American FisJicvics Society 55 



in the streams in interstate waters, which cannot be con- 

 trolled by any individual state, and the other the problem of 

 pollution and public health. Take the Ohio River, for 

 instance, or the Potomac or the Mississippi — no one state is 

 able to control the fisheries or the waters of these rivers. 

 So in order to secure proper control of the fisheries, federal 

 control is suggested. A very potent factor is that pertaining 

 to public health. George Shiras 3rd puts it very properly, 

 it seems to me, when he says that if the matter reaches 

 the supreme court it will uphold any decision on that line: 

 that the federal government properly has jurisdiction over 

 all interstate waters in so far as navigation, fisheries, and 

 public health are concerned. Thus if it should ever come 

 about you can see that the question of pollution of inter- 

 state streams becomes an easy one to handle, just as Penn- 

 sylvania is now handling the question, but it perhaps can not 

 be controlled on the New Jersey side. 



Mr. ]\Ieehan : We have passed some concurrent laws with 

 New Jersey. 



Dr. Evermann: Well, that is good. One result of the 

 agitation for better control of interstate waters has been 

 an effort on the part of the states concerned to get together 

 and enact concurrent legislation. This has been particularly 

 noticeable in the Columbia River region, where Oregon, 

 Washington, and Idaho have been making a very heroic 

 effort to enact concurrent legislation which will protect 

 properly the fisheries of the Columbia River. Of course it 

 makes no difference how the thing is brought about. The 

 federal government will be just as well satisfied if Oregon 

 and Washington can control the Columbia River properly 

 as if they should fail to do so and leave it to the federal 

 government eventually. 



Rut the hopeful outlook is this, that through agitation of 

 the question adequate control of interstate streams will l)e 

 lirought about in the not very distant future. Whether it 

 will be exercised by the state or federal government is a 

 matter of secondary consideration. (Great applause.) 



