The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1894-06-23
THE sAfsfaE ENnEsFRY,
M&f6f kihaqs's vlerA AZ 10 lieT il
Should Be pfateclhd.

submitted to the last regular meetin,
of the city council by Mayor Kinney
and referred by the council to a specia
committee, is as follows:
To the Common Council of the City o
Astoria:
Gentlemen-Embodied in the taking
and packing of salmon is the mair
source Of employment for the people oi
our city. While this industry gives the
chief employment to the people of As
toria-a city of nearly 10000 souls-it
also gives employment to the people OF
many nearby tributary towns and com
munities, a~ggrcgating together with us,
perhaps, $4,000 souls, engaged near the
mouth Of the Columbia river in taking
from its waters the salmon, bright,
plump, solid, fat and juicy, the only
bright colored oil salmon from any
water, and in neatly packing this fish
in tlns-as no other people can do-ar-
tistically labelling and casing the same
in boxes, made of the beautiful spruce
of our W production, and the placing
of this finished product of our labors
aboard of the different transportation
routes, whittier it goes to every city in
the nation, and in foreign lands, sum-
moned by the sharp demands of con-
sumcrs, who know that our Royal Chi
nook Columbia river salmon is the only
fish of that name, and that it is the
best timed salmon in the markets of
the world.
This is the mainstay of this people.
The food and raiment of all of us. Not
alone Of the fishermen, who go out or
the water in their boats, and their
wives and children, nor of the packer
and his factory handsome, not only
these, but all-the banker, the broker,
the insurance man, the supply store, the
merchant, the clothier, the grocer, the
tailor, the shipper, the teamster, the
smith, the builder of machinery, the
maker of boats and sails, the sawmill,
box factory, can factory, clerk, all la
borers, skilled and unskilled, the printer,
newspaper, teacher, doctor, lawyer,
minister, the city government Itself
all.
This industry is also a source of much
employment and profit to many outside
of this community, and is a source of q
very large revenue to the United States
government.
The packing of salmon here has been
on for nearly thirty years, from
a small beginning of one, then two or
three factories, it assumed immense
proportions in 1878, and from that until
1883 it was at its height, the finished
product a%ggregating from twenty to
thirty millions Of one-pound tins per
season. The taking of SO many fish con-
tinuously each season began to show
1888 that the salmon were being
caught out. This was not unexpected.
The history Of the salmon of other
in older countries, and especially
Of the exhaustion of the Sacramento
river salmon, were fresh before the
and fishermen, and they had
taken steps to propagate salmon
on some of the up tributaries of the
river.
After starting a hatchery by means
Of their own resources, Il people final
Iy enlisted the aid of the state of Ore
gon, and next Of the United States gov
- nunanf cinoa vrhfnh tfr,a rnA,n,At,,
IN the Clackamas tributary. has been
continuously carried on, but in a mod
crate way. From this beginning until
the present time the question of the
propagation and the protection Of sal
mon has been agitated in a more or
imperfect way, both by the fisher
men and packers, jointly and separate
".
During the past six OR eight sessions
If the Oregon, and also the Washington
legislatures, the question of making
stringent regulations, as to the time and
of taking Of salmon, has been
n various ways pressed, and some regu-
ations have been made by each of the
states, but nothing yet has been done
hat entirely meets the requirements.
There are several reasons for this.
FIRST, the Columbia river channel forms
he dividing line between the states of
and Washington, and regula-
ions to be strictly enforced should be
uniformly by both states. This
las not been done Heretofore there
been conflicting opinions held In
he different states as to what regula-
ions it was best to make, hence more
II less conflicting laws.
And secondly, in our own state there
re different opinions held by those in
crested as to what is best to be done, ,
nd these different interests press con- ,
methods before the legislatures, ,
have resulted in the passage of .
Intellectual compromise laws.
Such regulations as we have had for /,
he past six or seven years, together +,
With the propagation Of the fish at the ,
'lackamas hatchery, has greatly check
d the rapidity Of the decline Of the sal ,
non in the Columbia river. and during
hat time the decrease has only been /,
Moderate, but sufficient t o make 1t yet
very serious, if not, an alarming ques- ,
ion. Enough has been done to show US
hat by uniform, strict and better regu-
atoms and more h%atcheries, not only
nay the decline be stopped, but we may :
iope to see the salmon restored as plen- !
iful as in former days. !
How is this result to be brought ,
hOut9 .