Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1908-10-10
ASK FIFTY MILLIONS
FOR NAVIGATION
Would Have Congress ApprOpri'
ate Biz Sum to Improve Har.
borS and Make Streams
Suitable For TranSpOr-
tdtion Purposes.

San Francisco, Cal. Oct. io.-The
Trans-Mlssissipp Commercial con-
sress began the last day of Its nine
teenth annual session this morning
with a voluminous report from the
committee on resolutions to consider.
1t seemed probable at the outset that
the deliberations of the entire day
would be devoted to debates upon the
various features of the report and
that some lively contests would mark
the adoption of several resolutions.
One resolution adopted by the COM
mlttee recommends an appropriation
of $50,000,0 900 by Congress for press
ing and indispensable work of I'M
proving harbors ana waterways Of
ahe country. 1t favors q deep water
way from the Great Lakes to the
Gulf Of Mexico and the Improvement
for navigation purposes Of all rivers
penetrating the heart of the trans
Mississippi.
Numerous papers were read before
the congress last night, including one
by Professor David Starr Jordan. of
Leland Stanford university, regarding
thu protection Of nah. He said N
part.
The International fisheries commits
sion represents a most Interesting ef-
fort TO settle at once a numbe: o.
problems In international law, in con-
stitutional law, in conflict of laws, in
equity, and at the same time in biolo-
gy, for no statute for the preservation
and propagation of fish can be effect
Ave unless the nature OF the Individual
species, its food, it's distribution and
its habits is primarily and perslstenty
kept in view.
The boundary waters of the United
States and Canada include two of the
greatest fishing areas of the world.
The Great Lakes constitute the great
est body of fresh water belonging -
any single system, and they are rich
er in fish life than any other. Puget
sound and the adjacent waters are
part of the great Alaskan system, the
region of all the world richest in sal
mon.
In these boundary waters the sta;
utes OF the Dominion of Canada. those
of the different provinces and thos'
of the different states of the Ameri-
can Union are more or less a. cross
purposes. over Lake Erie. FOR eXa m
pie, the richest of the lakes in fisher
les, four states and one province
claim jurisdiction, with the Creates
variation in theory and practice pi
fish protection.
In the treaty of April l., 1905, a.
attempt is made to remedy tins condi'
tion of affairs by the adoption b!
Great Britain and the United states
of identical statutes relating 70 tn
fisheries. Under this treaty TWO com
missioners have been appointed {,
draw up this code of fishery statutes
and is agrred that the code shall b.
submitted to both nations for adop
ton by the first of January, 1903.
The treaty involves. first. joint in
ternationaI actions ia the case OF IN
gratory animals moving from water
OF one nation to those of another II
place of national control on the tw'
sides of the boundary; second, subsGi
tuition of international legislation i
this regard for that of the severa
provinces states and counties, and
third the code of statutes must de
pend upon the nature Ol the litfere2 -
species OF animals it Is des gncd q
protect, the matter becoming, at bot
tom, one of natural history.
In nearly all cases the final key q
the situation is found in artificia
propagation. Artificial hatching
not process 1t IS an art and lik
all arts must rest in science. Fac
species Of fish, like each plant in tn
garden, has its own nature and mus
be met on its own ground. il Is Sc
in its ways and will not conform t
the habits of any other species.
The species Of fishes affected b
this legislation can be grouped Int
about six types as represented by tn
herring, the whitehsh the red sa!mo
of the Pacific, the blacw bass, IN
wall-eye and the sturgeon.