entative of the National Association of Audubon Societies
urged that the bills be extended to include all migratory insect-eating
birds, because of their value to agriculture. This suggestion was
adopted and after a stiff fight in Congress the McLean Bill became a
law on March 4, 1913.

{180}

This new federal statute did not in itself change any of the existing
game laws, but it gave authority to certain functionaries to make such
regulations as they deemed wise, necessary, and proper to extend better
protection to all migratory game and insect-eating birds in the United
States. The Secretary of Agriculture, to whose department this unusual
duty was assigned, read the law thoughtfully, concluded that the task
did not come within the bounds of his personal capabilities, and very
wisely turned the whole matter over to a committee of three experts
chosen from one of the department bureaus and known as the Biological
Survey.

_The Work of the Committee._--This committee at once began the
preparation of a series of regulations to give effect to the new
statute. Drawing extensively from the records stored in the Survey
offices, and seasoning these with their own good judgment and knowledge
of existing conditions, they brought out in a period of three months
and nine days, or to be more precise, on June 23, 1913, a set of ten
{181} regulations which, in many ways, have revolutionized shooting in
the United States.

These were printed in pamphlet form and distributed widely; for before
they could have the effect of laws it was necessary that they should be
advertised for a period of at least three months in order to give all
dissatisfied parties an opportunity to be heard.

The whole idea of the Government taking over the matter of protecting
migratory birds, as well as the startling character of some of the
regulations promulgated by the committee was justly expected to bring
forth either great shouts of approbation or a storm of disapproval, and
possibly both sounds might be heard. As long experience has shown that
it is necessary to have public opinion approve of a game law if it is
to be effective, one can well understand that, following the mailing of
the circular of rules, these gentlemen of the committee stood with hand
to brow and anxiously scanned the distant horizon. Nor did they have
long to wait before {182} critical rumblings began to be heard in many
directions, for it is always hard for men to give up