iind their way to market. Such are always taken when found by the 

 wardens thiis cutting off t'litnre shipments and discouraging the 

 tishernien' f roni taking them. 



To say that your commission has escaped criticism would not be 

 true. From the very nature of our work it is impossible for the 

 commissioners to give personal attention to all the details of the work 

 so far removed from them in most instances, but must depend 

 largely on wardens and on the local interest taken in the protection 

 of fish. We are frequently accused of favoring one class as against 

 the other, or that we are losing sight of the sportsmen in our ett'ort to 

 protect, when under proper restriction, a legitimate business and a 

 great one, and in some localities special effort has been made to call 

 your attention to our alleged short comings in that direction, and by 

 a large number of people. On the other hand, a rigid enforcement of 

 the law, although along the most considerate lines possible with the 

 commission, complaint has frequently reached you, and through you 

 ourselves, that we were bearing down too hard on the commercial 

 fisherman in the interest of the angler. More or less newspaper 

 criticism as to our work and methods reaches us, but we hope to be 

 able to show results that will justify our work. Standing as we do 

 between both interests so largely apart as to methods, we have tried 

 to use judgment without the least prejudice or favoritism, so far as 

 we are able to accomplish it. 



The steamer Illinois, through the courtesy of the General Assem- 

 bly, is now in shape to produce the best of results in patroling the 

 rivers and is an indispensible adjunct in protection of fish in the 

 rivers proper; staunch, fast and particularly adapted for such work, 

 with a crew selected for the iJur^DOse, we have been able to reduce 

 violations of the law along the rivers very materially. 



During the season after close season, we collect the young fish 

 from overflows for distribution and when season is favorable can 

 produce best of results. Not only the fish that are used for distribu- 

 tion, but the hundreds of thousands of coarse fish are transported to 

 rivers from overflowed lands, render the work of immense value and 

 give back to the deeper waters what ultimately becomes tons of good 

 food when properly protected. We note the unusual interest taken 

 in obtaining and controlling large bodies of the overflowed lands 

 along the river for preserves, thus assisting materially in the pro- 

 tection and care of fish. 



This season of 191)4, under the patronage of the Illinois 

 Commission to Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and by courtesy of 

 the U. S. fish commission, in the V. S. fish commission building at 

 St. Louis, we gave a fair showing of our commercial fishes, together 

 with our game fishes indigenous to Illinois. Very favorable comment 

 has been made of our exhibit. Acknowledgement of courtesies from 

 both is given in another place in report. 



Taken as a whole we feel that the two seasons have been the best 

 we have had — our work is becoming systematized, its purpose, scope 

 and importance better understood, and instead of a "fad" it is one of 

 vital importance to Illinois, in that it has made waste places produce 

 food for the common ijeople and given to those who love it as good 



