FIFTIETH CONGRESS, 1887-1889. 1051 
Mr. Sreetr. Would it not be economy to defer this matter for 
a while in order to see whether a successor can not be found to per- 
form the same duty that Professor Baird did and for the same pay ? 
Mr. Dunn. The President will scarcely ‘‘search” for a Commis- 
sioner, for he is authorized to appoint one. 
Mr. Sreee. He has already made a designation, as I understand. 
Mr. Wu. L. Wiuson, of West Virginia. The gentleman from 
Arkansas [Mr. Dunn] yields to me for a few moments. As to the 
question of the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Steele], I will simply 
make this explanation, that the salary of Professor Baird was never 
paid out of the Treasury or by the Government of the United States. 
As Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, elected by the Regents of 
that Institution, not appointed by the President, he was paid out of 
the income of the Institution. He was designated as the head of the 
Fish Commission, and for his services in that capacity he received no 
salary whatever. 
Professor Baird’s successor as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion has been selected by the Regents, and is performing his duties. 
This Fish Commission has grown to such an extent that the adminis- 
trative work requires an executive officer at the head of it. It will be 
no longer proper to devolve the duties of the head of this Commission 
upon an officer paid out of a private fund, and who, having been 
selected for his high scientific abilities and attainments, can not prop- 
erly be required to give to the administrative duties of an office like 
this the time and attention which they demand, and who is not expected 
to have the special qualifications which would fit him for work’of this 
character. 
While on the floor I will say only one other word with reference to 
the appointment of a head for this Commission. By the language of 
the bill it is provided, I observe, that the President shall appoint as 
Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries a person of scientific and practical 
acquaintance with the fish and fisheries of the coast. The gentleman 
from Arkansas [Mr. Dunn] informs me that this language has been 
modified so as to include the inland waters of the country. With the 
respect which I have for Professor Baird’s memory and which I had 
for him while he was living, I would be the last man to make any crit- 
icism upon the past management of the Fish Commission; but I think 
there is danger that the scientific side of this question may be given a 
prominence not designed by Congress in the establishment of this Com- 
mission. I do not understand that the appropriations made by Con- 
gress for this work, amounting to several hundred thousand dollars 
per annum, and increasing from year to year, are given for the purpose 
of investigations in natural history. In my view, the work of this 
Commission is designed to be economic and practical, looking to an 
increase of the food supply in the fisheries of the United States. The 
