2656 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



Q. That was when a dollar currency was worth a dollar in gold, and 

 the dollar currency is almost worth that now ; do you mean to say that 

 the cost of building vessels now is dearer than it was then ? A. I do ; 

 and it is a great deal dearer. 



Q. Why ? A. I do not know why ; but it is due, I think, to the in- 

 creased value of labor and of material. I know that these do cost more 

 now than they did then. They now cost double as much as they did 

 then. 



Q. You stated that you were interested in 8 vessels and you have only 

 named 7? A. I only fitted out the schooner Electric Flash, but I have 

 included her catch. 



Q. You were not directly interested in her ? A. No ; save only as an 

 outfitter. She was a very successful vessel, and I merely mentioned her 

 to show her catch in the gulf. 



Q. Have you thought over the question of bait, since Friday, to find 

 out whether or not the bait that is charged against a vessel, when she 

 goes on a fishing- voyage, is generally all used! A. Yes; this is the 

 case when they get a full trip. 



Q. We know, as a matter of fact, that vessels do not generally get 

 full trips ; now, suppose that a vessel gets only half a trip, and returns 

 to Gloucester, is not the bait left from that which she took with her 

 when she went on her voyage still good bait ? A. Yes. 



Q. Therefore, that voyage could only be charged with the actual 

 quantity of bait used ? A. That is all she is charged with. 



Q. What do you mean by that? A. What I say ; that if any bait is 

 returned it is credited in the gross stock of her catch. 



Q. I notice that, in the statement concerning the Oliver Eldridge, you 

 charged that vessel with 55 barrels of slivers, pogies, at 86.50, from the 

 Eclipse ; was this not previously charged to the Eclipse ? A. No. 



Q. How do you know that ? A. These pogies came from the Eclipse. 



Q. What is she ! A. A bait seiner. 



Q. You also charge 87.50 for clams from last year ? A. That was 

 credited back to a vessel last year. 



Q. Was this credited in the trip-book ? A. Yes. 



Q. Will you get me the trip-book, and show me the entry ? A. I do 

 not know what vessel it was ; but if I knew this I could show the entry. 



Q. You have the schooner Oliver Eldridge mentioned here, and it 

 must appear there ? A. It is not credited from her trip last year, of 

 course. 



Q. Surely you can tell by looking at the trip-book ? A. I can see on 

 the trip-book where credit is given under the catch of mackerel for so 

 many barrels of bait returned ; that is the way it is done before the 

 stock charges are taken out. The mackerel are credited first, then the 

 pogies returned ; the bait returned is credited under the mackerel, and 

 added in, and then comes the stock charges, which are deducted from 

 both bait and mackerel. 



Q. That may be so ? A. It is so. 



Q. The trip-book does not refer to any particular lot iu this regard .' 

 A. No; the returned bait is simply taken out of the vessels and stored 

 away. 



Q. Show me the trip of the vessel where this is credited ; as almost 

 every vessel has a short fare, such an entry must appear iu nearly every 

 account ? A. This is not always so. 



Q. Why not, if any bait is left '! A. It is so if any is left. 

 Q. Every vessel not having a full fare must have something to credit 

 stock charges; and this will make a tremendous difference in 107 ves- 



