Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-08-05
POLLUTING THE POTOMAC
Pulp Mills in the Cumberland Region Cause
Complaint
Local Fishermen Assert That the Re-
fuse Kills the Fish aud Pre-
vents Spawning.

For the past four or five years anglers
| and fishermen who sought sport up the Po-
| tomac have brought back complaints Of tho
| filthy condition of the water and the do
structive effect the rotten refuse of IN.
pulp mills was having on the bass which
| populate the .stream.
Parafiined lines. when cast overheard
| were drawn In coated with oozing slime;
the gravel beds where the bass used 10
make their nests TO hold their spawn in tbc
spring were covered with deposits of tho
| same filth
Inc condition Of the Potomac from a
| few miles above Great Falls all the way 70
fiedmont is bad. The pulp mills along th.,
river from Harper's Ferry up have increased
| IN number, and all OF them allow the filthr
refuse from the wood ami chemicals uset
| IN making pulp 10 run out into the river
MT rabfiei Edmonston of No. >L5 nth
| street and his son-in-law Mr. ~ A NtiIc,
Doth well-known Washingtonians nor long
ago informed DIR. W. Pope Young. the seq.
Tstary treasurer of the Fish and Game
| protective Association of the District what
| aney mad observed on a rec ent fishing trim
Ihe' had gone to Moorefeld W Va on m,
Sou.h pranch OF the Potomac. and nshed
GOWN 10 ITS mouth, and thence down me
fotomac itself to George Pennvfield's place
| lew miles above Great Falls
| Messrs Edmonston and Miller reporta5
.,iat the water In the South branch was o
GEAR mat the bottom could he seen ubaro
! the water was ten feet deep AT the rnou n
pi south branch. however. they found the
fotomac almost black from refuse from tba
puip mil above oldtown. Further dowa
aiie river ABOUT four or five miles they saw
an hnbeaJable stencil arose from m. y,.,sr
| rms con"ition was caused 10y th,. r, fuss
rom the pulp mill at Paw Paw Another
nii i ia pen erected at Williamsport, ard
win ne shortly put in, operation Tho.
statements were sent by DR. Youro "a IN,
George w. Massamore of tn. Nar,yiani
eIame and Fish Association and d.nufy
game warden Of MARYLAND In ra,,t,. ~,
Massamore wrote 10 DR. Younr as fniio....
| Lie condition Of the water I'm tba Do.
ton.ac, from Piedmont to the South hra7cb
ui- was at Rawlings thirteen
miles rom Cumberland a few ,vaals -
ana examined the river from thcrc - - -
per per cry. The mills at Piedmont noiIIte
the water so that il is impossih.a -. -.
60 rom fiedmont to Cumberland. and
rom cumberland to the South branch 4.
| Is Almost as had / will go to C',,nbe,iani
Gnu other points, and see If we cannot haya
me Maryland Legislature pass a law iha,
| wes,ar,, e, tne nuisance. If 1 can get the
Mesteth Maryland people to have The h3lI
| "1oduced will guarantee its passar,
.,i me matter was called to the at
sention OF Commissioner Black. shortly he
ioie ms departure on vacation h.. asked.
rs the river navigable in the vicinity OF
it?" u t'iioNh mo
ne was told that canal boats went ont on
many pidttS 10 get FarEQeS
ana that fiat boats were used along n ana
.hat naphtha launches were used where
The refuse was dumped
Iheh think there is law by which
those people can be reached" said cam
BLACK wait a minute, L have il here"
In pamphlet of the laws governing the
corps OF Engineers he found section q of
tne law, approved September H. lSg, pro-
Niuing among other things that IL is NOT
permissible for any one to throw or deposit
any SLABS, sawdust, filth" etc. into any
OF the naVigable waters of the United
states, and section 10 of the same act pro-
Vides a line not exceeding 5000 for a viola
ton of such provisions
Does the refuse make any deposit on the
river bottom" inquired Capt. Black.
very considerable one" returned the
reporter.
Then L think this law will cover the
case he said. That is my present opin-
ion. We have successfully STONED The
throwing OF sawdust into navfgable
streams. and you know a stream upon
which RATS are fioated is navigable under
the law"