Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-04-22
THE DELAWARE DAM BILL.

The bill which passed the Legislature
authorizing corporation to dam the Dell
aware river wherever and whenever 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 hearing
to the opponents of the bill. They were
w. E. Meehan, associate editor of the
Philadelphia Ledger; DR.. w. B. James, the
author of a great many books on fish and
game and member of the Pennsylvania
Game Protective Society; Marvin G. Sellers,
counsel for the Fish Protective Association;
Howard B. Chase, B. l.. Donredoure and
Lemar Ridge, all OF the Pennsylvania
Fish Protective Society. The party was
presented to the governor by Fish and
Game Protector Shriner, and the principal
argument was made by Mr.. Meehan. He
explained that he represented the United
States fish commission, the Pennsylvania
fish commission and the Academy of
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
Mr.. Meehan said the objections to the
bill were twOfold (1) the destruction of
the fisheries, and (2) that valuable fran
chise were being given without any COM
pensation. He admitted that the corpor-
ations interested would benefit and that the
manufacturers and those who used the
power would be ben. fitted, but held that
these benefits would be more than counter
balanced by the financial and other losses
TO the people of four States. The destruc.
ton of fish by these dams was not speculs-
tive, but could be proved and the three
bodies that he represented had stated posi-
lively that the shad industry would be
practically destroyed. It was true that
the bill made provision for fislways, but
experience had shown that such fshways
were not entirely effective for shad. Proof
vi Ouio was HuO III tA1O 0uc4uOhdA0os 4nCAC
some years ago, when that river was far
more profitable than the Delaware, large
dam was built at Columbia from shore to
bore, and Others placed above, and imme-
diately the shad industries above there
stopped. Fishways were erected. but the
shad refused to 60 up them in any quantity.
Three hundred was the number caught the
following year, and the greatest number
ever caught since while the dam was entire
was three thousand.
The shad, he said, was very timid
creature and seemed to look upon fishways
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
canalways, and would be killed by the
million. Many complaints had been re.
ceived by the Pennsylvania and New Jer-
sey commissions even of the few raceways
that now exist. The Pennsylvania COM
mission has a station at Bristol, where
eight millions young shad are annually
hatched and the United States commission
matches about thirty millions annually at
Gloucester. If the bill passed the Bristol
hatchery would have to be abolished, and
it would be but a short time when the
cester. Last year the value OF the shad in
the Delaware at nets was half a million of
dolffs, of which three-fifths came from
above Trenton Falls This represented one
and quarter million dollars at the con-
sumers' price. Five million fish were
caught, and fifteen million people fed.
Then, too, an infant fish industry was
threatened, namely the Atlantic salmon, a
fish now selling for forty cents pound at
the nets, and the greatest food fish known.
Two thousand pounds were caught last
year, the second year of the run; and in
twenty five years this would be a very
profitable industry.
He then read a letter from United States
Fish Commissioner Brice, stating that il
this bill became law the United States
commission would stop the salmon work in
the Delaware. He thought no franchise
such as was proposed by the bill should be
given without heavy money payment.
Mr.. Meehan was followed by other gen.
tlemen of the delegation, and they prscti-
cally reiterated his arguments.
President Henry C. Moore of the local
board of trade called on the Governor
shortly after the hearing, and his excel
lency will give another hearing on the bill
before taking any action upon it. This
hearing will be given on Friday, April %.