REPORT OF COxMMISSlONEK OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 63 



all relevant to the subject-matter of the iuvestigation. and great care was exercised 

 to secure a full and impartial iuvestigation of the x>ending charges without favor to 

 anyone. 



The testimony so taken and submitted with this report comprises over 6.50 printed 

 pages, so that, in order to facilitate an examination of the same, your committee 

 have prepared, and herewith submit as a part of this re))ort, a synopsis of the testi- 

 mony, indexed and arranged under separate topics, witli references by page to the 

 printed volume of testimony, which, as your committee believe, renders any lengthy 

 detailed report entirely unnecessary. 



It will suffice to say, in a general way, th.at not one of the charges affecting the 

 administration of the affairs of the Commission, or the standing and integrity of any 

 official connected therewith, has been proven to have any foundation in fact what- 

 ever; further, that after a most searching examination into the administration of 

 the affairs and methods of the Commission, your committee are satisfied that there 

 has not been extravagance, dishonesty, or inefficiency in its conduct; but, on the 

 contrary, throughout the entire Commission the most perfect system and discipline 

 prevail, resulting in an economical and judicious expenditure of the appropriations 

 made by Congress. 



The profligate use of money, as complained of, is not a charge which can be made 

 against the present Commissioner and be sustained. The increase of the expenses of 

 the Commission is entirely due to the enlarged field of work. 



Aud right here your committee beg to call particular .attention to the testimony 

 (pp. 339 to 346) for a full statement of the work of the Commission in the jiast and 

 ■what it is doing to-day. 



We find that the Commissioner has not used the boats, fish-hatchery stations, or 

 other property of the Government for purposes not within the scope of the work of 

 the Commission. It is true that members of Congress and others have been invited 

 to visit the stations and inspect the work of the Commi8si(m, but such visits have 

 resulted in no expense to the Government, and it appears from abundant ^iroof that 

 where entertainment has been provided njion the occasion of these visits it has been 

 at tlie private expense of the Commissioner. 



The charges of intemperance, when fully examined, narrowed down practitJally to 

 a specific charge that one certain official, upon a single occasion, drank liquor and 

 became intoxicated. The testimony is not of such a character as to create the im- 

 pression upon the minds of the respective members of the committee that the official 

 was in. the habit of using, even occasionally, stimulants to an excess, or in any such 

 Avay as to unfit him for his duties. The party himself denies the charge of ever 

 being intoxicated, and a numl)er of reputable witnesses who had been intimately 

 associated with him swear unqualified! j^ that the man was uf»t of intemperate habits. 



Respecting the allegation that tiie records of the Commission have been falsified 

 for the puri)oso of showing a greater number of fish planted in the lakes and rivers 

 than was actually the case, your committee have to say that the records of tiie Com- 

 mission in the matter of the distribution of fish and eggs are kept in such a manner 

 as to almost iireclude a possibility of anything of the kind, but beyond that, it satis- 

 fact<u"ily appears from the showing made that the records respecting this ))ranch of 

 the work have been ke])t with a conscientious regard for the truth. Equally ground- 

 less are the charges that the Couniiissioner has been governed by political (.'ousidera- 

 tions in the matter of appointments to positions iu the Commission, or that he is 

 guilty of the charge of ne])ofism. 



It is true, as has been charged, that the force of assistants employed in connection 

 with the work of the Conmiission has been increased over the number employed in 

 former years, and that there has been a corresp<mding increase in the cost of main- 

 taining it; but it must l)e remembered that during the fiscal year ending .June 30, 

 1887, there were but twelve fish-hatihing stations in operation, while during the 

 year ending June 30, 1890, there were twenty-one; also, that the production of eggs, 



