Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1866-01-20


in the Susquehanna river aud its tributaries
was unopposed. The immediate effect OF
these dams was the destruction of the cx.
istcncc in the Sdsquehanna river. . .rt..
[ For years it was supposed that there werc
no remedial means at hand to restore an in.
tcrcst which had been so profitable to those
| who pursued 1t, and so beneficial to those
! Ccpendant upon its production for n Dor.
/ tion of the supply of daily food; but the
| triumphs of science and the Development
OF mechanism have demonstrated that
| Willie these dams Grc necessary as feeders
/ for the most important canals in the State
! their architectural construction can he So
| altered as in no measure to interfere with
| the original purpose for which thcv were
erected, by the addition Of "steps" and the
| formation Of 'sluccs" in the dams or the
! Snsqueinnna river and its tributaries, the
! passage of fish will he facilitated and TN.
obstructed fr"m the mouths of such streams
to their remOtesr sources. .f
ind ThcycaS, The fisheries in The Susoue-
hanna river, before they were destroyed 10y
the erection of dams therein. contributed
not meiciy source whence the people were
! supplied with cheap food, but created reyc-
nues which ut one time composed no mean
portion of the wealth of the twenty four
{
river flows In 1860 the twonty-four coun.
ties washed BY the Snsquehanna river con.
tuined population OF S5l ,5O2; deprived
of the resources of the fisheries, this popula.
tion lost supply of cheap food, and thus
were subjected to dcprivations which could
not he renedicd by any Of the natural re-
sources of the same region. In many of the
counties on the Susquchanna river the old
fisheries afforded employment for large
number of people, and doubtless if these
sources of labor haI not been DESTROYED the
improvements and developments which
have increased the value and Importance of
other industrial pursuits would have render
ed these fisheries at the present Gay II lead
ing interest in the wealth producing opera
tiOns Of the Commonwealth;
ind ishcrdts While we disclam all pur-
pose of intcrirrin,, with the vested rights Of
corporations or the invested capital of indi-
viduals, we believe it to be the duty of the
people to proceed in their efforts to secure
the alteration aud improvements of the
dams now ohstructing the fisheries of the
State by pctiIioning the Legislature to en-
act such laws rs viii bring about these re-
suits. The alteration to afford passage
for ish over or through the dams thus OBJ
structing the fisheries will in no degree in
terferc with practical purposes contemplated
by their erection. On the contrary, while
the feeding Of canals dependent for water on
these streams will be uninterrupted, the
business of our railroads must be more or
less increased by the revival of an Old pur
suit of labor in gathering Il restored natural
product by the new stimulus Afforded for its
development and the increased demand on
its supply;
Aad ehercGs, Whatever serves for food TO
the people, and a''oTe all to the working
masses, deserves the attention of the states
man, and any practice that will tcnG % a.
ance of the phiIanthropist therefore,
Resolrel That we, the delegates to this
Convention, representing population Of al
most onethird that OF the entire State, do
respectfully to the fact that great obstruc-
tions now exist in the Susquehanna river
and its tributaries. by which an important
natural resource Of wealth has been impair
ed in va ne. and the onerati"" "f "hich mas
been to inhiCt severe blows to class of
hardy and industrious people who are there
by ruthlcssly deprived of their Legitimate
employment, while the lahoring pour, who
make up the population of the villages and
towns along the Susquchanna river, are cut
OFF from the healthy article of cheap food.
ResolreR, That the experience of the past
four years, when by unnatural and violent
circumstance, the markets of the country
were subject to the intluance of panics,
adnonishcs the people everywhere 20 use
every means in their power for the pr0tcc-
tion and the development of their sources
for the supply of cheap food. BY this means
only can the masses be protected from
speculation, as with prosperous sources for
the supply Of the necessaries OF life, the
markets can be so regulated rs to prevent
imposition and the imitation cf the pnccs of
food.
RsS2lrel, That the distinctions to the
fisheries IN Pennsylvania, which have upcr-
atcd so long injn:iously to the people Of the
State, are not the only nuisances of like
character which have existed in this coun-
try. When the competition in manufactures
induced the investment of large capital in
the Eastern States, the prolific streams in
those localities were OhstructCd with dams,
erected for the creation of water powers for
the use Of such enterprises, the pressing
wants % the people thus deprived of their
interest in the fisheries Of those eastern
streams produced wide spread agitation,
the result of v hich was the alteration and
improvement of SAID dams, the revival of
the fisheries, and the restoration of cheap
food. The people OF Pennsylvania only ask
that those who now make use of the waters,
which flow through the Commonwealth,
shall take advantage OF the facilities afford
ed by science, and apply the benefits of the
skill of mechanism in restoring II blessing
given by God, which for time has been SO
unnaturaly interiered with.
ResolceF, That we earnestly recommend
to the consideration, and adoption by the
Legislature, of bill similar i'll its provisions
to the following:
An act relating to the passage Of fish in the
Susquehanna river and its tributaries.
BE ii enacted Sc. SEC. /. 1t shall be the
duties of the several companies and corpora
tious having and maintaining dams, or of
any dams hereafter, on the SuSqrehanna
river, and the two branches thereof that is I,
TO say, from the line of the Slate of Penn T,
sylvauia on the North Branch thereof, and !
from Farrandsville, on the West Branch !
thereof down to, and by the main stream |
to the Maryland line, and on the Juniata !
river from IIollidaysburg and Bedford to |
the Susquehanna river Mt Duncannon, or
Duncan's Island, to make, maintain and |
keep up at each of said dams a slaice or ,
sluices for tue free passage Of fish, which \
said sluices on the dams erected and kept /
up on the main stream, from, and including |