The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-05-29
FISH IN SAVANNAH RIVER.

For the past two or three years there
has been very great scaftlty of fish in
the Savannah River and its tributaries,
and almost no shad at all, which has
been attributed to the canal dam near
Augusta, Ga, and has been the occasion
of very general complaints OH the part
of citizens of the Savannah valley In both
Georgia and South Carolina. The mat
ter Is now attracting very warm and
earnest attention from our Georgia
friends, who are calling On the Legisla-
ture of that State for ah examination
and action. The last issue of the Elber-
ton Gazette says:
Without a practical knowledge of the
facts complained of, we know this much:
That if the distractions at Augusta are
what they are claimed to be, the General
Assembly is vested with ample authority
to remove the cause of complaint. Not
only is this true, but it is duty which
every Representative in our Legislature
fiom this entire section of Georgia owes
to his constituents to firmly and unyield-
ingly advocate and secure such investi-
CATION into the matter as would leave no
doubt remaining as to the truth or falsity
of the complaint, and govern their future
action accordingly. In the meantime we
exhort the people interested throug ghout
| this section of the State to keep this
question in constant agitation until it
shall become of such Importance as shall
prevent its being ignored by our law
makers in the future.
The Chronicle and Constitutioaaiist ad-
mits that there is every reason to believe
that few shad can pass the dam at Au:
gusta, but vindicates the action Of the
Canal Company in thus closing up the
River on the ground that they had the
right to do so under the law, and gives to
the Canal Company the following whole
some advice. which they will probably
find it to their advantage to adopt and
carry out: "In our opinion the proper
course for the City Council to pursue is
to investigate the charge made by the
citizens of the river counties, and, if
found true, to remedy the mischief as far
as it is in their power to do So"
The Mayor of Augusta claims that
there are FIVE openings in the dam, each
twenty feet wide, and that the scarcity of
shad is not caused by the dam, but by a
failure of the supply: This might have
some weight if there was the failure else
where, but, despite the Mayors assertion,
there have been great many shad in
other no more favored waters than the
Savannah, while it has had comparative
ly none. There is room for the COM
plant, and something should be done
about it. If the State of Georgia does
not remedy this matter, then we think
the Legislature of South Carolina should
investigate the charter granted by our
Legislature, in the days of Radicalism,
under which the abutment of the dam
was constructed on this side of the River.
We want more fish in this part of the
State, and will join our Georgia contem-
poraries in calling for remodelling OF
the dam at Augusta, so as to give the
shad and other fish frecr course up the
River. 1t is the duty of the Legislature
of each State to enact such additional
legislation as may be necessary to open
up this and all other large streams to the
migration of the fnny tribe.