The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-09-21
FISH COMMISSIONER TALKS
IN. LITTLE RETURNS FROM TEE
BAKER LAKE FISH HATCHERY.
oDawn BEING Received There NJ .
! Very Satisfactory Rase-gsfrred
gp over ~ severe Article IN The
Observation-Disclosures an Auswer.

Stats Fish Commissioner Little passed
ssrougb the city yesterday On his way
% the Baker lake fish hatchery TO conn
pae,s arrangements for running tia, plan;
It's winter. He says spawn are being
received there at the rate OF ls3.so 70
Eas6 day. ard that he hopes the .o,a,
vi, amount to ,o.5c.0c. or nearly the
0eAcsty % thu hatchery.
Complaint vas yesterday made To the
eomrazsoner tAat q trspweir had been
pr Ii Dungensss river and that sesnes
were being operated there man was
~ once cent 20 look into the matter. ana
% ordsr the trespassess out Tho cam.
missioner gays there has been come aues-
ton as 70 whether the law governing pu-
gss solna controlled the river. bu. that
The Stale attorney general has looked Il
70 and found IL does
Hr. Little Is much aroused ever an
editorial that appeared in the Portland
lrsgoaiaa OF September 70. and las. even
lAg made a statement 70 the Post-fntesi.-
gencsr. He gays = mistake was made
IN quoting iis Ep@ech before the Chamber
Of Commerce.. Ia which he Was given as
saying that the run Of salmon In the
Coaamhsa gas not within - per cent. of
what 1t was In 1856 issT-isss He main
tatrs thst he said 60 instead OF 30 per cent.
bss has snce. BY Investigations among
fsaerncn and other authorities. found
TIA, the run was not within 80 and even
" Der CENT or the former tirne Mr..
Little continued.
This season ] have Travelled several
thousand miles along the headwaters of
tie Columbia river. looking over loca-
tons for ssatcheries and found many fish
eruasn who say that IN the las, two or
tsres years few or no fish have run up the
Takangon, Touchet, Little Spokane and
several other streams. where there's used
10 b heavy runs In May ana Ja.s. In
years gone by. when there were thou
sands and tens Of thousands OF salmon 10
Up the river, there was lini, OF 100 sal
mon per day placed on tho catch OF each
boat. and the result OF the withdrawal Of
this ruls was that last year and the year
before every fish that could possibly be
caught was handisd. Every fisherman
o. the river IL well acauaiated with the
fact that there Is ii shortage. and IL the
editor OF the orsgonian takes pains 10
aGyiss himself he will find that even my
estimate of co per cent. was too high.
Any remarks have made regarding
short run falling Off were not made
with any intention OF SAYING anything
against the salmon. think they are
the finest salmon Ia the world. Bat we
rssl realize that artificial propagation Is
needed TO keep them.
Il don't claim that May June and July
runs OF chinook salmon ara deteriorating
In quality. as the Oregonlan states. and
no reasonable person would say that l
sfer did make such a claim. What did
Say was that the fall run was Inferior
10 the spring run, and tina; the fail runs
we're increasing in numbers. whslo the
better runs OF spring were falling on.
AS far as the statement that the Pu-
set sound cam srymen are labelling their
saekeye and faai catches Columbia River
Salmon is concerned. the Oregon cannery-
men 90 the same thing. and two to one
where the Washington Gamers do. ~
Others strea ms of the Webfoot state and In
Washington streams Oregon canneryulen
are labelling their catches COLUMBIA kiSer
Salmcn. cannerSmen of the Sound have
10 reason 10 label their sockeyes ether
than they are, for those fish BRING good
prices and are rapidly working ZIP good
market. Bu: under tho law there Is no
pawer To prevent such practices.
WASHINGTON has done more twice
ever than Oregon To prevent the catching
OF FISH IN the closed season The Ore
sanian says | admitted that Fish Com
missioner Mcclure. OF that state. mad
power TO arrest vioiators on the Washing
Ton side OF the river. That statement IL
absolutely false. and II he or any or ms
deputies attempt 10 interfere with our
business they Will he arrested am sup
ported by the attorney general and ths
hes, legal authorities In thai they nave
no hight 10 interfere on our side Of the nv
e.. The people Oh that side have never
dsne much TO help ,he fish Industry
IL the Oregcn.an would Put In as niuca
time calling the abortion Of the people OF
Oregon engaged IN the nsh industry TO
TIRE f.c, ,ha, their best run OF Chinook
salmon IS rapidly diminishing to the
causes why ana 10 the remedies Tor II.
that IL does 10 eri;ic!sing the Washington
eaImiSsioner. /, VIII do Itself more credit
and vastly more good 90 the fishing In
castry Of rs own STATE