Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1898-08-10
Correspondence.
Again the Fishway Hearing.
ELLSWORTH, Aug. 9. 1S9s

| the very courteous letter, but that in one
or two things l did not make myself plain ;
for however my words may have STUN
bled in saying it, intended to be under
stood as in no way rejecting upon the
gentlemen composing this commission,
except i'll difference Of opinion.
do not believe they were influenced by
any man or any men or by anything other
than the best OF conscientious motives in
the judgment they gave. IL ! said or in
timated other than this, / frankly retract
it and crave pardon.
There is another point in which | was
evidently misunderstood, and to my
shame. The letter OF the commissioner
states: 1.-THE doctor says we had to show
that Union river is river frequented by
salmon. We could not do it. We would
like to have him point out then wherein
we erred
That profound author of wit and wis
dom, MARK Twain" in describing his
first experience in lecturing in San Fran
cisco, tells of going to a lady of influence
and begging her to assist him in getting
through his "trouble" creditably. Her
share in the affair was to watch closely
for a signal. When he cracked a big
joke and wanted her help, he was to sig
nal the fact by looking at her in the gall
lery and smiling.
He says: presently delivered a bit OF
serious matter with impressive JUNCTION
(it was my pet, and the audience listened
with an Absorb bed hush that grstitied me
more than applause. As l dropped the
last word | happened to turn and catch
Mrs. IS intent and waiting eye, and in
spite OF all | could do / smiled. She took
it for The signal, and promptly delivered
a mellow laugh that touched off the whole
audience, and he explosion hat followed
was the triumph OF the evening.
My hating phrases gave me worse mis-
understanding than Mark Twain's smile.
My one piece of irony i'll which l took
pride, my pet, the only bit of literary
polish | offered, was SO covered by my
stumbling words as to be taken literally.
SO let me say in explanation and this in
good, plain English words, that do be-
iieve that in good, plain common -sen-e
''4S4' A4N1A ~ q AAN1A i'AtAAttt q - att-
mon. This is our point Of disagreement.
Outside OF it, l have no issue with the
fish commissioners Of this State.
think at least | shall be granted by
men who know me this claim, that have
nothing IN this matter but W hat ! believe
to be the interest of Ellsworth, and that
| sincerely believe the judgment of the
is wrong. Notwit hstanding I!
the official position Of these gentlemen
am OF the opinion that there are men
W hose Judgment in the subject is proba-
bly, superior to theirs.
Those not acquainted with the matter |
might be surprised at the literature of
full and profound writer's and thinkers
extant have studied these questions, and |
know that at least some OF them believe
that with one or two million salmon |
placed in the river, with an unquestioned |
history OF enormous quantities coming
from the sea so long as they were not alb.
solutely shut out by dams, with the fact |
OF more or less numerous salmon being
caught each year below the dams, that |
with dozen or twenty lakes tributary to |
Union river whose waters have been filled |
wit b salmon from the hatchery at Green
lake (itself one of such tributary lakes)
and from the other government hatchery
at Orland, with both Of those vast incu-
bators turning loose into our waters mil
lions OF salmon directly and indirectly, as
is easily proved-to claim, in the face OF
these facts that Union river is not a river
frequented by salmon, Is a claim totally
at variance with the facts in the judg-
ment OF the writer.
In the letter written in reply to mine,
mention is made Of cost. / do not I'M
derstand that the commission claims
or has claimed that such enters into their
decision or should enter into it. So that
may be waived. 1t is on the question OF
"frequented" by salmon, etc. They
quote from dictionaries; they only quoted
to US law. They told US if the law al
lowed they would gladly put in the fish
ways. Let US waive then the matter Of
cost and technical meaning of the word,
and measure our position by the legal
definition as they quote it.
IL | rightly understand, it is their con-
tention that il it can be shown that
Union river is "frequented' by salmon
within the meaning OF the law, it be-
comes their duty to order ishways. "A
man may frequent a house in which he
himself resides single visit
to gambling house is not sufficient to
sustain a conviction for freuuenttug it
SO more than one visit is necessary to
sustain a conviction for frequenting an
opium den. Frequenting street,
resorted to-
We have this from the comm s. toner's
as legal definition of the word fire.
quented". Let US follow it through 10 its !
logical deduction. First one person or |
salmon residing in house or river fire.
quents it. Second, more than one visit |
of man to gambling house or a salmon
to river is necessary to convict the one |