By Edgar Castillo
Obscure or seemingly ridiculous laws usually remain on the books due to legislative inertia. As time passes, many lawmakers rarely prioritize in repealing old, outdated statutes because the process is complex and time-consuming. A number of these strange judicial rulings made perfect sense at the time they were drawn up. On the other hand, some legal regulations, however comical they may have sounded, were a historical necessity to ensure there was continuity in services. A perfect example would be the public transportation issues that plagued the City of Angels between the late 1880s and early 1900s that a law was passed to ensure conductors didn’t abandon their posts in pursuit of on-duty bird hunting activities.
Cable cars debuted in Los Angeles in 1885, with electric versions arriving in 1887. By the 20th century the city featured two trolley systems that defined the region’s early growing sprawl, serving thousands. The network’s expansion was a major boom, spanning from the urban downtown core to the suburbs, including surrounding communities and nearby coastal towns. These transit lines extended into the outer edges of the countryside. Along the routes it was the conductor who managed the cabin, assisted passengers, managed fares, collected tickets, issued transfers, made stop announcements, and signaled to the motorman when it was safe for the car to move.
It was also primo time for conductors to spot the local fauna along the steel tracks and crossings. The time period brought urban development that encroached on agricultural tracts, brushlands, dry washes, and oak woodlands—areas where valley (California) quail thrived. Mental notes were taken, and soon these ticket counters began bringing along shotguns. During periods of empty streetcars, vacant hubs, or end of the lines, conductors would signal the car’s operator to stop along the foothills. Removing their dark-colored double-breasted jackets and rigid, flat-topped caps, they jumped off and strolled the area, hunting quail. Sometimes the conductors would be gone but for a few minutes, other instances up to an hour, thus causing angry awaiting streetcar riders.
An LA Crackdown
Word spread and soon it was common for conductors to pull the signal bell cord three times, communicating an emergency stop to the motorman that it was a good spot to hunt. Thanks to pristine habitat, valley quail were incredibly abundant and made for easy pickings. Most of the quail hunting occurred directly in or on the immediate edges of LA. Because of unregulated expansion, farming practices reached town limits, creating prime open-air urban shooting galleries that attracted large coveys of valley quail. Conductors turned impromptu bird hunters would hang strings of quail on hooks as patrons looked on at dead swinging birds. Those who rode the same lines knew where the best quail hunting grounds were along their thoroughfare, while those that moved around shared quail hotspots with fellow workers.
Meanwhile, passengers began to complain about long waits, missed, and overdue stops. Grievances made their way to the mayor, who in turn demanded the city attorney to draft a law to curtail the insubordinate behavior among quail hunting conductors. The ordinance passed quickly and made it illegal, punishable by arrest, fines, and immediate termination, for streetcar conductors from deserting their streetcars to go quail hunting.
It worked. For the most part. Though enforcement was difficult, it did scare most conductors from bringing their shotguns and quail hunting during their shifts. However, some continued hunting in secret, using the excuse they worked grueling 10-12-hour shifts, earning measly wages of $.20 to .$35 cents per hour. Stopping the streetcar every now and then to shoot quail was a bonus opportunity they couldn’t pass up to bring home some extra meat for the table. Eventually, the conductors complied and stopped quail hunting, allowing transportation business return to normal.
Still Breaking the Law: Hunting From Streetcars
A few years passed, then in 1907, the Los Angeles City Council began to review its legal archives. It found a plethora of antiquated laws and officials sought to clear the city books of silly restrictions, which included prohibitions against chained bear fights, cockfighting on public streets, and forbidding streetcar conductors from ditching their streetcars to quail hunt.
News reached the city’s streetcar operation, which was one of the largest networks in the world at the time, that the old ban had been removed. Some conductors were hard-pressed not to try their luck. One trackside guide and full-time rule breaker, Giuseppe Romano, couldn’t bear standing on open air-platforms while passing quail congregated in large flocks along his itinerary. He had to test the system. Historical court records indicate that Guiseppe snuck a shotgun onboard, and during bouts of empty streetcars, he would order a stop and hunt quail. Needless to say, Guiseppe never collected fares along the railway again. It sent a clear message that conductors who bailed on their duties would be dealt with harshly.
Side Note: The year 1907 also marked the first California Hunting License Law. The permit cost $1. Additional regulations included the start of quail season in mid-October, with a daily bag limit of 25 birds.
