Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1922-09-28
POLLUTION
The Most Important Problem the /.
w L. A. Will Have to Solve.

The following letter from Mr.. Geo
/ n. Wood, Of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis
consin, will give our readers a reaiiz
ing sense of the enormity of stream
! pollution, and its disa strous effects on
life beneath the waters. Mr.. Wood
knows whereof he speaks, for out of
| the abundance of the heart the mouth
| speaketh. He is youched for, and his
statements indorsed by the clerk OF
| the circuit court, and the Mayor,
Postmaster and banker of his town.
When | resided in Wisconsin, years
ago, the Wisconsin River was fine
! fishing stream, and was noted for its
scenic beauty the Dells especially be-
ing favorite summer resort:
Ny dear DIR. Henshan; | sincerely
| hope that the efforts for the protec-
tion and propa cation Of the game fish
of America as outlined by the plat
form of the Izaak Walton League of
America may prove to be a success.
The league will meet with an unseen
power, which will be hard to defeat
it is money, backed by the best legal
talent, newspapers and most danger
GUS of all, the unscrupulous politi-
clans.
have been an Outer all my life.
having been born here in 1854-was
in my 19th year before we had steam
railroad in this territory.
Our Wisconsin River, which is a tri-
butary of the Mississippi River, is
426 miles long, with a fall of 1854 feet.
The fall in the river from Tomahawk
to the last Of the rapids at Nekoosa,
s miles below us, is SO feet.
Before the advent of paper mills
(sulphate, sulphite and ground wood
pulp mills) on this river, game fish
were very plentiful, especially in and
near the many rapids, such as small
mouth black bass, muskies, pike, pick
erel, channel catfish and sturgeon.
Now about the only fish we are able
to get in this territory, are few small
pike and pickerel and bullheads. The
pike are to be found at and near the
mouth of the tributary unpolluted
creeks.
1t is impossible to dip up pail OF
water in any part of the river, with
out getting the finely grouud spruce
pulp in the pail This condition COW
ers a hundred miles Or more of the
river.
For many years / tried to have our
game wardens arrest and prosecute
our paper mill officials for breaking
our state laws in polluting the river
the Wardens are sure to arrest the
poor devil" In July, 1917, | took ur
the matter of the pollution of our river
with our state conservation commits
sion at Madison. [ have their letters
on file, which tell me that the infor-
nation which We gave them on pollu-
tion of our river was very important
that their commission, together with
the state board Of health, with
chemist, would be up here to investi-
gate the matter-the commission new
er came-later one of their game war
dens came and organized a fish and
game club, of which one of the law
yers of the paper mill INTEREST was
made president. The V. P. was a law
yer and a stakeholder of two of our
paper mills, and the secretary was
the fright hand man" of one of the
largest paper mill owners. Our new
game club never made an effort tc
prevent the politicians from transfer
ring the inland waters from the con-
servation commission to the state
board of health.
So far as Wisconsin is concerned, it
will be many moons before the waters
of the Wisconsin and Chippewa Rivers
which empty their waters into the
Mississippi River, and the Fox which
flows into Lake Michigan, will be free
from the enormous amount of paper
mill refuse, as the paper mill inter
ests, each with newspaper, bank, best
of legal talent, unscrupulous politi-
clans. and the aid of two leading rail
road lobbies control our state legis-
lature.
We're I a competent correspondent,
would break into public print and
show up this bunch who now cry
SAVE WISCONSIN" You hear
their cry and then no more after the
fall electioni
Yours for conservation,
GEO. n. WOOD.
-Izaak Walton League Monthly.