October 15, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



365 



tain the greatest possible advantages from the 

 expenditures and efforts made. 



6. Each special problem would be organized 

 independently, the permanent secretary assign- 

 ing such -workers to it as at the moment were 

 most available. All expenses, including salar- 

 ies of workers, would be met by the interested 

 parties in each case, either industries or gov- 

 ernments. The only expense to the National 

 Research Council would thus be the mainte- 

 nance of the permanent secretary and his office 

 force engaged in the fundamentally important 

 work of tabulating and correlating existing 

 knowledge of tropical conditions and resources ; 

 and of keeping in close touch with all of the 

 many scattered institutions and workers either 

 official or otherwise who are now engaged in 

 any of the lines embraced in this vast field of 

 effort. 



■ As time went on and funds were available 

 the institution could also take up on its own 

 account such lines of investigation as were not 

 being covered by any other initiative. 



An organization such as is thus briefly out- 

 lined would certainly give the maximum of 

 elasticity and breadth of view with a mini- 

 mum of fixed charges. It is respectfully sub- 

 mitted for the consideration of the Ifational 

 Research Council. 

 ; F. S. Eaele 



ElO PlEDRAS, POKTO EiCO, 



August 23 



MILLS AND FISHWAYS 



To THE Editor of Science: Apropos of the 

 article by Professor Henry B. Ward entitled 

 "Atlantic and Pacific Salmon" in Science 

 for September 17, 1920, allow me to record 

 some observations. Some years ago I stocked 

 a stream running through my country place 

 in Connecticut with rainbow trout. These 

 trout later ran down to the estuary and could 

 not return because of two mill dams in the 

 way. Discussing the matter with old in- 

 habitants I learned that in former years be- 

 fore the dams were built farmers living along 

 the stream for a distance of fifteen miles or 

 more were in the habit of catching many 

 barrels of alewives and salting them down 



for winter food supply. These families are 

 now deprived of one important kind of food. 



Pollowing up this concrete object lesson I 

 made observations along the Atlantic coast 

 from Connecticut to Labrador. My conclu- 

 sions are as follows: 



Along the 'New England coast mills are 

 commonly the property of local stockholders 

 and these represent the influential men in a 

 locality. Their first interest is in the mill 

 and its economical management. This ex- 

 cludes the idea of the expense of a fishway. 

 Fish which formerly supplied large numbers 

 of people in the vicinity and at a distance 

 and which naturally would supply the people 

 for all time are prevented from ascending 

 streams for breeding purposes. When the 

 matter is taken up for action by a large 

 number of indignant people they find them- 

 selves in conflict with a few influential men 

 personally interested in the dam. This 

 minority has the largest degree of influence 

 with legislators. Along the entire ISTew Eng- 

 land coast such appears to be the situation 

 in relation to salmon, shad, and alewives. 



Upon reaching the Maritime Provinces of 

 Canada I found a somewhat different situa- 

 tion. The traditions of an older civilization 

 in regard to maintaining large food supply 

 prevail to some extent. They come into con- 

 flict with the mill owner and his stockholders 

 to such a degree that some of the streams 

 remain open to anadromous fish, with the aid 

 given by fishways. 



Leaving the Maritime Provinces on the 

 way northward I found a third order of con- 

 ditions prevailing. The men who own cod 

 traps and large nets are the men most in- 

 fluential with legislators. Constituting a 

 small but jwtent minority they are enabled 

 to injure food supply for the public by their 

 manner of using cod traps and large nets. 

 On some of the runways to salmon rivers the 

 cod traps appear to pick up a large part of the 

 annual run of salmon and the net fisherman 

 at the mouths of the river deplete the fish 

 supply by unlawful obstruction to the run of 

 breeding fish. 



My comments do not relate to hearsay but 



