19 
A large part of the increased yield is doubtless due, however, to a mere 
enlargement of fishing operations, illustrated by the data for 1894 and 1899 
which show that the number of men employed increased in this interval 
by 44 per cent and the capital invested by 441%4 per cent. This favorable 
condition of our fisheries is doubtless due in part to natural conditions, and 
evidently also in great measure to state legislation effectively controlling 
the times and methods of capture, and providing for the recovery and res- 
toration, to streams suitable for. their maintenance, of fishes left stranded 
on the river bottoms by the retreat of the waters of the overflow. 
It will be seen from the foregoing that the Illinois river, with its tribu- 
tary lakes and streams, is by far the most important fishing ground within 
the boundaries of Illinois, that this stream and its dependencies are gifts or 
nature to the State, valuable in many ways, which we should fully appre- 
ciate and utilize to the best advantage, allowing no single interest to de- 
stroy or overshadow any other. Measures for its utilization as a sewage 
outlet for great cities and as a commercial highway between the Mississippi 
and the Great Lakes, and for the reclamation of its enormously fertile bot- 
tom lands, should not be taken without due regard to its importance and 
promise as a perpetual source of cheap and healthful food to the people of 
the state and country. 
