Red Lodge picket. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1889-1907, 1897-02-20
ABOLISH FISH WHEELS AND TRAPS.
Dill Which Meets With Favor ID, the
Olympia House.

Olympia, Feb. 16.-The people of east.
ern Washington and especially those liv-
ing along the Columbia river and it's trib-
utaries-notably the Snake Yakima, We
natchee, Methow, Okanosan and Spokane
rlvers-should be greatly interested in the
| big fight now going on over the attempt
to abolish fish traps and fish wheels
The subject was brought up prominently
| by Governor Rogers in his message when
| he said:
| From the best sources of informa ton
at my command l am clearly Of opinion
that the law should, within a reasona ble
limit of time, prohibit utterly all fish
traps, wheels and other stationary gear
as means of catching fish in the waters
under control of the state of Washington.
AS a means of revenue to the state it IS
probable that an annual tax imposed up
on each boat engaged in fishing should
be collected. This would more than off
set the amount now collected from
traps
Governor Rogers probably attacked the
traps and wheels as they formed 4 mon
opoly against which the fisherman VINO
has to depend on gill nets has little
chance Of competition; but such a strong
it has rallied a great strength and is
making one of the hardest fights known
in the legislature for years. to prevent the
governors recommenda tions being car
ried into effect The principal cry Of
the monopoly is that if the traps and
wheels are abolished it will destroy the
big fishing industry and close up the can
Heries. The facts seem to warrant the
St.l ltfat,,
trap men have Joined hands to fight the
gill net fishers. While the change in
the mode cf fishing from traps to nets
would perhaps raise the price Of fish, il
would also cause thousands of men. now
almost idle to engage in an industry that
would, by the wiping out of traps and
Wheels Increase the number of fish and
enable them to make a good living. That
the canneries would be seriously inter
fered with for any length of time is pre-
posterous, especially if the governors S
request that the change be made with
in reasonable limit of time or in a |
manner that would not stop the traps
and in the midst Of the seasons |
catch. !
Trap Men Confident.
But so active are the monopoly com
fed, it is whispered by liberal expense
fund-that the trap men are already
claiming the defeat of the bill abolisning
.raps and wheels.
One fact, however, that must be patent
o eastern Washington members in the
of this bill is that the Co
umbia river and its tributaries are today
almost devoid of salmon, whereas, a few
-earS ago, the waters We're filled with
hem. 1t may be that, it being a new
country with new people, they have
mainly taken up their residence since the
salmon disappeared from the upper
waters and have no idea that they are be-
ng and have been robbed Of good salmon
ishing. in season, by the existence of
nothing else than the fish wheels in the
over Columbia, which absolutely prevent
he passage of salmon up-river. It is a
'ustom of salmon to go to the headWa ters
If living streams in spawning season and
here propagate their young. In this way
n former days, all of the streams men
Toned were in that season alive with fish;
oday the fish are scarce as hens teeth,
The Remedy at Hand.
If the eastern Washington members of
he legislature desire to reStOck the CO.
unbia river and it's tributaries with sal
non and allow those streams to again be
lSed as spawning beds for salmon they
an do SO by voting to abolish fish wheels
or there, alone, is the culprit. The traps
nay be or may not be necessary to the
but the fish wheels in the Co
umbia river are not, and they rob the
'reat Inland Empire of one of its original
iO-D hoy nj, |
een received from localities urging mem
ers to vote to abolish wheels, and if the
eople take the matter up in earnest dur
ng the next 10 days or two weeks fish
wheels in the Columbia can be abolished.