INTRODUCTION TO THE CLASS OF FISHES 169 



destroy the most valuable bird-law ever placed in any statute- 

 book in the United States, state or national? 



The Biological Survey needs $250,000 per year with which 

 to hire wardens to enforce — all over the United States — the 

 the provisions of that law, and it is confidently expected that 

 Congress will cheerfully grant it. 



The United States Bureau of Fisheries has not entered 

 extensively into the business of procuring legislative enact- 

 ments for the regulation of fisheries, but has left the bulk of 

 that work to the various states concerned. However, in 

 view of the local obstacles now being placed in the way of 

 legitimate fish protection and propagation, it would seem that 

 the time is at hand when the Bureau must, in self-defence, 

 fight the fish-destroyers by procuring the enactment, in vari- 

 ous states, of adequate laws. For example, on December 4, 

 1913, United States Fish Commissioner Hugh M. Smith 

 made the following statement: 



"The shad in the Chesapeake basin is doomed unless the 

 states take radical action which would insure the survival of 

 at least a small percentage of the run of spawning fish." 



Now, will the states concerned bestir themselves and act 

 sensibly in time to save their most valuable fish supply — 

 and the shad is the king of all food fishes! — or will they, 

 through slothf ulness and inaction, destroy their own finest 

 fish property forever? The choice now is theirs; and they 

 can take it or leave it. 



Incidentally, I think it now has become very necessary 

 that in such cases as this the Fisheries Bureau should take 

 measures to show state legislatures the path of duty, after 



