THE COMMISSION OF FISH AND FISHERIES 429 



Memorandum as to the Relations of S. F. Baird to the 



U. S. Fish Commission. 



The Commission was established in 1871 with myself 

 as Commissioner, solely for the purpose of investigating 

 the alleged decrease of the food-fishes of the seacoast and 

 lakes of the United States and its causes and remedies. 

 The service was expected to occupy only the summer 

 months of one or two years, requiring comparatively 

 little trouble and responsibility, and an appropriation of 

 $5000.00 was made for the purpose the first year. 



The law expressly stipulated that no compensation 

 was to be paid to the Commissioner for this work. 



In 1872 the subject of fishculture was added to the 

 work to be done by the Commission and an appropriation 

 of $15,000.00 was made for continuing the enquiry of the 

 food-fishes and meeting the cost of the new division. 



Year by year the appropriations were increased, the 

 scope of the work enlarged, and the labors of the Com- 

 missioner amplified in proportion; until, including the 

 appropriations for the year 1886, the total amount appro- 

 priated from the beginning reached the sum of over two 

 million dollars. The average amount of time required of 

 the Commissioner exclusively for the duties of the Com- 

 mission is not less than six hours a day, mostly in the 

 early morning and in the evening after the office work of 

 the Smithsonian is completed. 



The Commission is organized on a business basis cor- 

 responding to that of other bureaus of the Government, 

 although more completely than most of them. The corre- 

 spondence of the Commission is enormous; the letters 

 requiring the attention of the Commissioner amount to 

 at least 15,000 per annum, exclusive of circulars and blank 



