New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-12-16
PISC1TORTdL REFLECTIONS.

We have already advcrtcd 10 tho singular cir
| c,ims,ancc that issucs Of vcracity were raised
at the recent meeting in this city of Fish COM
missioncrs AMI others interested In piscatoral
| pursriis II is well known. of course, that no
class of citizens indulge to such an extent as
the persons referred to in the intellectual
| pasiime known as Swapping lies But under
the courtesy Of fishermen, which antedatcs by
several centuries tie recently abrogated "colr-
tesv of the Senate" the custom has been from
| time immcmorial 10 accept all statements re-
car,ing the size of fish or abundance OF eaten,
| and all narratives OF personal adventures WITH
! hook line bob. sinlcr. spear. harpoon. seine or
| scoop-nct as absolutely veracious. So much 80
| that no man who knows Il "mummychuS from
| Il mermaid ever ventures TO call in question the
| accuracy of any detail Of fish story or init
| MAZE that veritication by witnesses or sworn
ailidavits would hcighten its credibility. This
wc understand 10 be an established fact. To
say that statement has iishy smell Tor
instance such statements rs emanatei from me
Treasury Department during the silver debate
or from the Postofiice Department concerning
Civil Service Reform. or from llokc Smith on
pensions, or from Secretary Gresham on Ia
wall or from the President on the Van Allen
affair all of which We're very generally so
charactcrizcd-is simply TO say that they stand
alone far above the need Of corroboration or
any advcntitous support
1t was consequently with shock Of surprise
that our citizens read a day or two ago in the
report Of the proceedings Of the piscatoral per
sons that an issue of ycracity had been raised
over the simple and ingenious narrative Of the
Philadelphia delegate who found mcnhadcn so
thick on the Jersey coast that it was only with
difficulty that he could row Il boat through
thoin The weathcrbcatcn fisherman who
doubted the story on the strength of his fifty
years experience did not entirely forget the ira
ditonal courtesy. He would not say the gentle
man lied only that he did not tell the truth
1t may be said that with this qualification the
ancient rule was not absolutely broken. though
severely strained. Practically the same form
Of speech was used In the Senate during the
extra session. and if anything Of the courtesy |
Of the Senate" survives, II Is due 10 this in |
genous crcumocuiion. The collision between |
the BuZzards Bay man and the representative |
Of the Menhadcn Association was also unfor |
tunatc. The BuzZards Bay man belongs TO |
fishing club of which President Cleveland Is n |
member and 1t an act Of rashness on the |
part OF the mcnhadcn man 10 say that he didn't |
know what he was talking about II once |
the suspicion should become rife that Mr.. |
Cleveland associated with men who don't know |
what they are talking about. IL might lead 10 |
the belief that he had imbibed his vic-ys of the |
tariff from that kind Of people. That would |
disturb public faith in his omniscicncc.
In spite of the disturbance caused by these
good may yet come out If the discussion of |
pscatorial questions 10y recognized authorities.
After Mr. Robert Roosevelt has concluded his
Investigations OF the habits and habitat Of the
wcakiish he will find an interesting field Of
inquiry in the question. where all the suck
crs come from that appear in DRY Dollar
Suvans district just before election. Then
there's the question whether the "hcll-gr,im-
met which Mr.. Cleveland used for bait in the
summer Of 1892 was worm or n bird or a
fl cure Of speech. Fish being classc1 by scicn-
fists brain food. discussion Of measures for
fish propagation on the plains OF Kansas and
in the mountains Of Colorado would have gen
cral interest. Then there are Ill the old ques-
tons as 10 the extreme cammincss Of the
clam the unsociability OF the oyster. the close
family ties of sarrlincs and the processes by
which the Democratic party became endowed
with the sppcrncss Of the eel, the eager APP
petite Of the shark and The superintendent
check Of The right whale These are questions
upon which light is needed.
We observe that one Of the ornaments OF our
local bench, after diligently attending the meet
ings Of the piscaorial persons all day and far
into the night. became confused with the is
sues Of vcracity which had been raised that
at four o'clock in the morning he was obliged
to resort TO Il policeman 10 find out "whcrc he
was at" The inexperienced policeman, noticing
the popularity Of his gait, hastily reported him
as intoxicated The simple fact, we suppose.
was that the judge was only illustrating truth
known TO all fishermen, that there should be Il
reel TO every rod.