The evening times., 1900-02-09
Lines OF THE DISTRICT
A Request TO Have the Boundaries
Officially Determined.
A Letter to the District Commission
ers From DIR. w. Il. Young, o. the
tion-The Waters of the Potomac
River n Subject of Contention.

| In letter forwarded through Major Syl-
vester, who occupies the position of Game
! Warden of the District, DR.. w. p. Young,
Secretary of the Game and Fish Protec-
! tive Association of the District has re-
Quested the Commissioners to obtain from
the highest legal authority, the actual
boundaries of the District of Columbia.
The object of having the boundaries de-
| fined is for the purpose of determining the
| jurisdiction of the District authorities in
| the enforcement of the Fish and Game law
| Opinions as to the jurisdiction have been
| given, but have not agreed, and in conse-
| quence it was difficult, and almost impos
| sble, to convict violators of the law, as
| there was always a technical loophole of
escape.
The Western Limit.
| In his letter to the Commissioners Dr.
Young says in-part: 1T would seem that
any schooIboy should be able to define the
boundaries of the little District where the
! Capital of the United States is located, yet
| it is not definitely shown on any official
map, nor is any individual, in the absence
of authoritative opinion. certain as to its
| limits on the west. It is, indeed, drifting
] by custom toward the channel of the river,
f! for in the bewildering uncertainty of lines
| upon the water, lawbreakers are unmolest-
ed lest officials suffer from some excess Of
zeal and wrongs are committed far out
| side the debatable line and the offenders
90 'unwhipped of Justice
Vast sums of money are annually eX-
| pended by the Government in the artificial
| propagation and distribution of fish;
! the results accomplished by the Fish Com
/ mission are much to its credit and ours
| and fully justifes such expenditure, but
| the jurisdiction of the Fish Commission
! does not end with placing the fish in the
! District waters of the United States. and
| the subsequent protection of these fish and
| fry devolves as well upon the Commission
| as upon the local and State authorities.
| distribution is. however. useless un-
/ less the fish are protected, and laws for
| their protection worse than useless if un-
| enforced. The waste involved in the de
| struction of spawning fish is incalculable.
| Frank Buckland once said: Only TO think
| of the seven million eggs OF single cod
| FISH being offered for four pence a pound
weight is enough to send fishery in
| spector TO a lunatic asylum But there
/ is a worse destruction and desecration than
/ even this. and that is the dumping of
edible fish too small to be marketable upon
! the land a. fertilizer, a wanton waste OF
| the immature fish and an injury 20 the
| land: vet fish taken from District waters,
we are Informed. have been dedicated TO
! this ignobie use within the year.
For the protection OF these fishes. Con-
gress in 1898 passed amended laws fixing
/ close seasons and limiting netting, etc,
| in the District waters and provided That
| any person engaged in taking tsuch) cat
| fish. smelt chub bull minnow, and cray
! fish. shall first have procured written
permit from the Commissioner OF Fish and
| Fisheries TO take such bait for hook and
line fishing.
The Granting Of Permits.
IN granting such a permit for the catch
ing of bait in District waters il is inde-
| suensable that the Commissioners should
| be informed as TO the boundaries of said
| District. so. that the responsibility Cf en-
| forcing the laws for the protection Of fish
! and the prevention of illegal netting may
| be definitely settled as 10 the District of
Columbia and the State OF Virginia.
The authorities of either of these. DR..
| Young says, may be depended on 10 pro-
tect the fisheries under their charge. but
| neither is willing to assume jurisdiction
| over waters that have been in and out,
| forming an area OF No Mans water in the
! bays opposite Washington and below.
| where there is no claimant and no law
| Virginia has never asserted any claim gre
/ and the patrol boats OF the District, by ca
/ son of these doubts decline to protect what
we are assured are District fisheries.
The natural sequence is that fyke nets
are set for the spring runs so openly that
they even reach far beyond the questioned
lines; seines are hauled with impunity
| over areas which are admittedly within
/ the District; houseboats have permanent
| anchorage here, and undisturbed poachers
ply their calling in waters that are in the
| District, yet not Of it.
Three Different Boundaries.
''In the maps issued by the Geological
| Survey no claim is made TO accuracy OF
boundaries: indeed, where possible, any
| thing in the nature of a controversy on
this subject is avoided; but, in this case,
! by reason of printing the boundary lines
| of the District of Columbia in three diff
! ferept ways. in three successive years. the
| embarrassment and confusion have been
rather increased than diminished.
| ITO illustrate map dated 1898. shows
| the boundary line of the District closely
following the Virginia shore around the
bay at the mouth of Roach's Run. immedi-
| ately south of Alexander Island. and also
/ tOlIOWlnR Tue SuOle liut diOuhu lhC Dos
| at the mouth of Four Mile Run. This, We
contend. is the proper boundary by record
and precedent; but. in the following year,
| on a map dated 1894, the line at the mouth
| of Four Mile Run was drawn from Hunt
| er's Point on the north to Daingerfelds S
| Point on the south, placing the whole Of
| the bay in Virginia. The very next year
another map, dated 1895, shows the line
| drawn from Hunters Point to Swann's
! thrOuipU the DainPprfPld Raw intO
| the District. and taking into the District
part of the bay at the mouth of Four Mile
Run.
What has been said OF the fish holds
| good as to the destruction of game in the
same waters, but since this is migratory
| the immediate loss is not to be so directly
| measured: but what are known as big
| guns are used by poachers in these waters
| every season contrary to law and decency,
! and the poachers enjoy a freedom from
| disturbance under the shadow of the Mon
| ument which they can hardly find any
| where else in the country.
! THE executive authorities of the Dis
| trict will be relieved by an opinion as to
the proper limits of their jurisdiction, for
| the responsibility of enforcing regulations
| will be less burdensome than the embar-
rassment under which they now labor,
| subjected as they are to the kindly criti-
| cism of many law-abiding friends and the
| contempt of the poachers. who view their
inaction, the one with sadness, the other
| with ghoulish glee.
Your honorable Fish Commission will be
benefited by the settlement of this line in
that it will insure better care of your ten
der charges, of whose increase you may
| well be proud and the Illegal destruction
! of which is to the direct injury of the peo-
nIe and the Commission, robbing the one