24 SEVENTH REPORT OF THE SHELL FISH COMMISSIONERS 
aid of Mr. Bogart, to complete the maps. After that the expense 
of running the Commission may be reduced to a very low sum, 
for then a clerk can do almost all the work of the office. And 
right here it is due to Mr. Bogart, the enginneer of the Commis- 
sion, that some comment should be made upon the vicious slur in- 
volved in the questions put by the author of these reasons. 
Mr. Bogart has been with the Commissioners from the begin- 
ning of their work. He was recommended to the Commissioners 
by Professor Brewer, Governor Bigelow, and others competent to 
judge. He has fully justified their flattering recommendations; 
and the Commissioners have no hesitation in saying that, after so 
long and intimate an acquaintance with Mr. Bogart and his work, 
they know him to be an honest, capable and efficient engineer. 
They have found him equal to the tasks set before him. He may 
have his peculiarities, but they are not such as make him the 
ready servant or tool of any selfish or designing man. ‘There is 
not a shadow of reason for this cruel attack upon his personal and 
professional character, and we venture to say that where one thus 
vilifies him and his work, there are hundreds who speak in his 
praise. ‘The salaries and engineering last year did amount to 
$5,704.54; but this included the expenses of the field party, which 
cost a considerable portion of this sum. With Mr. Bogart alone, 
and with no work in the field this year, they will not be half as 
much. So that to the question whether such services are worth 
$5,704.54 per year, the Commissioners answer, “ Yes, last year; ”’ 
but “ No, this year.” 
‘Has the Commission treated our claims of deduction on our 
“assessments fairly?” 
They say, Yes, they have; and no claims more fairly than those 
of the circulator, if not the author, of this petition and the reasons 
accompanying it. 
“We are willing to pay a fair income to the State, but do we 
“want to pay twice what we are now paying, and the State get 
“none of it?” . 
“Willing to pay a fair income!” What does the gentleman 
call a fair income? ‘The Commission put the tax last year, as we 
have already stated, at about eleven cents an acre on an average 
through the State, and this year at about six cents an acre. If it 
were put lower, it would but little more than pay the expense of 
making the list, reviewing it and collecting the money. The cir- 
culator or author of these reasons has hundreds of acres of the 
