Joke 20, 1896.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
409 
very strong, and when he takes the notion and gets going 
in the strong water you must go with him, in fact to get 
ahead of him is the only way you can land him. 
Mr. Mitchell, of Norwich, had ten fish last week and I 
heard he added ten to his score in three days of this week. 
I gave him fifty for a total score, with which 1 know he 
will be satisfied and he will get them, I hope. Some new 
blood is on the river. Mr. Ayer, of Bangor, Dr. Jarvis, of 
Hartford, are well up river. Mott, Hoi brook and Ried, of 
New York, are doing well on the Dawson water; a new 
party is also on the Metapedia River, up which runs the 
I. C. R. You may safely put this season down as the red- 
lettered one for angling on the Restigouche, 
John Mow at. 
Lake Champlain Fishing. 
Rouse's Point, N. Y., June 11.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: The largest fish that, to my knowledge, was ever 
taken with line and hook from this end of Lake Cham- 
plain was captured a few days ago by James Brennan, 
while fishing for bullheads from a boat tied to the C. V. 
R. R. bridge. 
"Mr. Brennan had made a good catch of bullheads, and 
was cleaning them before starting for home. He had one 
line in the water while dressing his fish, and this line be- 
gan to run out at a rate that quite frightened him. He 
thought at first that he had hooked the great Lake Cham- 
plain sea serpent; but after one hour's hard work he man- 
aged to kill his fish, which proved to be a rock sturgeon 
weighing 831bs. 
I have the fish mounted, and will be pleased to show it 
to any of the great family of Forest and Stream readers 
that may happen this way during the summer. 
The hass and pike fishing here at present is very good. 
Good strings of pike are being brought in every day; but 
I am sorry to say most of the bass were taken out 6f sea- 
son. W. McComb, Jr. 
Loon Lake in Maine. 
Loon Lake, Rangeley, Maine.— Mr. E. A. Fanwell 
returned home Wednesday. He had great sport fishing 
at Loon Lake; in one hour he caught twenty-five trout, 
the largest weighing 2ilbs. (a very handsome trout), and 
he is having it mounted. Mr. H. H. Bates while at Loon 
Lake caught over 200 trout and saw seven deer in the 
lake at one time. Mr. George York is having fine suc- 
cess fishing, in half an hour he caught fifteen, largest l^lbs. 
Fishing never was better. This is a fine place to spend 
your vacation; each person or family can have a camp by 
themselves and all the comforts of camp life. 
R. S. York. 
Cayuga Lake Sturgeon and Muscallonge. 
Ithaca, N. Y., June 13. — A sturgeon weighing 321 bs. 
was caught on the 11th inst. in the Ithaca Inlet. Thie is 
the heaviest fish taken from local waters in recent years. 
At Union Springs, one day recently, a 16lb. muscallonge 
was taken by a native from the wilds of Auburn, N. Y. 
M. Chill. 
§zme mid ^isJf §rokcfion. 
FISH AND GAME PROTECTION IN 
NEW JERSEY. 
BY H. P. FROTHINGHAM. 
[Read before the America!) Fisheries Society.] 
I have been asked to present to you my views on the 
progress made in the protection of fish and game in the 
State of New Jersey, and I shall do so in as brief and 
still comprehensive a manner as possible. It would be 
useless for me to say anything to you, gentlemen, on the 
necessity of such protection, and consequently I shall at 
once proceed to give you my views as to why fish and 
game are not better protacted in New Jersey; and I feel 
confident that a, great deal of what I shall say pertaining 
to New Jersey will apply to a considerable extent also to 
other States. 
The average citizen generally pictures to himself as 
the worst enemy of fish and game the man who goes 
skulking through the forest looking after traps, or, armed 
with a gun having a caliber of a 101b. cannon, destroys 
everything that presents itself in fur or feathers. Then 
we also hear of the man who sneaks to the river shore at 
night with huge nets and with one sweep captures 
enough fish to supply the fish markets of New York for a 
week. Again the picture is presented to us of the farmer 
who jealously guards his property against all trespassers 
in order that his revenue may be increased by unsports- 
manlike methods of taking fish and game. From still 
another quarter comes a cry that if fish wardens were 
more vigilant violators of the law would be fewer in 
number. To offset this there arises a cry that wardens 
are unmerciful, and frequently enforce the laws to the 
letter where common sense would dictate the exercise of 
clemency. 
Now I have no doubt whatever that if we could do 
away with all these objectionable features there would 
be more fish and game and more happiness generally; 
but in my opinion we must look further for the causes 
which tend at the present day toward the decrease of fish 
and game, and among the first and greatest of these 
causes I should class injudicious legislation. In the halls 
of our legislatures protection to fish and game is not al- 
ways the impulse which actuates the lawmakers in pass- 
ing laws pertaining to the protection of fish and game. 
Too frequently laws are introduced and passed for the 
purpose of attaining some private end, or for the purpose 
of gratifying some particular friend of one of the legis- 
lators; and although these laws, as applied in the partic- 
ular cases which gave rise to their enactment, may be 
harmless, they too frequently do mischief in localities for 
which they were not intended. Then again there is at 
times a disposition on the part of the lawmakers to go too 
far — to provide penalties out of all proportion to the 
character of the offense sought to be punished. What is 
to be thought of a law, for instance, which provides that 
corporations which disturb the habits of fish shall be im- 
prisoned for two years, and which gives every justice of 
the peace in the State the right to impose this penalty? 
Under this law a justice of the peace in Squedunkville 
was empowered to send to State prison the Erie Railroad 
Company, the Standard Oil Company, or any other cor- 
poration, officers, directors, stockholders, agents and all, 
for having interfered with the spawning of a sucker. 
Still this law existed on the statute books of New Jersey 
during the present generation, and the commissioners 
and wardens were by virtue of their oaths of office sup- 
posed to enforce it. I might call attention to other laws 
equally ridiculous which you will find on the statute 
books of some of the States, but I trust there is no need 
of my citing any others for the purpose of explaining my 
meaning. A law in order to be properly enforced must 
be respected; it must be free from those absurdities 
which frequently serve as a justification on the part of 
the general public for a continued violation of a great 
many of our laws. The public is very quick to perceive 
the motive of a law, and if this motive does not command 
respect you cannot hope that the law will do so. If a law 
is passed for the benefit of a certain individual or a class 
of individuals, or if its enactment is dictated by politics, 
it at once becomes inoperative to a certain degree, and, 
what is worse, the odium attaching to one law is apt to 
taint all others. Friends of proper fish and game legisla- 
tion may camp out in the corridors of our State capitols, 
within easy gunshot of the Senate, the House of Assem- 
bly and the Executive Chamber, but in spite of all their 
watchfulness some obnoxious features are almost sure to 
creep into laws pertaining to fish and game. Eternal 
vigilance may be the price of liberty, but you cannot ob- 
tain consistent fish and game laws at the same bargain. 
The next evil concerning which I desire to say a few 
words is the direct result of the foregoing. Inconsistent 
legislation conveys the idea to the mind of the casual ob- 
server that fish and game laws are passed for the benefit 
of a very few and to the injury of the masses. Thus in 
New Jersey a great deal of fault is found with the laws 
governing the taking of fish by the use of nets in the in- 
land tide waters. These laws are more numerous even 
than the bodies of water to which they apply, for some of 
the creeks have different laws every few miles, and what 
is lawful on the north shore of a bay may be criminal on 
the south shore. This inequality of regulation gives rise 
to numerous complaints, and I cannot say that the ma- 
jority of these complaints are not well founded. The 
Commission at the last session of the Legislature attempt- 
ed to secure the passage of a uniform law concerning tide 
water; our wardens had ascertained the desires of the 
people living along the sea coast, and it was presumed 
that the proposed measure would meet with little opposi-. 
tion. We felt confident that the vast majority of those 
directly interested approved of the law as suggested by 
the Commission, but it was this large majority that re- 
mained at home, confident that their interests would be 
taken care of; on the other hand, each individual who 
wanted some privilege not enjoyed by his neighbors 
under the old laws, and each man who thought he knew 
all about salt-water fish and their habits because perhaps 
he might have smoked herrings or made fish barrels for a 
year or two, hurried to Trenton, and altogether there was 
such a din of opposition that the legislators buried the 
measure in committee. The result is that particular lo- 
calities and certain individuals enjoy privileges not com- 
mon to all, and the impression continues that our fish and 
game laws are not made for the benefit of everybody, but 
that they confer special rights on a favored few. Our 
laws pertaining to shad prohibit the taking of this fish on 
Sundays, and the law is a very wholesome one, as it per- 
mits the shad to ascend to their spawning ground unmo- 
lested for one day in the week. This law is objected to 
by some because Delaware, our neighboring State, has no 
such restrictive legislation. Jerseymen complain that 
they are not accorded the rights enjoyed by their com- 
petitors in Delaware. They seem unmindful of the fact 
that the circumstances in New Jersey are wholly differ- 
ent from those in Delaware, that the shad water over 
which the latter has control is small "compared to the 
Delaware River, and that laws which apply to the bay 
would not be suited as well to the river. Still there is 
here an apparent inconsistency, sufficient to afford an op- 
portunity to the carping critic. 
Unfortunately the faults in the fish and game laws are 
ever being paraded before the public. What is true of 
the law protecting food fish is also true in a measure of 
the laws protecting fish whose principal use is to afford 
sport for the angler. Thus in New Jersey, on account of 
its geographical position, there is a continual contention 
between the gunners of the northern and of the southern 
parts. The former want an early open season and the 
latter prefer to do their shooting later; and both are 
right, for there is a difference of two or three weeks in 
the seasons between the two sections. No matter how 
the law is framed, it will be partial to one or the other. 
It is consequently not at all a matter of surprise that peo- 
ple should argue that fish and game laws are made for 
certain localities and individuals; and not until people 
alter their opinions, and are taught to believe that fish 
and game laws are passed for the benefit of all, that they 
are not intended to be restrictive of the liberty of any 
person or class of persons, but that their sole object is tbe 
preservation of animals for the enjoyment of all who love 
sport, will our fish and game laws receive that support to 
which they are justly entitled. 
Another evil working against the proper enforcement 
of the law, and one bearing a close relationship to the 
foregoing, is the method of conducting politics at the 
present time. Too frequently are laws dictated by politi- 
cal influence, and too frequently are appointments inter- 
fered with in the same manner. Men who are appointed 
to office, and who are desirous of doing all in their power 
for the protection of fish and game, are hampered by the 
power of politics, and this is frequently too great to be 
ignored. Concessions to those in nigh political authority 
are necessary at times, and men intrusted with the en- 
forcement of the laws are required at times to wander 
from what they recognize as the strict path of duty for 
the purpose of placating a power which, if offended, 
might wipe out the entire machinery of fish and game 
protection. This may not be a pleasing statement to 
make, but I am willing to leave it to anyone who has had 
experience in the enforcement of laws whether he has 
not at times felt the influence of the political boss, and 
whether such influence was not prejudicial to the cause 
of sport. 
In connection with legislation and the enforcement of 
the laws I desire to say a few words concerning the atti- 
tude of the newspaper press of the State, and I say with 
perfect frankness that the newspapers have been with us 
on general principles and opposed to us in nearly every 
particular. This may seem strange, but it is easy of ex- 
planation. The average human being desires to see the 
perpetuation of ueeful animals of all kinds, and conse- 
quently favors such restrictive or prohibitive legislation 
as may be necessary to attain that end. It is on this ac- 
count that the press supports laws and measures advocat- 
ed by the Commission, and we have no better friends 
than editors and reporters. But let a violator of the law 
be brought to book and another tale unfolds itself. The 
idea of protecting fish and game is all right, but the man 
who is called upon to pay twenty dollars for having killed 
a rabbit or a song bird is certain to have the sympathy of 
a great many people, and this sympathy is almost always 
reflected in tbe columns of newspapers. The general 
principle is lost sight of in the extending of sympathy; 
the warden's side of the story is not sought for, but every- 
thing that may extenuate the circumstances of the of- 
fense is dwelt upon, and in nine cases out of ten it is 
made to appear that the prosecution was unjust and un- 
called for. The editors of newspapers and a great many 
other people seem to be in the position of the character in 
the play who was in favor of the law, but against its en- 
forcement. 
In relation to the men who violate the letter of the law 
I shall have very little to say. The wardens appointed by 
the Commission have been doing some very good mission- 
ary work; their general terms are $20 a lesson, although 
the price charged varies with the conditions of the occa- 
sion. I have known cases where wardens out of sympa- 
thy for some poverty-stricken offender contributed to- 
ward the payment of the fine and costs, and I have 
known cases where unusually stupid pupils were "kept 
in" for ninety days. Perhaps two little stories just recur- 
ring to my mind may give you some idea as to the char- 
acter of violators of the law in New Jersey. A warden had 
made a complaint against a man for having taken three 
trout under the legal size; the accused promptly admitted 
his guilt and inquired of the justice how much his experi- 
ence would cost him. ' 'Sixty dollars and the costs of prose- 
cution," was the reply. ' 'That is rather a high price to pay 
for three little trout," replied the offender, as he reacned 
down into his pocket for his wallet. "I should say so," 
chimed in one of those individuals who are so frequently 
found in courts of justice; "I tell you, these fish and 
game laws are nothing but outrages on the public; they 
are made for some brownstone front dudes with silver 
thing-um-ma-jigs to go fishing, and they are nothing but 
robbery as far as the poor man is concerned." The de- 
fendant stopped for just one instant in the exploration of 
his pocket, apparently astonished at the interference, and 
then produced the necessary funds and liquidated his in- 
debtedness to the State. Then, turning to his would-be 
defender, he said: "I think, my friend, you are mistaken. 
The fish and game laws are all right, and I should have 
known better. Even if there were no law against the 
taking of small trout, I ought to have known better; for 
I am old enough and have fished enough to know that if 
all the little fellows are taken out there will never be any 
big ones. The game laws are made for the poor more 
than for the rich, for the rich can go to Canada or the 
Adirondacks and get all the fishing and hunting they 
want; but the poor have to stay at home, and these men," 
pointing to the warden, "are trying to preserve some fish- 
ing for the poor man. It serves me just right, and I 
know you are wrong. Come, Warden, have a drink with 
me." 
In another case a warden was called upon by a well- 
known guide from Greenwood Lake, who said to him: 
"Mr. Warden, I wish that you would prosecute me. I 
have been keeping a set line in the water and don't want 
you to arrest me." "Had you not better wait until I se- 
cure the evidence?" inquired the warden. "Oh, no," was 
the reply; "I have done wrong and I am willing to pay 
for it. Besides that you will get the evidence fast 
enough, and then I'll have the bother of going through 
this when perhaps I have less time than I have now. Be- 
sides that, I don't want to have those fellows up there 
say that I have been arrested, and so I want to square up 
now." The warden did not exactly like the turn affairs 
had taken, but the guide insisted, and so the warden ac- 
cepted the amount of the fine and costs. On the follow- 
ing morning he appeared before the justice of the peace 
and as warden complained that a certain guide had vio- 
lated the law; as attorney for the accused he entered a 
plea of guilty and paid the penalty stipulated by law. 
I have said, gentlemen, that our wardens have done 
some missionary work, and I think you will agree with 
me as to the quality of this work when you see that it 
made a defender of the laws out of a man who was pay- 
ing $60, and that it touched the conscience of a Green- 
wood Lake guide. The violators of the law, gentlemen, 
are with us. Now if we can convince the people that fish 
and game laws are passed for the benefit of all, and that 
the faults of these laws are not due to their principle, if 
we can induce the politicians to keep their hands off, and if 
we can persuade the press to give us a consistent support, 
the cause of protection for fish and game will be mate- 
rially advanced. A campaign of education among the 
masses will be more fruitful of good results than the ap- 
plication of the rigors of the law to the offenders. 
Forest and Stream, published at New York, comes to us regularly, 
and each issue is fail of interest. It recalls to us the many pleasant 
days we have had in mountain fastnesses pulling the speckled beauties 
from the cold, rushing waters, or toiling up the side of some rugged 
slope. It is refreshing to turn from hard mental labor to the perusal 
of the pages of this papers To those who love to hunt and fish and 
climb, the paper will always be welcome, and the way in which it 
champions the protection of wild game has won for it the confidence 
of sportsmen everywhere. — Illinois Wesleyan Magazine. 
The Forest and Stream is put to press each week on Tuesday 
Correspondence intended for publication should reach ut at the 
atest by Monday, and as much earlier a* practicable. 
I FOREST AND STREAM OFFICE 
346 Broadway 
NEW YORK LIFE BUILDING 
'? Present Entrance on Leonard Street 
