ms) F 
£ REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 63 
all relevant to the subject-matter of the investigation, and great care was exercised 
to secure a full and impartial investigation of the pending charges without favor to 
anyone. 
The testimony so taken and submitted with this report comprises over 650 printed 
“pages, so that, in order to facilitate an examination of the same, your committee 
have prepared, and herewith submit as a part of this report, a synopsis of the testi- 
mony, indexed and arranged under separate topics, with references by page to the 
printed volume of testimony, which, as your committee believe, renders any lengthy 
detailed report entirely unnecessary. 
It will suffice to say, in a general way, that not one of the charges affecting the 
administration of the affairs of the Commission, or the standing and integrity of any 
official connected therewith, has been proven to have any foundation in fact what- 
ever; further, that after a most searching examination into the administration of 
the affairs and methods of the Commission, your committee are satisfied that there 
has not been extravagance, dishonesty, or inefficiency in its conduct; but, on the 
contrary, throughout the entire Commission the most perfect system and discipline 
prevail, resulting in an economical and judicious expenditure of the appropriations 
made by Congress. 
The profligate use of money, as complained of, is not a charge which can be made 
against the present Commissioner and be sustained. The increase of the expenses of 
the Commission is entirely due to the enlarged field of work. 
And right here your committee beg to call particular attention to the testimony 
(pp. 339,to 346) for a full statement of the work of the Commission in the past and 
what it is doing to-day. 
We find that the Commissioner has not used the boats, fish-hatchery stations, or 
other property of the Government for purposes not within the scope of the work of 
the Commission. It is true that members of Congress and others have been invited 
to visit the stations and inspect the work of the Commission, but such visits have 
‘resulted in no expense to the Government, and it appears from abundant proof that 
‘where entertainment has been provided upon the occasion of these visits it has been 
at the private expense of the Commissioner. 
The charges of intemperance, when fully examined, narrowed down practically to 
-aspecific charge that one certain official, upon a single occasion, drank liquor and 
| became intoxicated. The testimony is not of such a character as to create the im- 
| pression upon the minds of the respective members of the committee that the official 
| was in the habit of using, even occasionally, stimulants to an excess, or in any such 
\way as to unfit him for his duties. The party himself denies the charge of ever 
| being intoxicated, and a number of reputable witnesses who had been intimately 
associated with him swear unqualifiedly that the man was not of intemperate habits. 
Respecting the allegation that the records of the Commission have been falsified 
(for the purpose of showing a greater number of fish planted in the lakes and rivers 
[than was actually the case, your committee have to say that the records of the Com- 
| mission in the matter of the distribution of fish and eggs are kept in such a manner 
jas to almost preclude a possibility of anything of the kind, but beyond that, it satis- 
| factorily appears from the showing made that the records respecting this branch of 
' the work have been kept with a conscientious regard for the truth. Equally ground- 
‘less are the charges that the Commissioner has been governed by political considera- 
‘tions in the matter of appointments to positions in the Commission, or that he is 
i guilty of the charge of nepotisin. 
It is true, as has been charged, that the force of assistants employed in connection 
\ with the work of the Commission has been increased over the number employed in 
former years, and that there has been a corresponding increase in the cost of main- 
‘taining it; but it must be remembered that during the fiscal year ending June 30, 
| 1887, there were but twelve fish-hatching stations in operation, while during the 
t year ending June 30, 1890, there were twenty-one; also, that the production of eggs, 
be 
‘ 
