Ward. — Elimination of Stream Pollution in New York 21 



throughout the United States may take care of their wastes. Some means 

 must be adopted to remedy the condition and therefore this Society could 

 well adopt as its slogan, "the reduction of stream pollution." I hope that 

 this paper of Dr. Ward's will be published and spread broadcast through- 

 out all the states of the Union. 



Mr. George D. Pratt, of New York. This difficulty looks like an 

 insurmountable one. All of the rivers of all of the states are being polluted. 

 There is no question about it. In New York we have a law which prohibits 

 the putting of pollution in streams where it is destructive to fish life. I do 

 not agree with Mr. Buller that fines and penalties do not have a helpful 

 effect. In New York they are very helpful and in our experience we 

 have found that people who are fined for pollution immediately make an 

 endeavor to improve the condition. Last week some of the people who had 

 been polluting the streams, with representatives from Cornell University 

 and the Commission met in Albany and went over this whole matter to see 

 what we could do to form a policy. 



One question that Dr. Ward brought up concerns the throwing of refuse 

 from steamers. It would be a very simple matter to pass a law absolutely 

 prohibiting steamers from throwing refuse into the water. They can con- 

 sume it just as well as not in their furnaces. 



In the case of pollution by manufacturers, we are trying to get the 

 manufacturers in and to confer with them. There is a feeling on their part 

 that they do not want to give away any of their secrets, but by a cooperative 

 spirit on their part and on that of the Commission we may get them to tell 

 each other how they can prevent pollution. 



Now pollution can be prevented, and in New York we propose to go at 

 it. It is not a question of doing it in a day. I believe if we all had laws 

 passed as was done with the railroads in regard to air brakes, etc., and give 

 these people five years to get rid of their pollution, and after that time, 

 go after them hard, that it can be done. If we all work together on this 

 problem we can clean up the situation. This organization can do no better 

 work than to attack this pollution problem. 



Mr. Wm. C. Adams, of Massachusetts. We are carrying on an interest- 

 ing experiment in Massachusetts. It is a very large question, the extent 

 to which pollution will keep fish out of a stream when they run up in the 

 spring to spawn. We have in our state a vast water system, the Taunton 

 River and its tributaries. For a number of years some of the fish ways on 

 this river have fallen into decay. This last year The Connecticut Mills 

 Company rebuilt, at its own expense, the fish way around its dam, which 

 is the first obstruction to the run of the fish on the Taunton River. We 

 have drawn the plans and provided the specifications for the installation 

 of fish ways at all of the necessary points on that entire system. 



It is argued that the fish have disappeared from this stream largely 

 from two causes: first, the disappearance of fish ways and second, the 

 presence of pollution in the streams. As far as the effect of pollution is con- 

 cerned, it appears to be a mooted question throughout the entire United 



