The Penn's Grove record., 1897-04-09
THE nELAMARE DAM I'LL.

THE DELAWARE DAM BILL.
The bill which passed the Legisla.
ture authorizing a corporation to dam
the Delaware river wherever and when
eve they please is in Governor Griggs
hands for approval or rejection. 1t
was put through for the benefit of a
syndicate which wishes to get millions
out of the water power of the river
without paying the people any thing for
the valuable franchise.
On Tuesday the Governor gave a
hearing to the opponents of the bill.
They were W. E. Meehan, associate
editor of the Philadelphia Ledger; DR..
W. B. James, of Philadelphia, the au-
thor of a great many books on fish and
game and a member of the P~ennsylya-
mia Game Protective Society; Marvin
G. Sellers, counsel for the Fish Pro-
tective Association; Howard B. Chase,
b. L. Douredoure and Lemar Ridge,
all of the Pennsylvania Fish Protective
Society. The party vas presented to
the governor by Fish and Game Pro-
tector Shriner, and the principal argu-
ment was made by Mr.. Meehan. He
explained that he represented the Uni
ted States fish commission, the PennsY.
lvania fish commission and the Acad.
envy Of Natural Sciences of Philadel.
phia.
Mr.. Meehan said the objections to
the bill were twofold: ~ the destruc-
ton of the fisheries, and ~ that valua-
BILE franchise were being given without
any compensation. He admitted that
the corporations interested would bene.
lit and that the manufacturers and
those who used the power would be
benefited, but held that these benefits
would be more than counterbalanced
by the financial and other losses to the
people Of four states. The destruction
of fish by these dams was not specula-
tive, but could be proved; and the three
bodies that he represented had stated
positively that the shad industry would
be practically destroyed. 1t was true
that the bill made provision for fish,
ways, but experience had shown that
such fshways were not entirely effective
for shad. Proof of this was had in the
Susquehanna. There some years ago,
when that river was far more profitable
than the Delaware, a large dam was
built at Columbia from shore to shore,
and others placed above. and imme.
diatefy The shad industries above there
stopped. Fishways weEe-efecTed, tut
the shad refused to go up them in any
quantity. Three hundred was the mum.
Der caught the following year, and the
greatest number ever caught since
while the dam was entire wal three
thousand.
The shad, he said, was a very timid
creature and seemed to look upon fish.
ways as traps. But even if they did go
through freely, the bill would still be
Objectionable and cause injury to the
fisheries ON account of the canals and
raceways that might be built. The
young fish spend their early days in the
upper river, and on their way down
would be drawn into the race and ca
railways, and would be killed by the
million. Many complaints had been
received by the Pennsylvania and New
Jersey commissions even of the few
raceways that now exist. The Penn
sylyania commission has a station at
Bristol, where eight millions young shad
are annually Matched; and the United
States commission matches about thirty
millions annually at Gloucester. 1.-THE
bill passed the Bristol hatchery would
have to be abolished, and it would lie
but a short time when the United
States would follow suit at Gloucester,
Last year the value of the shad in the
Delaware at nets was half a million of
dollars, of which three-dfths came from
above Trenton Falls. This represent
ed ons and a quarter million dollars at
the consumers price. Five million fish
were caught, and fifteen million people
fed.
Then, too, an infant fish industry was
threatened, namely the Atlantic sal.
mon, a fish now selling for fifty cents o
pound at the nets, and the greatest
food fish known. Two thousand poundg
caught last year, the second yeaf
Of the run; and in twenty-five yeDkL
his would be a very profitable IN
.ry. -