THE COMMISSION OF FISH AND FISHERIES = 429 
Memorandum as to the Relations of S. F. Baird to the 
U.S. Fish Commission. 
The Commission was established in 1871 with myself 
as Commissioner, solely for the purpose of investigating 
the alleged decrease of the food-fishes of the seacoast and 
lakes of the United States and its causes and remedies. 
The service was expected to occupy only the summer 
months of one or two years, requiring comparatively 
little trouble and responsibility, and an appropriation of 
$5000.00 was made for the purpose the first year. 
The law expressly stipulated that no compensation 
was to be paid to the Commissioner for this work. 
In 1872 the subject of fishculture was added to the 
work to be done by the Commission and an appropriation 
of $15,000.00 was made for continuing the enquiry of the 
food-fishes and meeting the cost of the new division. 
Year by year the appropriations were increased, the 
scope of the work enlarged, and the labors of the Com- 
missioner amplified in proportion; until, including the 
appropriations for the year 1886, the total amount appro- 
priated from the beginning reached the sum of over two 
million dollars. The average amount of time required of 
the Commissioner exclusively for the duties of the Com- 
mission is not less than six hours a day, mostly in the 
early morning and in the evening after the office work of 
the Smithsonian is completed. 
The Commission is organized on a business basis cor- 
responding to that of other bureaus of the Government, 
although more completely than most of them. The corre- 
spondence of the Commission is enormous; the letters 
requiring the attention of the Commissioner amount to 
at least 15,000 per annum, exclusive of circulars and blank 
