Page:Bird-lore Vol 06.djvu/136

 The Audubon Societies

professes to teach. It is like teaching a child the outlines of the great events of h' tory through sensational novels andthen ex- pecting him to be content with a subsequent course of digniﬁed history. After the lttrid envelopment of an overheated magination, the truth, however wonderful in itself. must seem cold and bare indeedi

In all nature work, and especially in in- vestigations relating to birds and their pro- tection. should the greatest accuracy be maintained Any sportsman will testify that to overshoot the mark is generally to scattershotfurtheraﬁeld than to undershoot: and thus sentimental exaggeratt n. toward which there is at present such a pitiful rush by many who, knowing better, persi using its methods to win their willing and ignorant audience (and the ignorant are often in the majority), will ere long be a spent force.

To paraphrase a truism—The truth of nature thrown to earth by the lack of men- tal balance among a few authors will surely rise again, but we do not wish any of our zealous bird protectionists to he found among those victims meshed in war who cannot rise, even upon the wings of their own imaginationI in the company of truth.

M. 0, Wt

in

National Committee Notes B" m: CNAIRM‘N

To emphasize the necessity of incorpora- tion, which has been brought to the atten— tion of the Audubon members in the last two issues of Brno-Lone, it is only neces- sary to present the iollowing letter:

Aununon soctnv or AMERICA

New York. N. Yr April u, ups

“Kindly send me your exact corporate name for the purposes of a bequest, I sup- pose you have some descriptive pamphlet which contains it. and I ask for as early an answer as possible."

This letter shows that the work of the Audubon Societies and the continual agita» tion of the subject of bird protection by let- ters, leaﬂets and newspaper articles is com- mencing to bear irui it is an important economic subject which must attract the

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attention of philanthropic people who will ﬁnally endow the National Committee with a sutiiciently large sum to guarantee the continuance of all branches of Audubon work.

A prominent attorney in New York City has volunteered his services and is now looking into the matter of incorporation; i. e,, whether it will be better to incorpo- rate in Washington or in New York City: the former heingthe national center, whereas the latter is the tinancial metropol probable that before the August I Bum-Lott: is published the Committee can announce that the physical act of incorpora- tion has been completed, when it will be necessary to call the attention of ti zens throughout the country to the fact that the National Committee of Audubon Societies has a legal status and can hold real estate or other property in the nature of a permav nent endowment to carry on the work of bird protection in perpelltilyt

This being the year when most biennial legislatures do not meet.——this branch of committee work has not been so ardu- ous; although at times it has been of rather a strenuous nature. and the result in a number at states has been of a very de— cidedly telrograde character, showing ltow important it is that the work of bird protec- tion shall be placed upon a permanent basis If the education of the public is “ﬁt per- sisted in, all of the results accomplished in the past few years can be wiped out in a shorter time than it took the milliners‘ agents to almost exterminate the Terns of the Atlantic coast.—and this every hird- lover knows was done in ahottt two years

In Massachusetts the legislature is strug- gling with a hill to protect the Hawks anti Owls; whether the members can overcome the ingrained prejudices of generations re- garding these two classes of birds is still uncertain.

In the adjoining slate of Rhode island the legislature has retreated so far into the dark ages that they have actually passed a law providing a bounty on Hawks, Owls and Crows, notwithstanding the united elforts oi the sportsmen‘s clubs and the Audubon Society to prevent its passage.