American Fisheries Society. 21 
ing your annual session here at this beautiful spot, the old 
“White Sulphur,” and asking me to come and see you. I prom- 
ised I would, but when the time came it was almost impossible 
for me to be present; but inasmuch as you gentlemen had come 
to our state, I wanted to meet and say to you that in behalf of 
our people we are very glad to have you with us; and we give you 
the warmest sort of southern welcome. 
We are not only glad to have you with us at this time, 
but we hope that your session here will be so pleasant that you 
will come back and see us again in the future. 
Now I do not know very much about the fish business. 
All of you individually and collectively know a great deal more 
about that than I do, and hence I will not undertake to lecture 
you about something that you know more about than I do. 
That would be presumption on my part. But I understand, 
gentlemen, that this is a very important industry. I don’t 
know; I have not the statistics here to show what it is worth 
to us in dollars and cents; but it is worth something to us in 
other ways beside the mere intrinsic worth. . Now West Virginia 
used to be quite a little state—not because I am Governor; it 
became a great state before | was Governor, and I hope it will 
be a greater one when I quit being Governor. ‘That is my am- 
bition. But West Virginia is not a small state in territory. 
I say to my friend in Rhode Island, that it is somewhat larger 
than even Rhode Island. (Laughter.) It is not quite as large 
as Wisconsin in territory, but states ike men, are not judged 
from their size. I do not say this in detriment to my friend, 
the commissioner. (Laughter. ) 
Mr. Bowers: You haye no business to look at me when you 
say that. 
Gov. Dawson: Nor to my friend, the Hon. Charles F. 
Teeter, whom we are glad to have with us today, but I say that 
in defense of myself. Self-preservation is the first law of na- 
ture. West Virginia is to be judged first by the men produced, 
hke our fish commissioner, and our senators and congressmen, 
and then it is to be judged by the material things it produces. 
United States could not get along well without West Virginia. 
Take West Virginia out of existence in the union and you would 
