did DR.. Mcfarland, our state
game warden, raise his voice in protest
of this wanton destruction of our elk
herd? Did any member Of the Commits
sion protest this action? 1t puts us in
mind of the old proyerb: silence gives
consent
Let us take look at what happened
when the Park service turned the mat
ter over to the present Fish and Game
Commission. N. S. Dondelinger, a for
mer member of the Fish and Game
Commission said, I quote Under Ordi-
nary conditions the killing of three or
four thousand elk would not be Of great
moment and could be tolerated as the
mistaken fancy of probably incompe-
tent officials" Neither Dr. Mcfarland
nor any member of the Fish and Game
Commission raised their voices in protest
of this proposed massacre Of OUR elk
until after the vigorous protests of our
sportsmen we're made direct to our SEN
ators. Then, and only then, a belated
and mild objection was made by our
governor, Sam c. Ford. But regardless
of the protests and pleading Of thou
sands of our sportsmen and citizens OF
the state and nation, the present Fish
and Game Commission wantonly al
lowed over $500 Of these animals to be
slaughtered. It will take years Of care
full supervision and foresight to rebuild
this herd to its prewar numbers. A
few years ago The Anaconda sportsmen
the Rocky Mountain Sportsmen Associ-
alton and many other good cidizens
banded together at our own expense
and transplanted a good many elk from
the Park, releasing the elk in territory
adjacent to Butte and Anaconda in the
hopes that in the years to come our
sons and daughters would enjoy big
game hunting in the mountains and
ravines close to home What happened
to a good many Of these transplanted
elk?
In the severe winter Of 1912 and early
194S a good many of these elk were be-
coming more or less troublesome to the
farmer and the farmer was demanding
money for the forage, which was only
lust and right and every real sportsman
will agree that the rancher should be
reimbursed. What happened? The pres
emf Fish and Game Commission ordered
their deputies to slaughter these elk,
selling their carcasses to the hotels, res
taurants and chain stores, rather than
furnishing a little fodder that these elk
might survive and furnish more sports
men a real thrill. On Markham Hill near
Helmsyille over three hundred deer died
of starvation during the winter OF 1912,
so saws Bill Bartholomew Of that town.
Whata a sacrilege What wastage oil
olr wild life that could easily have been
avoided by winter feeding. And remem-
Der that this is only one Of the many
areas where the same thing occurred
Is this the Fish and Game Commis-
sions long-range program? Does the
killing off Of our big game during Sc
we're winter tend to make Montana a
hunters paradise? What would we
think of a raneher who brought his cat
tie in off the range and allowed them
To stsrve for lack Of feed? How long
would our beef herd exist if we failed
to provide feed and shelter during the
winter?
Should we be any more lenient in our
Judgment Of the Fish and Game Com
mission who allowed our big game 70
waste away and die for lack Of feed?
On June nth the Rocky Mountain
SJortsmen's Association endorsed the
following resolution and mailed copy
to the Montana Fish and Game Com
mission. all labor unions, and various
other organizations throughout the state.
/ quote,
To all members of organ '2ed labor and
Continued on Page Two)