The morning news., 1899-12-22
OYSTER BEDS DEPLETED.
PRIVATE OWNERSHIP THE ONLY
SOLUTION, CAPT. oEMLER THINKS.

Maryland Now Mourning Over the
Future Outlook for Her Industry.
Due to the Reckless Manner in
Which the Oyster Beds Have Been
RnvnEed-NnturaI oyster Produce
tiOn IA Thing of the Past In Chat
hmm County, Capt. OemIer Says,
and the Future of the Industry De-
pends on Private CuItivntion-A
Better Syhtem of Laws Needed.
The oyster business. appears TO be in
need of regulation along the entire Attain
tic coast a recent issue of the American
Packer of Baltimore declares that the
Maryland beds are becoming rapidly de-
pleted and charges that this is due to the
general disregard of the laws intended for
the protection Of the industry by the oys-
termen themselves. The Packer declares
that the only men who are realizing by
the industry are those who are planting
and caring for private beds, and that the
industry on this basis would exceed in
value the best crops that have ever been
garnered from the natural rock. The
Packer laments the prospect for the oys-
ter industry of Maryland, and says that
from being the greatest industry in the
state it bids fair to sink into mediocrity
in a few years.
The attention of Capt. Augustus Oemler,
who is engaged in the planting and can
ming of oysters was called to this article.
Capt. Oemler said that the conditions on
the Georgia coast are practically the
same as those said to exist in Maryland,
only the unhappy condition predicted by
the Packer for the Maryland industry has
already been practically realized in Geor-
gia.
THE natural beds in this county have
already been almost entirely exhausted"
said Capt Oemler "and about the only
oysters left are those in private beds. In
less these are protected by law the oyster
supply in this section will soon be ex-
hausted. 1t has already been greatly re
duced. can remember in fcrmer years
when there was almost an unlimited sup
ply of oysters in the vicinity of Whining
ton and the other islands of the county.
To-day it is very difficult TO secure oys-
ters. Practically all the oysters brought
to my factory now are the small raccoon
oysters, and these are obtained largely
from the shallow cuts through the marsh
CO. NIlC river Deus ndNlIB Deen EXHAUST
ed. In fact, the greater part of the sup
ply now comes from South Carolina.
The future of the oyster business in
this section" said Capt. Oemler, lies in
private cultivation. For this to be sue
cessful, protection is required for private
property. This has been impossible to OBJ
tain until recently, but the law seems to
be better understood now. The present
law is sufficient for the protection of pri-
vate interests when fully enforced. In or
der TO encourage the development of the
industry, however, some change in the
laws is needed. What should be done is
TO have commission appointed by the
next Legislature 10 come here and inves-
tigate the conditions and TO recommend
such changes in the laws as will encourage
the development of the industry. The best
means of accomplishing this result would
be TO have the commission define the linn
It's of the ownership of the landowners
about which there is now much dispute
the rights of the landowners being fire.
quently trampled upon and they in turn
frequently claiming more than they are
entitled TO. The rights of the riparian
landowners should be plainly de-
fined so that the owners would
be free to cultivate the lands themselves
or to lease them to others for purposes of
cultivation. The large extent of territory
which would not be allotted to the ripa-
rian landowners could be turned over to
the Board of Education for sale or lease
under such conditions as would give the To-
cal oystermen the first chance. There are
already a number of private owners who
are cultivating in a small way, but owing
to the doubts about the law and the non
protection of private interests the indus
try is greatly retarded"
''The oyster grounds of Chatham and
other coast counties" said Capt. Oemler,
would prove immensely valuable ard
great source of revenue and profit under
laws providing for system of private
ownership and intelligently defining the
rights of all concerned No oyster police
would be required, as is the case in Mary
land, with the laws once understood by
both oystermen and jurymen there would
be no further trouble. At the present rate
of depletion natural oysters will soon be
a thing of the past in Chatham county
oysters are already imported here in large
quantities from other places"
Capt. Oemler said that the Georgia oys-
fers are as good as any, and that while
there are oysters from other points which
have a higher reputation, there is no rea-
son why this should be so. A few years
ago, when the oyster beds of maryland
were frozen up the Oemler Oyster Com
pany shipped oysters to the Baltimore
factories a SIPS per gallon which " tc
canned and sold as Baltimore oysters. The
ordinary selling price Of the local product
on the Savannah market is 50 cents a
gallon.