156 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
so well protected and restocked by artificial propagation as to give assurance that fishing in Maine 
will be better and still better as the years go and come. 
Something has been said here about the constitutional right of a State to enact restrictive or 
protective laws regulating the times in which and the circumstances under which inland fish and 
game may be taken. That question has fortunately been settled for all time in the United States. 
The United States Supreme Court in a late decision has declared that the people of a State, in their 
sovereign capacity, own the fish and the game within its borders, and may say through its legislature 
how, when, and where the game and the fish may be taken and disposed of; in other words, the legis- 
lature may give a qualified property right or ownership to fish and game lawfully taken. We have 
found by experience that protective laws are necessary, and that these laws must be enforced. Why, 
do you know that down in Maine if a person is shot by another while hunting it is called an accident, 
but if a person shoots a moose or a caribou unlawfully we imprison him four months “without the 
benefit of clergy.” 
As true disciples of Isaak Walton we propagate artificially the trout and the salmon, and, aided 
greatly by the United States Fish Commission, we are constantly making the fishing better, and the 
multitude is constantly growing larger who come among us, and let me say, though I am no prophet, or 
the son of a prophet, but only a down-east Yankee, that in these times of wages growing less and still 
less, and the army of the unemployed constantly being augmented, the Congress of the United States can 
display wise statesmanship by giving earnest attention to the improvement of fishing, better fishing 
to those who go down to the sea in ships, better opportunity to secure this good, wholesome food, 
greater opportunity to willing hands to engage in this great industry. Dollar wheat may be a bless- 
ing to the farmers of the West, but it means dearer bread to the toiling millions, but better than 
dollar wheat would be a greater abundance of fish and game and enlarged opportunities to our laboring 
people to engage in this great, important, and growing industry. 
The committee on resolutions reported organization by the election of Hon. H. O. 
Stanley, of Maine, as chairman, Hon. Edward Thompson, of New York, as vice-chairman, 
and Mr. W. E. Meehan, of Pennsylvania, as secretary. The committee also presented 
a resolution calling for a statement at each session of the program for the next session, 
which was adopted. 
The secretary gave notice of a complimentary excursion to the Manatee Eiver 
provided for the delegates by the Tampa Board of Trade on Saturday, January 22, on 
the steamer Margaret ; also a trip on the U. S. Fish Commission steamer Fish Haivk 
on Tampa Bay, for exhibiting the methods of deep-sea dredging, etc. 
The following telegram was read : 
Omaha, Nebr., January 20, 189S. 
Unable to be present at meeting of Congress, but send greeting and invite all members to visit 
Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition at Omaha during meeting of American Fisheries 
Society third Wednesday in July, current year. 
W. L. May, 
President American Fisheries Society. 
The following letter from Mr. A. Milton Musser, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was 
read by the secretary and discussed by Mr. Edward Thompson, of New York: 
It would give me great pleasure to attend the Fishery Congress, were it possible for me to do so. 
For the information of the managers I will give brief data respecting the Utah fish industry. 
The native fishes consist of mountain trout, Williamson’s whitefish (both very choice), suckers, chubs, 
and mullets; more suckers than all others put together. 
During my labors for the Territory and the State as fish and game commissioner, I introduced 
from the East and West and planted in our public waters some 11,000,000 of choice fishes. Most of these 
were gifts from the general government, and consisted of whitefish, shad, black bass, rock bass, perch, 
crappie, sunfish, speckled, rainbow, and lake trout, catfish, eels, carp, etc. We hope soon to have an 
abundant supply of the best of these fishes for home consumption and sale to our neighbors. We have 
not yet attempted to increase our supplies by artificial means. Our legislators thus far have refused 
to appropriate funds for a public hatchery. Long ago I came to the conclusion that the only way to 
