4 
442 SPENCER FULLERTON BAIRD 
and energy. This made congressmen vote him all the 
appropriations that he asked for; for it was a common 
saying at Washington that Congress gave Prof. Baird 
everything that he wanted. Like a good general, he had 
the personal welfare of his men at heart while he was 
Fish Commissioner, and they in turn wanted to do every- 
thing in their power for him, which, doubtless, was one 
of the secrets of his great success. It is a fact that his 
employes in the Fish Commission would voluntarily 
work a great deal harder for Prof. Baird than they would 
for themselves. This fact accounts for another saying 
prevalent at Washington at that time, that Prof. Baird’s 
men were the busiest workers in all the departments. It 
was the inspiration of this patient, disinterested, tireless, 
kind-hearted and lovable man whose work they were 
doing, that made them work so well, and also made their 
work a pleasure. 
It is unnecessary to say that Prof. Baird possessed 
extraordinary mental endowments, but I perhaps may 
mention one or two, as they are so rare. He had a quick- 
ness of apprehension that sometimes seemed almost super- 
natural. For instance, he would glance down a printed 
page and comprehend in a moment what would take 
others several minutes to read. 
He had a marvelous memory, not only retentive of 
everything intrusted to it, but quick to call up anything 
that was wanted when it was wanted—a quality which 
most of us know well how to appreciate. His mind was 
also of the clearest type. No complications ever seemed 
to confuse him; he never became involved during his 
conversation, no matter what were the intricacies of the 
subject. His mind, like his placid temper, never seemed 
