The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-07-29
THE PASSING OF cAP COD.
FaiIure of the FISHERIES Brings Busi-
nas4 Ruin,


| statistics of labor, under thei direction
! of Horace &. Wadlin, shows an inter-
esting and somewhat startling condl-
ton of affairs in Barnstaple county.
otherwise known as Cape Cod If that
county loses IN population as fast IN
| the future as it has during the last 80
years there will be no one in the county
| at all except the jewellers in the ceme-
| teries at the end of few more de-
cades. From 1865 to 1895 the total loss
in population was over 20 per cent, only
| two towns. Falmouth and Province
town, showing gain in those years.
Wellfeet, which had a population OF
1896 in 1868, dropped over 80 per cent.
to COS. Sandwich was also, a loser
The decline in manufacturing is also
remarkable. In 1885 the county had
425 manufacturing establishments and
S2,719,563 invested. In 1895 these fig
ures were 1928 and $51S,866.
The main reliance of the Cape towns
has long been the fishing industry, but
If the reader of the report looks for any
encouraging figures in that line he will
| be disappointed. In 1885 the county
had $1,94l 1921 invested in fisheries, in
1895 it was but 1862, 1856, decline of 81
| per cent. There was an increase in this
| industry in the towns of Bourne, Sand
witch and Truro, but these are noS the
chief fishing towns. PrOyincetOwn cap
ital invested in fishing declined 81 per
cent. and Wellfeet 80 per cent. Har-
| witch capital was almost entirely with
| drawn.
| OF the loss of the fisheries at Prov
! incetown Mr.. Wadlin speaks in way
! that reminds one of Hawthorne's stories
| of the decline of the merchant marine
service at Salem many years ago in Ian
/ guage as follows:
| "Nessels were formerly built hera
| for fishing and whaling. a large num-
| Der Of fitting stores connected with the
| long wharves lined the whole harboI
| front The town was then an active
| place. 1t was the scene of continual
| hustle the fleets fitting out in the
| spring to return in the autumn laden
with full catches. Many mechanics,
including ship carpenters, calkers,
! painters, sailmakers, Triggers and black,
smiths, were employed in building and
repairing this fleet. At one time there
were three marine railways for hauling
out and repairing not only local vessels,
but those from the other Cape towns.
Now, in place of all this activity we
find the fleets absent, the wharves fast
| going to decay. and two of the marine
railways rotting and falling down; the
| third recently sold for taxes, must soon
share the fate of the others. The fail
ure of fishing firms has caused the loss
of much capital depriying many of
employment. The low price of whale
oil has ruined the whaling industry.
| AT present the fleet, except one vessel,
| is at the wharveS waiting for better
times and an improvement i'll the mar
let. The Banks cod fishery has also
been ruined by low prices, scarcity of
fish, the introduction of larger and
more expensive vessels, and enlarged
cost of fittings. The decay of the mack
erel feet is due solely to the disap-
pearance of the fish"
One feature of the report is uneX-
| pectedly encouraging, The value of
agricultural property and products has
increased very materially in the last
few years.
This grave problem of loss of popula-
ton is common one in the sparsely
settled farming districts of New Eng
| land, but has. not come up so promi-
nently before in what might be called
a fishing community. 1t is due to the
fact that the young people seek wider
fields of effort in the great centers of
| population. Mr.. Wadlin's tables show
very large percentage of American
| born persons above 60 years old and a
corresp ondingly small number of young
| people. The foreign born population
| is not large and is not increasing very
fast. There are more Portuguese than
Of any other nationality, and they make
| good fishermen, industrious farmers
and thrifty citizens.
The report discusses the plan of in
| Creasing the productiveness of the
cape land by system of irrigation,
| thus transforming the district from a
| fishing to farming community. State
| aid and colonization schemes are con-
| sidered, but no recommendations are
made. Encouraging comment is made
| on the increase of cranberry culture,
but this industry alone is not suff-
cent to arrest the downward course of
Barnstable county. Whether it can be
| arrested by any means involves tho
consideration of social and economic
problems much deeper than appear on
the surface of the report It's another
eXemplfication of what Mr.. Brice had
in mind when he wrote:
ut is impossible not to regret the
disappearance of picturesquely prim-
tive society which novelists and essay
lists have made familiar to us, with its
delightful mixture of homely sim
plicity and keen intelligence. Of all
the types of rustic life which magma
ton has, since the days of Theocritus.
embellished for the envy or refresh
ment of the jewellers in cities, this latest
type has been to modern Europe the
most real and not the least attractive.
1t will soon have passed away"-N. Y.
Sun.