Evening star., 1898-04-01
Memorial to Congress in Behalf of a
Purer Water Supply.
GREAT DAMAGE Done By SAWDUSr
The Potomac a Sewer Above the
Great Falls.
RIGHTS OF THE MILL S

StTI1 - OF Inc IOlGnltS CT any OF It's IrlDE-
taTi@s viii be greatly interested in the
port Of Mr. Henry Talbot. chairman of the
committee on river pollution of the Dis
trict -Aszocia tion for the Protection of Fish
and Game. This repSrt was embodied in
the r9ou-crial lately sent to Congress by
this association IN support OF Senate bill
.:s.5. providing for the investigation of the
pollution Of rivers where the sanitary con-
dltiou of the people OF mere than one state
or territory affected.
Domination of Sa~dust.
The fRst impression one receives from Il
hurried survey of the subject of the pollu-
tion of the waters from the anglers stand
point is that il begins and ends with saw
dust, says Mr.. Talbot. The reports, the
laws. the authorities quotedthe complaints,
the litigation all seem at first view to cen
ter in sawdust- If this all our own
difficulties would be comparatively slight.
since the Potomac has long passed the
Gust stage except Its headwaters The
reason such prominence is given this mat
Ter Is that IL is the first industry in tht,
prlmeval forest. located where men are
scarce ana hsh are plenty, and the ccmpar;-
son Of its effects. its ravages, are made
with the original stock of native and un-
disturbed fish
undiStinguishable, chemical impurity which
disappears as the waters run down to the
sea, II iS mechanical obstruction in view
OF the most casual observer: a floating
mass when dry. but sinking when wet AMI
remaining for years to work harm to fish
ana man, always in evidence and always
accommodating. Its destructiveness is mo-
confined to the fisheries but includes farm
ers whose lands are flooded in times of
freshets. and sometimes whole fields and
meadows buried under heavy coating OF
'he offensive decompCsing dust, which does
rol Tor several seasons become part of the.
SOIL EOt RUNS growing
cultivation, and Injuries the crops to come
Ihat farmer and his neighbors are con-
hibited. ~ " p'o
The net fishermen find their haul nets
ellshsied with the sawdust on the bottom
d And thelr set nets, too, become clogged
WIZ the foul refuse, which rots the nets
fmpvdcs the handling of the nets and ron
ders more difficult the handling and saving
bt ihe Hsh- ana Is at once offensive un-
hedlthy and expensive.
Fhere are not above a couple of dozen
sstwinlEs left on the headwaters of the Po
lohlac- Their debris is inflammable AMI
WINE working perhaps the most serious
INJURY OF any of the sources of poIIutior :,
easiest cured For each thousand feet of
thin boards forty bushels of sawdust a~e
lFoduced Nothing is easier Than to ntlo
anu purn 1t In some mills using steam
power IL Is led over Il flame l,v forced Dr.. e.
through q lCng carrier tube and farm =:
showers or millions of harmless sparks
-fiShes the ground as cold ashes Tho d;-
N-fs'l Se ci TINS refuse into the yyrtere
uS'.eSS the effects so destructive The sItar-
native SO simple ana ccnuornic,I il, :. I'll,
cpI'iFF where there is plenty of room th.t
mere should be no hesitation ab1ut s,,n,l
Ih4FE iesis lat;ou aimed at it's instant s,,I,
the P1t".fsnc Sewer
All vice is ignorance. or nearly all Tho
sirest salvation cf our streams and orr 6sh
Is Widespread knowledge of the reasons of
their destruction and the rne,,e g.. -.
redemption. IL is nearly r.saress =. -.
Pubic moneys in the propagation and dis
ttlouilon CT good fish if they are IN no GOV,
sishTo 10 poisoned waters The cornnittaa
~ .He iheGlctI society in its report said
g 'ne fotomac above the intake at
GIeat faIs is sewer. Last wear fauar
hsh than for twenty wears vers -,
"o"Ne the intake With low vo,ar 81
c-ear; after months Of mud. which as tbor-
"tSAIy protected the fish as a wsIIoiSa,
cicse law. more should have hae,, tai.l. u =:
the snort period of September fshinsr pa
-, hut the bed of the river was a cess
Po'I. every stone was slippery with ooze.
every quiet reach had pIumes ~ .o
shfne yards and yards long rnd.r 49,
a" pass could live, about which mn haSs
.ouiu I ieed- whether this was the direct
rsso!t oI decaying filth which made the
river tnat sewer described by the noed;nI
committee. or only the resII- of ,at,iui
causes as heat ard drought. is one Of tbnsa
Things which need demonstration.
ne fish commission has never ,,ia
mach attention to the conditions of tha
upper Iotomac. Ii could not Tho nj
trlct was Its own particular baiIiwick ana
thtEe was some embarrassment about in
teElerlnS with matters which untiI O.
gresS should take some action saarno5 -.
ne the province of the states above. ana co
.Ie COMMISSION did what any o. us wouId
,.t uhaer 'ie circumstances. 1t did nothing
ms II an Wrong-right from the commits
sions standpoint. but Nronc, fron, tba- %
the angler. the public. and humanity
oHe step the commission could taLa T,
Mouiu ps Il nttle severe on us. but it would
be Iish'- Decline to furnish any fish for
unht waters: demand with every anpIica,ton
ICf Hsh Il statement of the environment for
"hich theS were intended: to regard witb
suspicion any waters which had hoe, a.
Pieted as wasting good stock for lack of
proper care; showing either unfit water mr.
IHt'h destruction of spawning or baby
@ nsH VI rack OF food; and to demand. too.
not Only that efforts be made IN fmnrnva
the water. but pledges to so far as noss;b,
IolloW the suggestions of the commission
as 10 close season. limits Of size taken and
.r,i.i ,ui Hisniilg OF food to the stock con-
tr1buted, Strict compliance could NOT he
expected In every case but the very do
fnand would arrest attention and load to
thnusht. observation and increased care ON
thls important subject.
Other Causes of Dfsappenrapc.
III would not be just to lay to pollution
the entire responsibility for the disannear.
- AASA-- ht cutting away of forests
the cultivation of the soil about the watar
shed the consequent raising of the tenn
Perature and the drying up of MANY small,
streams: the filling up of pools and shifting
OF deposits in the beds of the streams drfv
ing hsh TO new haunts: the disa appearance
OF hsh food: the fish pots and trot lines.
the small meshed nets. in and ont of saa
son; the so-called anglers who are really
poachers on the rights of others to saw
nothing OF the fish. and who have been
called so many names they may well he
spared determination sportsmen who kill
the spawning fish and those too younp IN
spawn-all these play their part in the re-
duetion OF the numbers of our fish. but
with organizations like our own a great
part OF these troubles may be cured and
with All these there would still be some
hsh left II pollution is as serious a diff
Guilty as some of us think there will be
none. ~
1T Is To settle this question as to how
1ar pollution is responsible that fnyestiga-
fion is demanded. To this end we ought
TO have the hearty cooperation of those
who use the streams for waste sluices If
IL Is established by examinatio and study
OF skilled scientists that the effects are NOT
Important, the defendants will get a long
rest IL ii is confirmed that they are dan.
gerous 10 human health and the life of fish