American Fisheries Society 301 



I quite realize that commissioners cannot take part in 

 politics, but I presume that members of this Society can 

 give lectures, and here is the very point that I wish to bring 

 to your attention. I understand that the funds of the 

 Society are not great; that you have no means of getting a 

 fund of any great proportions ; but, on the other hand, there 

 are many of you who are capable of giving very interesting 

 papers or delivering lectures that would appeal to laymen. 

 In the smaller towns in the various States and Provinces 

 there are usually societies which have halls for the purpose 

 of giving educational lectures. Now, if a publicity com- 

 mittee was organized by this Society and volunteers were 

 called for from among the members of the Society to help 

 in this work, I believe that by the delivery of interesting 

 papers, not of a technical kind but of a nature likely to 

 appeal to the general public, much could be accomplished in 

 the direction of stimulating that public to take an interest in 

 fishery questions, and consequently to demand and secure 

 the proper enforcement of the fishery regulations. 



One of the basic facts I mentioned in connection with 

 the present unsatisfactory state of the fisheries was the 

 insufficiency of the salaries paid to the fishery officers. This 

 is, I believe, directly to be attributed to the basic cause of 

 the little interest taken in the question of the fisheries by the 

 public and the general lack of appreciation of its importance. 

 Where the general mass of the people do not look upon a 

 natural resource as very important, it is only to be expected 

 that the majority of the subordinate officials of the depart- 

 ment concerned with that resource should not be paid 

 sufficient salaries. Once again, if you can interest the public 

 in these matters, the whole department will be viewed in a 

 more serious light and its officers will receive more reason- 

 able consideration in the matter of pay. 



Then as to the unsuitability of the men employed as 

 fishery overseers : I do not know your methods here, but I 

 fancy that, after all, our systems of government and our 

 general political schemes so closely resemble each other that 



