Our Vanishing Wild Life: Its Extermination and PreservationHornaday, William T. (William Temple)
History
Our Vanishing Wild Life: Its Extermination and Preservation
Hornaday, William T. (William Temple)
Game-laws -- United States; Wildlife conservation -- United States
The good that would be accomplished, annually, by the enactment of a law
for the federal protection of all migratory birds is beyond computation;
but it is my belief that within a very few years the increase in bird
life would prevent what is now an annual loss of $250,000,000. It is
beyond the power of man to protect his crops and fruit and trees as the
bird millions would protect them--if they were here as they were in
1870. The migratory bird bill is of vast importance because it would
throw the strong arm of federal protection around 610 species of birds.
The power of Uncle Sam is respected and feared in many places where the
power of the state is ignored.
The list of migratory birds includes most of the perching birds; all the
shore birds (_great_ destroyers of bad insects); all the swifts and
swallows; the goat-suckers (whippoorwill and nighthawk); some of the
woodpeckers; most of the rails; pigeons and doves; many of the hawks;
some of the cranes and herons and all the geese, ducks and swans.
A movement for the federal protection of migratory game birds was
proposed to Congress by George Shiras, 3rd, who as a member of the House
in the 58th Congress introduced a bill to secure that end. An excellent
brief on that subject by Mr. Shiras appeared in the printed hearing on
the McLean bill, held on March 6, 1912, page 18. Omitting the bills
introduced in the 59th, 60th and 61st sessions, mention need be made
only of the measures under consideration in the present Congress. One of
these is a bill introduced by Representative J.W. Weeks, of
Massachusetts, and another is the bill of Representative D.R. Anthony,
Jr., of Kansas, of the same purport.
Finally, on April 24, 1912, an adequate and entirely reasonable bill was
introduced in the Senate by Senator George P. McLean, of Connecticut, as
No. 6497 (Calendar No. 606). This bill provides federal protection for
_all_ migratory birds, and embraces all save a very few of the species
that are specially destructive to noxious insects. The bill provides
national protection to the farmer's and fruit-grower's best friends. It
is entitled to the enthusiastic support of 90,000,000 of people, native
and alien. Every producer of farm products and every consumer of them
owes it to himself to write at once to his member of Congress and ask
him (1) to urge the speedy consideration of the bill for the federal
protection of all migratory birds, (2) to vote for it, and (3) to work
for it until it is passed. It matters not which one of the three bills
described finally becomes a law. Will the American people act rationally
about this matter, and protect their own interests?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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