66 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



ployees of the Bureau in Washington, in the field, and afloat. It is 

 hoped that affirmative action may be taken by Congress on pending 

 relief measures that affect the force in the District of Columbia and 

 that there may also be a readjustment of salaries throughout the field 

 service. 



A very serious situation confronts the Bureau because of the dis- 

 integration of the trained corps of specialists in all branches of the 

 service, owing to the insufficient salaries allowed by Congress. With 

 the cost of living increased at least 100 per cent in the past 10 years, 

 the bonus provided by Congress, while most desirable and acceptable, 

 must be regarded as a wholly inadequate, purely palliative, and mani- 

 festly temporary expedient. No bonus and no salary increase have 

 been' accorded an important part of the Bureau's personnel respon- 

 sible for the wise planning and' efficient direction of the work. 



The Bureau has, therefore, been obliged to submit to the loss of 

 valuable employees and the crippling of its technical staff that rep- 

 resent years of special training in order to equip them for the peculiar 

 needs of the fishery service, because of the notoriously low compensa- 

 tion allowed by Congress and the much more attractive positions out- 

 side the Government. Unskilled laborers and low-grade mechanics 

 are receiving wages that in many cases far exceed the compensation 

 allowed by law for high-grade experts in the Bureau's service, 

 while technical positions of responsibility and importance comparable 

 to those in the Bureau command salaries in private life that are from 

 two to four times those paid by the Government. 



It is therefore not strange that the Bureau shoidd have lost 

 through resignations one-third of its scientific force and that other 

 resignations therein are- pending, resulting in the disorganization of 

 a staff' that has taken years to build up, will require years to reestab- 

 lish under most favorable conditions, and can never be replaced so 

 long as the Government offers no financial inducements. In the fish- 

 cultural service, owing to low compensation, about two-thirds of the 

 statutory positions in the lower grades have been either vacant or 

 filled temporarily by old men and boys without qualifications, and 

 in many cases even incompetent persons have refused to accept em- 

 ployment at the meager rates of pay offered by the Government. At 

 one western station the superintendent and one other employee have 

 been the only members of the statutory force for more than two 

 years, while in other fields the work of important auxiliary stations 

 has of necessity been put in charge of inexperienced, temporary men, 

 or mere apprentices. 



No private establishment would be expected to function under the 

 conditions that have been confronting the Bureau for several years 

 and have become more acute each year. Prompt and radical 

 measures are now imperatively demanded if complete disorganiza- 

 tion of the force is to be obviated. 



Eespectfully submitted. 



H. M. Smith, 

 Commissioner of Fisheries. 



To Hon. J. W. Alexander, 



Secretary of Commerce. 



