The Portland daily press., 1894-04-24
SHORT LOBSTERS.
Extraordinary demonstration of the
Law by Everybody.

Over DC, 900 Sold in this City Last Week
Then Commissioner Written Said "stop"
HOLSTERS Handled Illegally for Five
Years-Inquisitive Rockland Parties
Cause the Change.
There is an astonishing situation in the
lobster business at the present time, as
local dealer informs us. Last Friday being
April Goth, the lobster fishermen and the
dealers in this city began handling short
Holsters as they have on that date for the
mast five years, without any suggestion that
the law was not off on that date. Also
several canning factories started up down
in Boothbay as is their custom. FRIDAY anu
Saturday between 10000 and $4,000 short
Holsters were handled in this city. But
Saturday SOMEBODY down in Rockland tele-
eraphed up here to Fish Commissioner
Written, to enquire if it was lawful toshandle
short Holsters after the Goth of April. Then
the fact was revealed that for the last flve
wears. between April Goth and May LIST, snort
Holsters, in great quantities, nave peeh
handled illegally. The law is that open time
for canning factories is between April 2oth
and the first of July; that is, that factories
may pack Holsters during that time and that
time only 1t has been construed that thev
could pack all kinds of Holsters during thaG
time, and they have done SO and all hano-
lers of Holsters have handled short Holsters
during that time. But the law is that snort
Holsters are only legal after May first, and
now it is going to be enforced for the first
time in five years. About all the short
Holsters brought in here last week were dis
posed of Friday and Saturday, the sale be-
ing very quick. But short Holsters are
probably somewhere about the bay. There
is no doubt of that. And short Holsters are
coming in smacks, expected to arrive soon.
They will have to be sent back, of course.
Probably if they are found by the wardens
the situation may not demand that the
owners be fined, but only that thu Holsters
be liberated.
The factories at Boothbay will have to
shut down till May first, of course. 1t
seems hardly probable that this m1scon-
struction of the law could have been un1ver-
sal. Some Gamers must have known that
they could only pack 1915 inches Holsters be-
tween April goth and May LIST, yet for five
wears. we are informed, and we believe,
creditably so, short lobtsers have been
universally and Illegally handled by
packers and traders alike from April goth
to May 1st. 1t is certainly an extraordinary
situation.
Some of the dealers here who have not
known about the law, and who have sup
posed that April 20 was the legal date, have
been highly indignant that their selling of
short Holsters should be so suddenly
stopped, and have declared that the law
had been changed by the packers, indie
pendent of the legislature, and that it was
about time to make emphatic protest. 1t
certainly did look that way if one did not
understand all about the extraordinary
miscons truction of the law that has been
going on.
Commissioner Written desires it to be
generally known that the lobster law here
after is as above stated, and that short
Holsters are Illegal till after May LIST.
We are also informedaby those who ought
to know that the misconstruction of the
law, all this time has actually been univer-
sal and that all handlers of Holsters, and
also wardens have really supposed that the
law was off short Holsters on April goth.