818 
It is 
our belief that freedom of thought and ac- 
conclusions of which would be final. 
tion and permanent tenure of office are so 
important for the advancement of science 
that no scientific officer, whether of a uni- 
versity or under the government, should 
be removed except on the ground of incom- 
petence publicly proved. 
President McKinley may, indeed, judge 
that incompetence in the present Commis- 
sioner has been publicly proved by his 
record prior to his appointment and by his 
conduct of the Commission, and if he has 
reached this decision it would be hard to 
question its justness. The appointment was 
unfortunate, as is admitted by every one; 
and while the Commissioner has since 
learned somewhat of the practical work of 
hatcheries, it does not appear that he is 
willing to take scientific advice in regard to 
It must 
also be remembered that the education of 
the conduct of the Commission. 
the Commissioner, as far as it has pro- 
gressed, has been very expensive, costing 
the government perhaps as much as to 
train a hundred young men until they were 
competent to fill the position. 
Apparently the efforts of the Commis- 
sioner have hitherto been directed to col- 
lecting the largest possible quantity of eggs 
in order that he may announce the num- 
bers in his annual reports. Thus the last 
annual report states that 128,000,000 lobster 
eggs have been collected during the year, 
being an increase of 46,000,000 over the 
numbers for 1895. We are not, however, 
told how many of these eggs were killed at 
the hatcheries, and the Commissioner is 
probably not aware that in taking the eggs 
SCIENCE, 
[N. S. Von. VI. No. 153. 
from the hen lobster he materially inter- 
Scien- 
tifie research has demonstrated that the 
fered with their chances of survival. 
lobster in berry, whose capture is prohibited 
by law, can care for the eggs far better than 
would be possible in any hatchery. To 
collect them as is done is analogous to 
taking all the babies born in New York 
City and depositing them in a baby farm. 
It is true that much might he accomplished 
by collecting the eggs in regions where they 
are abundant and depositing the young 
where the lobster has been nearly extermi- 
nated ; but the Commissioner states explic- 
itely ‘that he believes in following nature 
as closely as possible, by depositing the 
young on the ground from whence the eggs 
are taken.’ 
Even at present the Fish Commission 
is performing a useful work in some direc- 
tions, such as the distribution of shad fry, 
with results that more than repay the en- 
tire expense to the government of the Com- 
mission. Butitisnow living, not on income, 
but on capital. The scientific knowledge 
of the development, life histories and habits 
of fishes acquired when the Commission 
was directed by Baird, by Goode and by 
MacDonald is being used, but not increased. 
The efficiency of the hatcheries and of 
methods of distribution cannot be advanced 
or even maintained, and it is impossible to 
extend the work in needed directions, as to 
the oyster. It would be ignoble to depend 
on the work of foreign nations and investi- 
gators, even were it directly applicable to 
But, indeed, 
the present Commissioner has not the 
the conditions of our coast. 
knowledge to ‘convey’ what he cannot 
