October 19, 1914 - Killing Song Birds Proved Expensive

Here is an article that I thought was interesting. With all of the talk today about gun laws it seems that they were in place 100 years ago.

KILLING SONG PROVED EXPENSIVE

TWO MEN WERE FINED IN HUNTINGTON TOWN COURT ON SEVERAL COUNTS.

Went Out with Rifles on Sunday, But Failed to Secure Licenses First

Game Warden Perrett of Stratford Caught Them Yesterday

Judge Dillon Warns Future Offenders.

Hunting on Sunday without a license and having possession of a mess of dead song birds made an expensive outing for Dominic Ferraro and Anelio Gallo who were arrested in Huntington by Deputy Game Warden Perrett of Stratford yesterday, for as a result of a hearing this morning before Judge J, B. Dillon fines and costs amounting to $44 and $27 respectively were imposed on the accused. Prosecuting Attorney Shapiro represented the state. Both the accused pleaded guilty to the charges of hunting on Sunday, hunting without a license and Gallo pleaded guilty to having killed song birds.

Assisting the prosecution was Wilbur F. Smith of Norwalk who is the county warden for Fairfield county. County Warden Smith identified three song sparrows, four warblers, one yellow throated virio and two white throated sparrows. Mr. Smith who has made a special study of birds said that all the species found on Farraro were insectivous birds and of great value in the extermination of insect pests.

Arrest Made Sunday.

The arrest was made early yesterday morning. Ferraro and Gallo both had small rifles. Each told a different story in court as to which proposed the hunting trip. Gallo is a greenhorn who has resided here only about eight months, while Ferraro has lived in the country 23 years and around this section for the past eight years. There was no question about the circumstances of the acts which caused the arrests in each case and the evidence offered tended to establish just what were the extenuating circumstances in the case. Warden Smith explained that the killing of song and birds of an insectivorous nature was a thing which the state board of fisheries and game was especially anxious to stop.

Fines Imposed.

Ferraro was fined $10 and costs on two counts and $7 on another and his bill amounted to $44 which was raised by friends. Gallos was fined on two counts, $10 each for hunting on Sunday and hunting without a license. This amounted to $27, which the accused hoped to raise before the day was out.

The court gave the accused men to understand that the shooting of song birds was a thing which had to be stopped and that the law in regard to Sunday and other unlawful hunting must be obeyed. It is hoped by County Warden Smith that the fines meted out in the local court, which were minimum in this case on account of the families of the accused, will have a salutary effect in preventing further violations of the game laws.

The birds secured by the two accused were absolutely no good for eating purposes, as the whole mess of ten birds, in the opinion of Warden Smith, would not yield enough flesh to feed a kitten.

The idea of going through the woods and practicing on song birds and otherwise taking chances contrary to the law seems to be too much of a temptation for a certain class of citizens as well as aliens and the superintendent of the fisheries and game commission has instructed the different county wardens to see that the deputies were kept on a lookout for violators of the law, as it is the intention of the authorities to break up the practice of unlawful hunting.

Stole a Boat.

Another case which occupied the attention of the town court was that of Chauncey Bush, formerly of Shelton, who was charged with the stealing of a duck boat owned by Joseph Carney of Shelton. Mr. Carney testified that he had tied his boat up to a tree at Oronooque cove. A chain and the padlock were missing when Mr. Carney recovered the boat I at John Bond's dock in Stratford about three weeks after it was stolen on August 29. Mr. Carney learned from Miss W. Mustapha of Stratford that Bush claimed to own the boat. On inquiry Bush claimed that he found the boat floating in the river and had witnesses present to substantiate his story.On the other hand State had witnesses, friends of Bush's who told a different story, and this, added to the fact that Bush took the boat to Bond's dock five miles away from where he alleges to found it floating, did not tend to convince the court that he was innocent and claimed to have advertised the loss in the Bridgeport Standard. A fine of $5 and costs was imposed.

 The next postcard will be on November 1.