502 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Sometimes when dealing ^vith a canner who is insistent upon seeing 

 justice done to the members of the oriental gang, and the number of 

 these is increasing rapidly, an effort is made to camouflage these 

 gambling debts by charging them up on the books as clothing or 

 goods furnished the worker. 



As a result of these evils, a number of the cannerymen have discon- 

 tinued the practice of making Chinese contracts and deal directly 

 with their men. When this is done, it is but rare to hear of a strike 

 due to food supplied, as the cannerymen, when the matter is put 

 directly up to them, realize that the only way in which they can 

 expect adecpiate work from their employees is by seeing that they are 

 given the proper kind and ciuantity of food and that they operate 

 under decent working and living conditions. 



A few of the cannerymen who still retain the old system endeavor 

 to eradicate so far as possible the evils of it by a close supervision over 

 the food supplied the men and by having a representative present at 

 the season's pay-off in order to see that no attempt is made to cheat 

 the men out of their wages. Unfortunately, however, some of them 

 feel that they have done their full duty when they have made a con- 

 tract with someone, no matter what his financial responsibility may 

 be, and have paid him the agreed upon sum at the end of the season, 

 doubtless feeling that the rest is the concern alone of the men. 



In a very few instances the members of the oriental gang are still 

 shoved into inadecpiate and insanitary quarters aboard ships, and at 

 the canneries are housed in quarters which are a disgrace to any 

 modern packing plant, but, fortunately, these conditions, as stated, 

 prevail now with but comparatively few of the companies. The old 

 "China" house, in which was housed the whole oriental gang like 

 rabbits in a warren, has been largely superseded by cottages, each 

 housing from 8 to 16 men, and these are numerous enough to permit 

 of the various nationalities flocking by themselves. Bathing facilities, 

 with hot and cold water, are fairly common, and opportunities for 

 washing clothing are frequent. 



FISHERIES OF BOUNDARY WATERS 



Waters which form the boundaries between States or between 

 nations, and in which fishing is carried on by the citizens of both, 

 have almost always proved bones of contention, and the Pacific 

 coast has been no exception to the rule. 



WASHINGTON AND OREGON 



The Columbia River, which forms the boundary between Oregon 

 and Washington, aft'ords a typical example of the evils which can 

 result from a division of responsibility between two States. For 

 many years each State enacted laws regulating the fisheries of the 

 river with very slight regard usually to laws already in force in the 

 other State. As a result of this the fishermen transferred their 

 residence for license purposes from State to State as the laws of one 

 or the other best suited their particular purposes. 



The fishermen and packers also were in apparently irreconcilable 

 conflict as to the proper means to be taken to conserve the fisheries, 

 and each session of the legislatures saw strong lobbies present to 

 work for certain selfish ends, while the few earnest men who had the 



