The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1899-11-09
One View Of the Oyster Question.

SAs We" ~ eAS SySNS4 N~N-N-N"'
To The Free Lance
The article from the Hump ou Mon.
ltr contains much food Tor thought and
discussion. That the oyster question
will be largely in evidence next winter
is already clearly apparent The Mon
tor r, presents the would be buyers Of
1ur oyster bottoms as saying TO the up
country Legislators:
." The natural rocks are not plying
| Tor the expense Il protecting them :
convey them u US AID We Will turn
INTO your State treasury thousands OF
| dollars, where you now receive one
And the Monitor proceeds TO saw ::
q" What answer can the tonRman make
| 10 this? Gan he turn 70 the man whose
property is being taxed 90 guard the
natural rocks, and ask him not to vote
them away
He can; for he is the man himself
| He can point 10 the thousands Of homes
created almost solely from the products
# ire waters he can point to hundreds
of thousands Of dollars worth Of taxa
| bic property added TO the revenue pro
duclng power Of the State he can
lolnt so thousands Of acres OF almost
worthless lands that have been made 70
| blossom as the rose, aud on when ne
| has expended untold thousands u cre-
ate homes for his wife aud litile ones,
| and these acres are taxed at ten times
the rate Of the lands Of the interior; he
can show the by higher assessed value u
his property that IL pays the state more
| than II costs TO protect the natural
| oyster rOcks he can point ~ the ma
terial prosperity of the community in
which he lives Living from hand TO
mouth, he usually spends his money as
| fast az made he is the best cash Gus
toner the thriving merchant mas ne
furnishes O market at home for most OF
the corn and other products OF the
farms; he frequently keeps horse Tor
which he must purchase feed; he buys
nearly everything he needs 20 eat, wear,
or use. and he generally fOots his bills
promptly. By his labors In the waters
he gives that much more chance To the
balance OF the people to earn a living
on the land. I'd he materially aids
them by spending the cash received
from the sales Of his oysters right at
home On yes, he can ask the man
who foots the bills not to vote away
the oyster rocks into the power OF the
monop list. because he is the man.
The generally received opinion is
that the interior Of the State pays Tor
the privilege Of thu topgman taking the
oysters. but such is clearly not the
case. A little reflection ought to con-
vince the mos sceptlcal that the higher
taxable values Of tidewater are largely
the result Of the ov Sherman labor, and
are more than sufficient to pay the en-
tire cost Of protecting the oyster rocks
Section 2 Of Article 10 Of the Constl-
tuition ought to go by all means. II
has been stumbling block Tor years
Every self. respecting tonRman In tide
water would be glad II 1t were TO oe
struckout Of the fundamental law OF tins
State. If he were assured that IL would
not be the means Of selling the ovstsl
beds II has been the cause OF oaC
laws and loss Of Thousands or dollars tt
the State. The laws have been framed
with the express purpose Of evading tn'
Constitution. and illectlng revenue IL
defiance OF II.
In common with all classes OF people
the tongman naturally objects TO nave
his taxes increased. and consequently
fears the results Of the repeal OF Section
Rnt the honest toDgman sees othel
men openly violating the laws. and II
ia natural that he should grumble at hii
hard lot in complying Herewith. wher
the violater and evader are rarely pun
ished. Therefore, in justice to him
self, the self.respeoting tonRmau would
favor the striking out Of the section
aud the imposition Of a specific tax To-
the privilege OF catching oysters.
The Richmond Dispatch is Informed
that the planters desire a change 81
that the tongman shall bear large
share Of the burdens Of revenue taxa
ton. Quite natural, to be sure, Their
is always antagonism between the tong
. man and the planter. The tongmal
wants all the bottoms, where oyster
grow naturally. for his own use. VIM
Z the planter wants every acre ne ca
manage to get hold Of and up to DAT
e he has got thousands OF acres tnat Va
tongman claim TO be natural rocks-
The Baylor survey Of the oyster o.o
was very unssti factory. Multitude
# rocks were left out entirely, AID nav
, since been assigned by inspectors !
a planters. OF course the planter Is nc
n blame He is in the business
4 make money, and II the laws allow hii
10 take up natural oyster rock, 1t Ia th
fault Of the law, not the planter. An