Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-03-22

From the New York Times.
An earnest friend of morality has just invented
a self-regstering tish-hOOk, which he is now
cndeayOring to bring to the attention of the
clergy. The end of the tish-hoOk to which the
lire is usually attached slides over long and
flexible metallic shank provided with an inge-
NOUS index. or, rather series of induces
When u fish is caught and lifted from the water
by means of the hook and line alone, the weight
OF the fish causes the hook to slide q certain dis
tanCe upon the flexible shank which distance is
automatically marked by an index. Thus the
weight Of every fish is accurately mea .ured and
as the lndiceS cannot be tempered with unless
the hook is removed, and as the hook cannot be
replaced unless all the induces are first moved
back to the places occupied by them before any
fish was caught, it is practically impossible for
the fisherman to register more fish than he
actually catches
An invention which compels fishermen to tell
the truth as to the number and weight of fish
caught by them would be of ineStimabe ya!ue
to the morals of community. There is no
doubt that the inventor of the self-registerinp
1ish-hoOk has no object in view except that of
checking the flood OF piscatorial falsehOod which
spreads over our land every summer and the
suggestion that he is a designing politician who
hopes to injure President Arthur's boom by les
SEEMING the weight and number of the fish caught
by the President on his spring fishing tour is I'M
worthy of credit. Whether the clergy will aid
mains to be seen, and it is very certain that the
sporting Methodist ministers, who never 20 fish
ing without catching at least one ten-pound
trout will denounce the invention as being
wholly without Scriptural warrant.
While the Strengthening fsh-hOOk will I'M
doubtedly accomplish much good it cannot be
denied that ii is not all that could be desired
The fisherman, 1t is true cannot lie about the
weight Of the fish brought home by him with
out detection, but what certainty can be felt
that the fish have been caught by the fisherman
himself? The owner of a self-registering fish
hook can buy forty pounds of trout from
| small boy; he can attach them one by one to
| the hook, and on lis return can exhibit the fish
and his self-registering hook and calmly claim
that he caught the trout up back of 'SGuire
| HickoX' woods" Or fisherman having fairly
caught forty pounds of catfish may throw
| them away and substitute for them forty
| pounds of trout bought Mt the market Wicked
men can thus beat the self-registerng fish-hOok
as thoroughly as wicked car conductors heat
| the bcl-punch and the only real service which
| 1t can render to morality will be to render it
Impossible for the fisherman to claim credit for
| the 'ftteen-pound trout which he hooked Int
| which got away from him.
The truth is that fishing and morality can he
! reconciled only by the sternest laws. All fish,
| ermen should be compelled to have their fish
| weighed by public officer and any fisherman
claiming to have caught fish as to the weight
of which he cannot show certificate signed by
| the public wegher. should be deemed guilty of
a msdemeanor and punished therefor. In This
way it will be possible to keep fishermen within
| the limits of truth, but no self-registernp fish
| hook or other ingenious device can be expected
| to change the hearts Of habtual and hardened
| fishermen.