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certain criticisms were made in reference to these methods, 

 these gentlemen said : "You blame the administration. It 

 is not the administration that is to blame ; it is the fact that 

 the people do not take much interest in this question. Go out 

 and interest the people first and then we will see if we cannot 

 vote higher salaries for our officials and put the system on a 

 more businesslike basis." 



Again, all too often offenders against the fishery regula- 

 tions, who are taken red-handed in some infraction of the 

 laws, are able to use certain influences by which they succeed 

 in escaping the legal penalties. If the general public took a 

 greater interest in the whole question, such juggling with 

 justice would not be tolerated. It is not allowed in the case 

 of the customs. Why, therefore, should it be permitted in 

 the case of the fish and game department ? 



As to the effect of lectures : I am a layman as far as 

 scientific fish culture goes. I joined this Society in the hope 

 of educating myself in this direction. I remember listen- 

 ing at Erie, Pa., to that brilliant paper by Dr. 

 Birge on "The Respiration of an Inland Lake." Now that 

 paper was a beautiful thing. It was, first of all, a literary 

 gem. Secondly, it contained a great deal of information 

 that would be interesting to a mixed gathering. Why 

 should not that paper have been read in many parts of the 

 continent? It was in no sense parochial, but, on the con- 

 trary, of wide, almost universal, .applicability. Mr. Whip- 

 ple informed us last year at Syracuse that he had given a 

 lecture or an address on about 100 nights in each year that 

 he held office, and he traced on that occasion the effect of 

 those lectures in the greater readiness that the legislature 

 had displayed in voting him supplies. I can well credit 

 this, for the wishes of the people must, to some extent at 

 least, be reflected in the actions of the executive. 



If in pointing out to you the value of popular education 

 I can convince the Society that it might be worth while next 

 year to consider the question of establishing some descrip- 

 tion of publicity department, not with a view of spending 



