American Fisheries Society. 93 
states in the union are looking to better their system of fish prop- 
agation (at least to better the administration part of it) and if 
your plan is a good one, others will want it. 
I should think a fish commission that met only four times a 
year would be absent minded. I believe such a commission should 
meet oftener and get more closely in touch with the work of the 
executive branch such as that done by the superintendents of 
hatcheries and other superintendents. 
Mr. Meehan: I think the members of the Board of Fisheries 
Commission who are all present except one, will bear me out in 
the statement that they are quite able to keep in touch with the 
work of the department. 
As to the time when this new order of things was inaugu- 
rated I stated in my paper that it was begun a year ago. 
Mr. Peabody: We have here representatives from New York 
and Michigan and also Rhode Island and Connecticut and other 
states, that have fish commissions quite like the one in Wiscon- 
sin, and I would like to hear this matter discussed by them. 
Mr. Meehan: There is a danger in a matter of this kind, 
and that is the danger of politics. If you have but one man 
there is more likelihood of his being pulled or swayed than if 
you have half a dozen. There is many a man looking for a job 
who would see in the salary of the commissionership of fisheries, 
that it had a certain salary, and would say, “it is good” whether 
he knew anything about the work or not. 
Mr. Peabody: That danger might be averted if we were al- 
ways as successful in choosing a political commissioner as when 
the President chose Mr. Bowers who has proved to be one of the 
most efficient and capable United States Fish Commissioners 
that we have ever had. (Great applause.) 
Dr. Bean: I am from New York and I would lke to say 
something about this carp (great laughter and applause) which 
my friend from Pennsylvania has declared an outlaw. I have no 
objection to his calling the carp names, but I want to ask Com- 
missioner Meehan why he limits this outlawry to the carp, when 
Pennsylvania has 160 kinds of fish and nearly one-third of them 
