Evening star., 1922-05-10
0'MALLEY TO HEAD
FISHERIES BUREAU
Picked by President as
Successor to Dr.. Hugh
M. Smith.

The nomination OF Henry O'Malley,
now in charge Of all activities of the
bureau of fisheries on the Pacific coast,
to be commissioner of fisheries will
probably be sent to the Senate by Pres
ident Harding. late this afternoon TO
succeed DR.. Hugh NJ. Smith. who re-
Gently resigned after nine years service
as commissioner. His appointment was
made upon the recommendation Oh sec
retary OF Commerce Hoover.
Several possibilities were mention
ed for this important federal position
and a number of candidates nave
pressed their claims to recognition.
based on more or less experience and
ability. both technical and CONNER
cial. Friends both within and with
out the bureau seem pleased that a
man was selected from the personnel
of the force and one who. like his
predecessor. with whom he has for
years worked in harmony. has risen
from the very bottom.
Is Native of Vermont.
Commissioner O'Malley is L native
Of st. Johnsbury, Vt. He entered the
employment of the bureau Of fisheries
in 1897 as an apprentice fish cultur-
ist at the st. Johnsbury hatchery, one
of the largest of eastern hatcheries
and one specializing in game fishes
Since that time his experience, par
ticularly in practical field work, has
transferred to the bureaus station In
Leadville, Col. Next he was pro-
NOTED to fish culturist at Baker Lake,
Wash. in which capacity he remained
as superintendent of all the Wash
ington stations in 1903.
Four years later Mr.. O'Malley was
given charge Of the bureaus work
in the Columbia river watershed. re-
naming there until December, 1913,
when he was placed in charge of the
fish cultural work on the Pacific
coast, with headquarters in Seattle.
In June, 1916, he was brought to this
city and made chief of the division of
tion until July. 1918, when he was
placed in charge of all the activities
on the western coast. Thence he was
promoted to be commissioner
Notable Achievement.
Ono of Mr.. O'Malley's notable
achievements was the discovery in
1905 of a salt-solution process for
separating dead fish eggs from live
ones. thereby eliminating the neces-
sity of employing many persons to
remove such eggs by hand, with a
of large sums of money yearly. In
1916 he was elected president Of the
Pacific Coast Fisheries Society and
two years later president of the
American Fisheries Society
At the time he took up his duties
at the hatcheries in the Columbia
watershed the salmon runs on that
famous river were on the decline. 1t
had heretofore been the practice to
Hberate the salmon fry as soon as
the yolk sack with which the baby
fish are equipped had been absorbed
Through his efforts. however, that
method was changed. and the feed
ing of young salmon on an extensive
scale was begun. The wisdom of the
change has been proved by the great
ly augmented salmon runs in that To-
cality during recent years..
Spends Three Years in Alaska.
For the past three years the newly
appointed commissioner has spent the
entire fishing season in Alaska, where
in conjunction with DR.. Charles H.
Gilbert of Leland Stanford University,
he has made comprehensive inyesti-
cations Of the fisheries, which are
one of the most valuable resources
Of that wonderful territory. Reports
of this work were published by the
bureau in 1919 and 1920.
Mr.. O'Malley has always associated
himself with the civic organizations
in the communities wherein he has
resided. His wife. who has been liv-
Ing in Seattle expects soon to Join
him here in Washington.