Evening star., 1914-09-30
Secretary RedfieId Addresses
Delegates of American
Fisheries Society.
CHARGES CONGRESS WITH
LAXITY IN VITAL MATTER
Forty-Fourth Annual Convention Is
Formally Opened Today at the
New National Museum.

Secretary Redfield of the Department
of Commerce today charged Congress
with being lax in not providing the
bureau of fisheries with a pathologist
or a number of such scientists. whose
duty it shall be to see that the people
Of the United States do not eat dis
eased fish.
His statements were made in an ad-
dress Of welcome he delivered at the
forty-fourth annual convention of the
American Fisheries Society, which be-
gan this morning at the New National
Museum building, and which will con-
tinue until Saturday.
Sixty delegates, some of them the
most famous fish culturists, conserva-
tionfsts, wardens and commissioners of
the country, including L. L. Dyche of
Kansas. the builder of the greatest fish
hatchery in the world, gathered to dis
cuss the problems relating to their arts
and sciences.
Their comfort was looked after by
Hugh NJ Smith. for many years United
States fish commissioner, and chair
man of a committee of Washingto-
mans appointed for that purpose.
The convention was called to order
by the president of the society, Henry
B. Ward of the University of Illinois.
who introduced Mr.. Redfeld as the
first speaker.
Secretary Redheld said. in part:
What we want is a fish doctor. 1t
doesn't seem to matter to Congress
whether the people of the United
States eat diseased fish or not. Some
times 1 think we do not get fish doc
tor because we ask for a pathologist.
We might do better if we said we
wanted a plain fish doctor. I have not
yet been able to impress upon Con-
gress the need for him. and Commits
sioner Smith has done his best, but as
yet We have made no progress.
Fisheries Bureau Neglected.
"If by writing personal letters to
your representatives in Congress you
can make them see the necessity for
this expense you will be doing public
service. You are to present papers at
this convention on the diseases OF
fish You should do more. You should
present a personal appeal to every
member of the committee on appro-
as to fish and the public health is the
same as it is in regard to beef, or as
it is in regard to COWS and tuberculo-
sis and the supply of milk or other
Nj. Redfieid told the delegates to the
convention of other difficulties OF the
bureau of fisheries. He said any pri-
vate concern equipped as that bureau
is would soon be obliged to go out OF
business. Abiding to the building oc-
cupied by the the bureau. he said:
the work of helpful incendiary in
connection with that structure, no mat
ter how much I might criticlse the
morality of such an act"
He said that Congress has provided
for the inspections required by law
along the Alaskan coast of $4,000 miles
"a coast line greater than the At
lantic, the Gulf Of Mexico and the
Doci6c oil NUT to0etbar-just four nen
and no boats whatever.
The department" he said, has not
known for years whether the laws are
being violated"
Papers on Afternoon Program.
Following Mr.. Redheld's address, COM
mittees were named and reports of on
GERS were presented At the afternoon
session, which opened at o'clock, the
presentation of papers began. These SUBJ
jects included THE Commercial Inn
portance Of the Paddlefish," "the White
fishes of New York." Stocking of State
Waters" Hawaiian Fisheries Catch
basin Ponds" THE Feeding of Young
Large-mouth Black Bass North Pa
cific Fisheries" Phases of the Fur-seal
Question" THE Santa Catalina Fish Re-
serve" Fresh Water Mussels," New
England Chairs" Fish Parasites and
others.
William C. Kendall. Lewis Radcliffe
and William W. Welsh, all three scien-
tifc assistants of the bureau of fish
cries here. are to present papers at the
convention.
The principal interest this afternoon
and tomorrow afternoon will attach it
self to two motion picture lectures, one
at $50 o'clock this afternoon. on 1.-The
Salmon Industry of the Pacific Coast"
and the other at o'clock tomorrow
afternoon on Salmon Culture on the
Pacific Coast as Practiced by the Unit
ed States Bureau of Fisheries"
Fish Commissioner Smith said today
that these are the most remarkable
motion pictures of fish life ever made.
They will be shown In the auditorium
of the New National Museum building