, 1884-04-19
A MORAL INVENTION.
u IN ----HAD
Something Which viii Check tho
Flood OF Piscatorial Falsehood
rAe seir-ReristorIne Fbh-Hook. an
Invention That win Unaoubt-
eddy He Productive n
Very Great Good.


A@N' AAANI
An earnest friend OF morality has Just in
vented a self Registering fish hook, which hs
Is now endeayoring to bring to the attention
of the clergy. The end Of the fish-hook 70
which the line is usually attached slides over
n long and flexible metallic shank provided
with an ingenious index, or, rather, a series
Of indices. Whom n fish is caught and lifted
from the water by means Of tho hook
and line alone, the weight OF the fish
causes the hook to slide u certain dis.
lance upon the flexible shank, which
distance is automatically marked by
an index. Thus the wei ht OF every fish IL
accurately measured, and as the indice5 can
not be tampered with unless the hook is re.
moved. and as the hook cannot be replaced
unless all the induces are first novel back u
the place occupied by them before any fish
was caught, it is practically impossible for
lhe fisherman TO register more fish than he
actually catches.
An invention which compels fshermeu
10 tell the truth us to the number and
weight OF fish caught by them would 10
Of lies Unable value to tho morals OF a
community. There Is no doubt that tbs
ins.ntor II the seif-registering fish hook
las no object In view except that of caecx-
ing the Hood OF piscatoriAl fnlsehood which
Kpieads over our land every hummer, and the
suggestion that he is u designing politician
who hopes To injure Presi tent Arthur's
boom. by lessening the weight Anl number
OF the hsh caught 10y the president on his
spring fishing tour Is unworthy Of credit.
Whether the clergy will aid in this effort to
promote piscatOrial truth remains to be seen,
but 1t is very certain that tho sporting
ministers who never go fishing with
out catching at least one ten-ponnd
trout will denounce the invention as being
wholly without scriptural warrant.
While the self-registering fsh-hook will IN
doubtedly accomplish much good, it cannot
be denied that it is not all that could be do
sired. The fisherman, 1t is true, cannot lie
about the weight of the fish brought home by
him without detection, but what certainty
can be felt that the fish have been caught by
the fisherman himself The owner Of n self.
registering tish-hook can buy forty pounds OF
trout from a small boy; he can attach them
one by one TO the hook, and on his return
can exhibit the fish and his self
registering hook and calmly claim
that he caught the trout up back Of Squire
Hickoxs woods Or a fisherman. having fairly
caught forty pounds OF catfish, may throw
them away and substitute for them forty
pounds of trout bought at the market.
Wicked men can thus beat the ~sslfregister-
ing fish-hook as thoroughly as wicked car
conductors beat the bell-punch, and the only
real service which 1t can render to morality
will be to render it impossible for the fisher
man to claim credit for the --hfteen-pound
trout which ho hooked, but which got away
from him"
The truth is hat fishing and morality can
be reconciled only by the sternest laws. AL
fishermen should DO compelled to have their
hsh weighed by "A public officer, and any
fisherman claiming to have caught a fish rs
to the weight of which he cannot show a GER.
tihcate signed by the public weigher should
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor aud pun
ished therefor. In this way it will be posi-.
BILE to keep fishermen within the limits OF
truth, bot 10 self. registering fish.hook or
other ingenious device can be expected To
change the hearts u hAbitual and hardene
fishermen.