POLLUTION OF STREAMS 

 A General Discussion 



Mb. N. R. Bxjllee, Harrisburg, Pa. : Stream pollution is a matter of 

 great importance to every person interested in the conservation of fish. 

 On account of great industrial activities and mining operations the streams 

 of Pennsylvania are, perhaps, in worse condition than those of any other 

 State. This is one of the greatest questions confronting the State today, 

 both in regard to the welfare of the fish and the health of the people. The 

 manufacturing interests and the railroads admit that it is a question 

 involving a great deal and one that is extremely difficult of solution. The 

 State Department of Health has jurisdiction over pollution, in so far as the 

 sewage of cities is concerned ; but the laws exempt the drainage from 

 mines, tanneries, and other industrial establishments. The Department of 

 Fisheries has under its authority the mining and industrial waste, but the 

 laws are inadequate. Our law as it stands today prohibits anyone from 

 emptying into the streams any deleterious substance. Unfortunately the 

 fine for violation is only $100, which does not meet the situation. The 

 courts have never sustained the Commonwealth in any prosecutions of 

 mine operators. They always refer to a famous decision given in the 

 early days of mining, known as the case of Sanderson vs. the Common- 

 wealth of Pennsylvania. That decision held that the owners had the right 

 to fiow mine waste into a stream, as there was no other place for it to 

 flow. Mine waste is probably more poisonous to the streams than any other 

 waste we have. Without better laws it will be a long time before much 

 can be accomplished^ regarding purification of streams. As long as sewage 

 from cities is allowed to flow into the streams, the flowage into the same 

 waters of acids which neutralize or kill the germs is the only thing that 

 prevents serious epidemics. A suit is pending between the Pennsylvania 

 Railroad Company and the Mellon interests, the result of which is awaited 

 with much interest. The railroad has a $25,000,000 water project in 

 jeopardy in case the Mellons open up the mines at its head. While the 

 legislature has authorized the Department of Fisheries to employ 65 men 

 in this branch of the service, it has never yet appropriated more than 

 sufficient money for nine men, who naturally cannot accomplish a great 

 deal. This entire question can never be settled unless there is better 

 legislation and concerted action by the people interested. It must be 

 threshed out through cooperation and education. 



Mb. M. L. Alexandeb, New Orleans, La. : This is one of the most im- 

 portant questions pertaining to our fisheries. In the summer of 1921 Mr. 

 Hoover called a conference at Washington to consider two questions, stream 

 pollution and control of migratory fish. He invited the commissioners and 

 representatives of the Atlantic Coast and Gulf States, possibly 100 of 

 whom were in attendance, and the matter was gone into very exhaustively. 

 Resolutions were adopted and the final conclusion of the conference was 

 that the question of stream pollution should be properly controlled by the 

 Federal Government, largely for the reason that such pollution is not 

 only brought about by the industries located along the inland streams but, 



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