COLUMN : BASS HISTORY the savior of black bass
How Harry Hawes and the Black Bass Bill paved the way for bass conservation in the U . S .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ken Duke has been writing about all aspects of bass fishing for 40 years . When he ’ s not reading about , writing about , thinking about or talking about bass fishing , he ’ s usually bass fishing . e live in challenging political times , perhaps the most divisive United States political climate since the War Between the States ( 1861-1865 ). With any luck , tensions will ease , heads will
W cool , and we ’ ll be less divided moving forward . For now , though , let ’ s take a look at a politician that time has mostly forgotten , but who shared our passion and devotion for bass fishing . He used his influence to protect our beloved bass to a greater effect than perhaps anyone else in history .
His name was Harry Barton Hawes , and he was born in Covington , Kentucky – just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati – in 1869 , not too long after the War Between the States ended . He came from a political family . His grandfather had been a U . S . Congressman and the second Confederate Governor of Kentucky . Other family members served the public dating back to the American Revolution .
When he was 18 and had finished his preliminary education , Hawes moved west to St . Louis , Missouri . He went to law school and became an attorney specializing in corporate and international law . He was interested in American expansion and the relationships between nations .
In 1898 , Hawes received his first political appointment . The governor made him chairman of the St . Louis Police Board . Two years later , streetcar workers went on strike , and thousands of labor supporters did considerable damage to city property . Hawes formed a 2,500-man force to restore order . It wasn ’ t easy or bloodless , but it worked , and it brought him considerable notoriety and prompted a run for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1904 .
He lost by a wide margin . Another 12 years would pass before he would run for office again .
26 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2022