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vauia will jointly do sometliiug. I was personally 

 acquainted with some of the leading fish commis- 

 sioners. When Major McKinley was Governor he 

 came to Toledo and sent for me, and asked me whether 

 I would go on the fish commission. I told him no, I 

 would not. I will tell you why. The Ohio Legisla- 

 ture does not recognize the five fish commissioners. 

 Last summer they appointed a committee to go to 

 Toledo, to go to Vermilion, to go to Port Clinton and 

 Sandusky, to examine the fisheries. They ignored 

 the fish commission, the}' ignored men who are con- 

 nected with the American Fisheries Society in the 

 position I am for the protection of fish, and they went 

 to these places and were banqueted by these commer- 

 cial men who are interested financially in the subject — 

 the committee was banqueted and taken care of and not 

 permitted to see any one that represented a class of 

 men whose interests in the fisheries were on a higher 

 plane than financial considerations — and this class of 

 men is backed b}' all the newspapers of the city of 

 Toledo, and the committee went home and arranged 

 matters to suit the commercial interests. Congress- 

 man Southard, from our district, has brought the mat- 

 ter up again, and says he is in communication with 

 Governor Bushnell, and has his approval ; and we want 

 to follow this thing up closely, and we want to know 

 whether a reorganization of the fish commission of 

 Ohio will not do something. I have been correspond- 

 ing with Mr. Southard, and told him that the Legisla- 

 ture should recognize the commission, or else throw 

 the commission out and begin anew. 



The resolution that was passed here a little while 

 ago appointing a member of this Societ}^ from each 

 state to take an interest in this thing and see that the 

 fish commissioners are recognized, if I remember cor- 

 rectly, I think would do a great deal of good. The 

 last two or three months I have taken a personal inter- 



