The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-10-22
THE OYSTER QUESTION.
Another Side of the scarcity of Oys-
ter" Presented.

Tor home consumption. but my nttcu-
ton was drawn TO the fact by a signed
article. headed The oyster Question A"
AS have for q long time been champion
INK the public cause 1 deem IL proper
for me TO give my views on this subject
obtained from Ions study aud careful iu.
vesugatiop.
For the past hundred years. up 20 the
time OF the establishment OF the Dem 60
oyster Company with It's machinery.
steamers, TUGS drodges. boats. watohmcn.
shuckers gathercrs. etc, there was never
any complaint OF scarcity OF oysters.
nor was there any such scarcity for the
natural supply was abundant
Immediately upon the advent OF the
oyster canning factory with It's capacity
for consuming IA one day as much as Oil
the oyster men could gather In a week.
the scarcity. so-called, commenced. Oys-
tiers, themselves. will multiply Infinitely.
the only limit 10 their production being
the area OF suitable ground. on sucn
ground on the coast % this state. they
grow without assistance nor can they
oe made 10 grow elsewhere by artificial
means.
There Is only one species or oyster in
Georgia, but the different varieties Of oys-
tiers grow according to the character OF
the water. soil. depth aud whether or
not exposed TO sun and cold by the tides.
Just as ali sweet potatoes are dependent
on the kind OF coil. care. etc. they get
Tor their size and quality
But any place on which oysters grow
IS a natural oyster bed ana no matter
how often depleted will recupcrate and
repleuish n given two years. for they do
not grow from roots Or seed. but in their
early life they are a swimming fish fll-
Ing the water In countless billions but
only those which settle down on favorable
territory live. ana comparatively only a
few OF them.
In 1859 the flrst oysterslaw was passed.
a general law" my friend says. in his
article OF Saturday. oct %. and operates
uniformly throughout the state" by
which be means that Il operates In Full
ton, Richmond. Muscogee. Dade and
Cherokee counties, as well as In Chatham,
Bryan Liberty. Mcintosh and Glynn, aud
that law enabled any citizen 10 obtain
lease 70 five acres. and no more. OF river
bottom on which no natural oyster beds
existed. provided, he staked Il and plant
Cd Il with oysters or shells and complied
with certain other requirements. II was
5. Herman. l. Q. Haas, s.
W. II. Adams A. r. So,omous. II. y.
Platen. T. J. Davis. J. +. NARROW J. r.
Einstciu. c. \. shearson. II. d. stevens
and large number Of other business
men. who were stockholders OF the Dem
Ter oyster Company. obtained leases to
tho territory in oyster creek and
shad river. all OF which were
natural oyster beds. oyster creek dcriv-
Ing las name from that fact. and then af-
IA O. NaIa
representing the Oem'er oyster Canning
Factory. No one Tor a moment supposes
that when Messrs. Kayton, Haas and 9th
ers took out their leases they had any
idea Of themselves planting any oysters
on this territory. In 1891. after
all these leases had been OBJ
tanned 10 these natural oyster
beds. a bin backed by Mr. Oemler. was
introduced. and was passed by the Legis-
lature. declaring all leases Heretofore
granted 60 be valid and binding. and also
prescribing that brakes chart should be
conclusive OF the existence or non-exist-
ence OF natural oyster beds: but on this
chart none OF the lands which had been
or were then being taken up by stockhOd-
err Of the Ocmler oyster Company were
shown TO contain natural oyster beds This
same law aiso repealed tho provis-
Ion OF the pre-existing law that leases
taken out could be assigned within a
year from their being granted by the
state. So that the oemler oyster Com
pany, which s. now defunct. by paNlng
avs through the Legislature. obtained al
the most valuable natural oyster beds IA
the county under void leases. and then
validated the void leases BY an act OF
the Legislature. and now the
scarcity OF oysters a. attributed to
the FISHERMAN who earns his living by
picking from natural oyster beds a scant
hushel or two OF oysters on a tide By
which he gets % cents TO 81 for his days
work The oysteTmen realize that they
have been lcgislated out Of their livcll-
hood: that the public oyster beds from
which they have always obtained their
living have been taken from them by
what they have been advised and believe
10 be an unconstitutional law. and be-
fore they will allow their children and
themselves 70 starve and the money they
should and could otherwise be earning 60
20 into an oyster trust" they Will
test the law by exercising their public
right as citizen to gather from natural
beds
Let any man visit the orig
inal oyster canning factory In this coun-
~ and look az the millions OF
bushels OF oyster shells piled
up along the shore ana on the land.
estimate the thousands and thousands Of
bushels more Of them that are used 10
pave the streets OF Savannah. the roada OF
Chatham county. and the thousands upon
thousands more Of them used for building
up The suburban river-hlun fronts, and
garden walks. and the thousands Of bush
sls more used for pier foundations and hll-
ings, nor one bushel Of which Is obtained
from the oystermcn who claim the same
right to natural oyster beds that they
have always claimed; and then let him
say whether the scarcity OF oysters Is due
20 the factories which supply Chicago and
the interior or 20 the hshermsn. who has
always. until the advent OF the oyster
company. furnished the citizens o. Chat
ham county. who now can scarcely get a
raw oyster. with a bounteous supply
champion The public right under which
the oystermcn have claimed and now
claim: aud. as the learned counsel
has seen NJ 20 present his cii-
enrs side OF the matter thought
90 was only Justice that the
oyster-gatherers' side. he aian presented
Geo ". Beckett
Savannah. Ca. oct. n, 1907.
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