SOME REASONS FOR FAILURE OF FISH PROTEC- 

 TIVE LEGISLATION AND SOME SUGGES- 

 TIVE REMEDIES 



BY OREGON MILTON DENNIS, FORMER STATE GAME WARDEN OF 

 MARYLAND, OF BALTIMORE, MD. 



In speaking of the subject of "Some Reasons for Failure of 

 Fish Protective Legislation and Some Suggestive Eemedies/' I 

 want it distinctly understood in the beginning, that, while my 

 language may appear to be harsh and my criticism severe with 

 reference to some causes for the failure of the passage of proper 

 and effective fish protective legislation, I am dealing with this 

 subject in generalities, and without particular reference to any 

 person or protective association. 



I have come to^ the conclusions which follow, after very care- 

 ful deliberations, and shall deal with it as I have with every oth- 

 er matter with which I have had to do, — in an honest and fear- 

 less manner — ^my sole purpose being to aid in fish protection, 

 and pointing to some of the reasons why it has failed. 



A long experience as secretary and council of a large pro- 

 tective association, and as the state game warden of Maryland, 

 as well as a legislative experience, has, I believe, fully qualified 

 me to express some opinions on the subject matter of this paper. 

 Of course, this experience has been gained in my own state, and 

 what I shall say will deal largely with the conditions in that 

 state, a state having the richest bodies of water, commercially, 

 in this country. 



The political division of Maryland in the representation in 

 the legislature, through its county members, places the control 

 of legislation within the power of the countries, notwithstanding 

 the fact that while more than one-half of the population is cen- 

 tered in Baltimore City, the latter only has about one-fourth of 

 the delegates. I mention this because very largely protective in- 

 fiuences originate in the city of Baltimore, and its chief protec- 

 tive association is there, composed of men who, whether intelli- 

 gently or not, frame the bills that are presented to the legisla- 



