TALES OF FISHES 



Clemente Island, the sister island to Catalina, 

 was once a paradise for fish, especially the beautiful, 

 gamy yellowtail. But there are no more fish there, 

 except Marlin swordfish in August and September. 

 The great, boiling schools of yellowtail are gone. 

 Clemente Island has no three-mile law protecting 

 it, as has CataKna. But that Catalina law has be- 

 come a farce. It is violated often in broad day- 

 light, and probably aU night long. One Austrian 

 round-haid netter took seven tons of white sea-bass 

 in one haul. Seven tons! Did you ever look at a 

 white sea-bass? He is the most beautiful of bass — 

 slender, graceful, thoroughbred, exquisitely colored 

 like a paling opal, and a fighter if there ever was one. 



What becomes of these seven tons of white sea- 

 bass and all the other tons and tons of yellowtail 

 and albacore? That is a question. It needs to be 

 answered. During the year 1917 one heard many 

 things. The fish-canneries were working day and 

 night, and every can of fish — the whole output had 

 been bought by the government for the soldiers. 

 Very good. We are a nation at war. Our soldiers 

 must be properly fed and so must our allies. If it 

 takes all the fish in the sea and all the meat on the 

 land, we must and will win this war. 



But real patriotism is one thing and misstatement 

 is another. If there were not so much deceit and 

 greed in connection with this war it would be easier 

 to stomach. 



As a matter of cold fact, that round-haul netter's 

 seven tons of beautiful white sea-bass did not go 

 into cans for our good soldiers or for our fighting 

 allies. Those seven tons of splendid white sea-bass 



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