Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-12-04
LOOKS FOR HARD FIGHT.

battle before him, nor has he anticipated
anything else but a hard battle. he is
armed with facts and statistical inform
alton and has studied the oyster situation
carefully for many months. He VIII
quote authorities of this State and other
States and those of the national govern
ment on the subject. Mr.. Jordan Will
undertake to show that the States oyster
beds are being depleted every year under
the present system, and that IN the course
of few years this great interest OF the
State will be practically extinct unless
prompt remedial legislation is had. Ihat
is what he proposes in his bill, which ne
has drawn with great care.
SOON BE A BARREN SURVEY.
The natural oyster rock included with
in what is known as the Baylor survey is
year by year being rendered barren oy
the oystermen who disregard the law and
scrape way all the rock on which oysters
are produced. Then this process is car
ried to other localities until slowly. but
steadily the oyster producing area is be-
ing narrowed until in few years. with
out some prompt remedial legislation, the
supply of oysters will be limited to those
grown on private planting grounds.
These dredgers under the present la W pay
a tax. at least all of them are supposed
to do so. and some do. In many local.
ties the OyStermen are said to nave prac-
tically defied the State to collect this tax
or to restrain them from taking oysters.
\ large proportion of the Virginia oyster
product he contends. comes from planted
beds The supply of seed oysters is de-
creasing yearly. and so rapid has been the
dirninution of the supply that it is assert
ed that it has decreased SIS per cent IN
five years. The patron of the bill pro-
posing to break the Baylor survey be-
lieves that the State should not only fos-
ter this great interest, but that 1t should
also derive a larger net revenue from
the oyster.
CULTIVATOR BENEFICIARY.
The Jordan bill will be offered with this
dual purpose, and its patron is confident
that he can show that it will accomplish
these objects without detriment to the
interests of the oyster taker
The entire motive of the bill is to make
it to the interest of the oyster planter to
cultivate the oyster rocks and shoals OF
the State by making him the beneficiary OF
the increased producing power Of the ter
ritory leased by him. In short. he pro-
poses to lease the territory now embraced
in the Baylor survey (now open to all
who pay the tax to take OysterS) to
private parties for a term of years. who
at the expiration of that tenure are to
surrender the lands to the State. Since
it will be to the interest of the planter
to make his planting ground as prolific
as possible, he will thus cultivate the ter
ritory he leases and when his lease ex-
pires it will be in a state of great produc
tive capacity.
IN INTEREST OF THE WEALTHY.
The opponents of the bill admit many Of
the contentious of the advocates of the
measure. but contend that the bill is in
the interest of he wealthy oyster planters
and packers, who will soon monopolize
~%~ Df Cf-So 70 hn
exclusion of the thousands Of poor oyster
men, One of the Tidewater members con-
tends that if the bill is passed it will
bring about a political revolution and
turn the TideWater section of the State
Republican, but the friends of the meas
ure regard this as an idle threat.
That some remedy for the bad
and ly-growing-worse sonditions is
promptly and impera lively demanded is
conceded generally. The only question is
how to best accomplish the desired result.
\ week ago a correspondent of the Bal
timore American. writing to that paper
from Cambridge. Md, gave a gloomy ac-
count of the oyster prospect in the waters
of that State. and the statement is made
that the Virginia supply is growing short
er every year.
SITUATION IN MARYLAND.
Here is the letter of the Cambridge
correspondent of the American. describing
conditions which, it is claimed. will soon
be similar in this States waters:
1.-The American correspondent inter-
viewed number of captains just return
ed from the oyster grounds of the Chop
tank, and all gave very gloomy reports OF
the oyster supply and the chances of sue
cess for the seasons work.
with nine tenths of the scrapers the
season will prove a failure
Some of the best dredgers on Chesa-
peake bay live at Cambridge. and several
Of them returned home last week. dis
charged their crews and laid their boats
up, declaring that it was impossible for
them to make expenses. oysters being
scarce. wages low and food supplies very
high.
Dredging began only about three weeks
ago, and a number of the river cap
tains returning here to-day say that they
have barely met their expenses; that the
bottoms are almost barren of marketable
oysters. and that they see no possibility
Of ma king enough money to pay for their
f1tting-up expenses. Some of them will
not go down the river again; others say
they will drop out after next week. and
the majority of those who do continue
to work after that time Will go out only
with crews willing to work on shares.
.'It has been only few years ago since
the dredging season extended from Octo-
Der LIST to April list. and then it was not
a question of catching a supply. but Of