Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-09-26

| maui! But or cour the meShes
were very large suppose they only
caught sharks, sturgeon, porpoist
and such fish. Why, that is more
good fish than a pound-net will
catch in two years, or purse-net in
ten. Let our friend go up the bay
between Norfolk and the Potomac
from July 1st to September 1st and
see how many pouud-nets he will
find. Now, the pound-nets are used
in the spring and fall to catch shad,
herring, butter-fish, grass and sea-
nettles. By-the-way, l will try next
spring to get some of the fishermen
to- ship the Dispatch editor some OF
the grass occasionally, kinder give
him change of diet.
Who ever heard of shad and those
other fish l mentioned biting at any
kid-glove flsherman's bait? Old
"Anti" says that large. fat spots
once sold at ten cents a peck, but
now sell for seventy-five cents pei
6ozen. The Dispatch editor says a
man could catch hundred in back
years. That is about two pecks,
bringing twenty cents. Now he can
certainly catch a dozen that's
seventy-fve cents. Surely we poor
devils had rather put dozen spots
on a string and peddle them around
than to lug about half bushel
because we'd have fifty-five cents
more and not be so tired. Oh! yes
| know where the rub is; our friend,
"Anti-Trust," is like lots of these
other professional anti-trusts-they
don't care snap Of their fingers fol-
the poor man until they have to 90
down in their pockets. Then they
cry monopoly, trust" and every
thing else. Why, we poor fishermen
can sell our spots for seventy-fiv
cents, get two pounds of nice, juicy
sirloin and have thirty-ive cents
left, That's where the shoe hurts,
isn't it? Old "Anti'' says hog fish
are as acaroe as "hens' teeth" but
by his letter it looks as though hogs
were thick enough. | would like
for "Anti' to come up here next
spring aud look at our pound-net
and see how large. the meshes are.
Why, man alive, we have them so
everything but the shad can swim
right through them-with a few
exceptions.
Mr. Editor, 1t certainly is hard
that our people here in Tidewater
are being eternally jumped on by
these kid glove sportsmen. They
done want us to have any oysters,
iish or anything else. They know
about as much of what they are
harping on as John l.. Sullivan
knows about carrying on a revival.
Everyone knows-or should know,
for it is the trutb-that if we did
not catch these fish they would 90
North to Delaware and New York
and down East and get caught.
But every little whipper. snapper
that is used to going to a mill-pond
and catching yellow bellies, chubs
and cells thinks that he ia an A. NJ.
in the fish and oyster industries aud
they have got TO air their mill dam
knowledge in some paper. l am
surprised that paper published in
Tidewater, like the Dispatch, sharing
in her prosperity, should snap at any
little bait like that. Of conrse they
don't consider the difference. Take
the intestines of a defunct feline,
about two cents worth of steel and
few fancy reels and rods and you
can fit out dozen of the kid glove
sports. They will lie away to some
shady SPOT, drink whiskey and swap
lies; then come by the market, buy
their fish and swear they caught
them. They don't pay a cent tax
for doing it, and frequently they steal
away fishing to escape the tax
gatherer or doing their duty as
citizens on election day. Let them
consider the hundreds of thousands
of dollars that are put into the
hands Of the poor of Tidewater by
the commercial fisheries. Why, it
costs over hundred thousand dol
lars to run one of our factories six
months, to say nothing of the thous-
ands of people it gives employment
to-from the growers who fur
nish twine, the men that make the
nets, those employed directly in the
business of fishing, men preparing
fertilizers for the farmers to raise
grass for those vegetarians, and a
host of others too numerous to men,
ton. In addition to this reckon the
thousands of dollars it puts in our
State treasury.
l honestly believe that if some of
these kid-glove sports had been
standing on the banks of the Sea of
Galilee when our blessed Saviour
told Peter and the other disciples to
cast their net on the other side, and
got that big haul of fish, that they
would have kicked jnst about as
hard as these fellows are kicking
now. The next morning would have
found letter In the Jerusalem Dis
patch abusing the poor fishermen of
Galiiee. They would have lost sight
of the wonderful miracle in their
dog-in-the-manger churlishness.
Now, Mr.. Editor, let me wind this
letter up (Which / should have done
long ago) with suggestion to ouI
esteemed friends, the Norfolk Dis.
patch and "Anti-Trust," and all the
kid-glove sports, wise fish and fish
otherwise. After much study ]
have evolved plan that 1 think
will satisfy all parties. Let each
county in Tidewater, in mass-meet
ing assembled, petition our congress.
men to try to get bill through
Congress at its next session to SCI
aside certain portion of the Chesa
peake Bay as sort Of Yellow Ston,
Water Park, like our national pre-
serve out West, to be under the
direct supervision of the Nationa