The San Francisco call., 1905-03-05

-- in fact more or less 50 70 lhlS
worry day. The average person
knows that there are plenty OF
them for sale IN the jewelry shops
and getting and paying for them Is
sheir only trouble Where they come
from originally matters but little so
long as they are there
.-- But pearls do not grow on bushes
nor are they 70 lie had for the ask
sng. Each a-d every one means
deal OF labor, the risking Of a human
p life and a certain expenditure OF
money. Not so many wears ago pearl
ing meant next door 10 nothing, put
nowadays It has sprung into prouain-
ence and is rapidly pushing itself INTO
the world OF commerce. For pearl
fishing Is not a pastime or something
20 be taken Up during the summer
vacation; instead il is a business that
must be handled carefully and scien-
tifcauy to make It worth while.
The modern diving apparatus Is
responsible for this new trade, Tor
I'd 70 the tine OF its invention nude
divers were employed and the result
yvss-fhe recover Of but limited sup
uIv OF shell and pearls. The diver
took his life in his hands and went
under TO DO his very best But ms
hest was scarcely worth speaking OF.
rz,s limit Of duration was but few
seconds and his field within his arm 5
reacb 81 one can easily see that MS
D stara Of the oceans spoils would not
soon place him IN the ranks OF the
milliOnaires- ~
Rut these DAYS II is entirely differ
ent. In the first place, the Govern
rnent put a stop 10 nude workers for
.be sharks were busy plying their
s-s5a AZ the same time. and when the
fvvo came together there was bound
he a graz. crash. Bes.- = this. the
diving apparatus was placed on the
marker and in no time every olVer
vas enabled TO remain under water
from one 70 three hours. according
IA the depth Of the water, ana 70 gain
e. more than twenty natural divers
could possibly CLEAN
Looking for pearls TO be fashioned
into rings. pins and other gewgaws
= but q part Of the business and the
. smallest part, too, by the way. The
shells themselves are what really
count. Day after day no pearl Of any
market value Is found, but the shell
IS cleaned and boxed ready for ship
Ming. and they fetch anywhere from
$50 70 s75 a hundred weight.
o. OF oysters there are two kinds that
particularly interest the dealer. The
one that Is found IN ell parts Of the
world. even along the coast of Cali
fornia- and that is valuable only for
the pearl that Il may contain. The
D., other, commonly known as the
mother O. pearl" produces the largest
r.earls, but * is mainly gathered for
the shells, a single pair often weigh
ing when cleaned and dry as much as
eighteen pounds. When I tell you
that as much as 1000 tons OF mother
o. pearl shell reaches the London mar
ket every year, you can easily realize
that Il is an industry Of no small con-
sequence. II has been calculated that
the annual take OF a single boat is
about Eve tons. and that the value
per ton ranges from $500 to s240o.
according TO the size and condition of
the shells.
In Australia this business means not
e. little. In the first place there are
about 600 boats and schooners con-
stantly employed, each one represent
ing an outlay OF some $4,000.
OF course, this means the employ
rnent OF many people. and while great
many are imported into the country
under a three-year contract, many
Australians are dependent upon the in
dustry for a living. In fact it has
been rudely figured out that fully 5000
men owe their daily bread and butter
TO the oyster and its spoils.
The laws Of Australia have always
been very generous and any foreigner
coming In and paying the stipulated
price for privileges and protection may
20 about his business with perfect free
dom. So II stands 70 reason that men
OF all nationalities have sailed in with
their boats, one, two or three, and art
spending their lives IN the expectation
Of making a big find one Of these fine
days But do not imagine for a single
moment that the trusts have missed
such a big country as Australia or such
q promising field as the oyster bed
That would be too much Joy TO expect
these days. Indeed, the trust is there
and there with vengeance. too. And
20 show you how Insignificant oul
American trusts are, 1 am going to tel
you OF the latest and biggest of al
trusts.
AoyI4E u AnE Blb 4Nl6Acu COulDdulGt
tut their heads together and decided
that they were not making quite a:
much money as they should. Theii
profits were big, IL was true, but no
quite enough on the amount Of tn,
capital expended. They looked to Sc,
the cause Of all the trouble and theil
eagle glance fell on a multitude o
boats owned by small companies ant
smaller owners. That was the story IL
q nut shell Too many people. Tn,
ocean was being robbed of its treas
ures too rapidly and the tiny oyster,
were not given a fair opportunity t.
grow.
on to a member Of Parliament the,
few with their grievances and 1t dfdn'
take very long to hatch up the ides
TO lease the ocean. Now fancy. Dix
anybody ever hear Of such a bill be
fcre2 Well. the result was a mas.
meeting OF the small traders, -,