Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1902-06-21
NO WORCESTER SYNDICATE.

Hannah oyster law, but that
does not blind us to the fact
that Mr.. Hannah can get badly
mixed, which he has done i'm his
discussion of the "Sinepuxent
oyster syndicate" as he calls
it. Mr.. Hannah says:
Worcester county has an
oyster planting law, which is
far more radical than the one
embodied in what is known as
the Hannah bill The Sinepux-
ent bay syndicate is making a
great deal of money out of oys-
ter planting in Worcester coun-
ty. Naturally, this syndicate
was opposed To a system which
would bring into cultivation "a
body of land many times larger,
and infinitely more valuable,
than that of the Sincpuxent
bay. 1t was a small thing to
block so great cause. | think
| can promise you that it will
not block the cause another
session. a bill will be offered
early in the next session to
wipe out the Sinepuxent bay
syndicate, by repeating the
Worcester county law. We will
see whether a few men in one
county can interfere with the
welfare and prosperity of the
entire State. If oyster plant
ing is wrong in the Chesapeake
it is wrong in the Sinepuxent,
and must be stopped.
Ever since the above appear
ed in the Sun paper the people
of Worcester County have been
looking for the syndicate that
Mr.. Hannah speaks so glibly
about. Such a thing does not
exist. Sinepuxent bay is a
little body of water making
along the Worcester line down
to Virginia, no other county i'm
the state borders on it, its nat
ural oyster beds amount to
nothing and are free to all who
care to waste valuable time try
ing to tong few oysters. Any
one who desires to invest in
plants can put them in the bay
and wait for them to grow lar
ger, take them up and ship
them to the Northern cities.
There is such risk in:this, how
ever, that thousands of dollars
worth of Chesapeake seed oys-
tiers have been planted here and
never seen again because of be-
ing buried in the mud or dying
for want of sufficient nourish-
ment. This is not always the
case though, for great many
of our people make a good liv-
ing out of the bay, but they
happen to strike it when the
water conditions are favorable.
and none have made the great
fortunes reported some months
ago when the Hannah oyster
bill was before the Legislature.
If there is a syndicate here it is
a common one in which every
man in Worcester county is in
terested, and such statements
as made by Mr.. Hannah are de-
signedly misleading. AS to the
statement that our people were
interested in the defeat of the
Hannah law because it would
interfere with our profits, it
amounts to nothing, for there is
not near enough oysters to sup
ply the market according to Mr..
Humans own statements made
during the last session of the
legislature.
As to the threats made in the
last clause of his statement
printed above, they are un-
worthy any public spirited
man. If he believes the Wor,
cester law is right, and he
evidently does, he cannot do his
cause any good by such foolish
talk and untruthfui statements.
There are valuable oyster
beds in the Chesapeake bay
there are none in the Sinepux-
ent. Oyster shells and other
material will catch spat in the
Chesapeake bay and produce
fine oysters. There is no way
TO produce oysters in the Sine.
puxent Bay except to lay them
down and wait two years fol
them to grow and fatten. 1t is a
good bedding place, and that is
all, and under adverse condi.
tions which often prevail, it is
a good place to lose money, as
can be testified to by hundreds
of those who know by bitter ex
perience. 1t is only those who
work year in and year out in the
'yater who have made anything
and then only a good living
Moneyed men here are not try
ing to get hold of the bottoms
IF the Sinepuxent as Mr.. Hamar
nd his friends are the valuabl,
ottoms of the Chesapeake. be