The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1906-04-06
OYSTER BILL PASSES.
House Finally Agrees on This
Important Matter-Gr e at
Victory for its Advo-
Gates.

The Hannah Amended oyster
Bill passed the House Monday at
| 40 by a vote of 60 to 81. The
action came as "a great surprise,
and only after one of the bitter
est fights of HE session which at
first lacked like it would last
until lUomS,lay
From ten O'Clock Monday morn
ing it took the whole attention
of the House, and the chances
seemed to be that some OF the
II ost important legislation OF the
session would lie lost Oh account
of the delay caused by this fight.
Amendments Of all sorts were
piled up by the bushel. At one
O'Clock there had been % amend
ments killed aud there were still
IA more on the desk of Speaker
Benson.
The oyStermen and Repuhli-
cans had gotten together a solid
vote Of 80, and in this they were
opposed 10y the Democratic vote
of 81, but this was finally broken.
Early in the morning the Re
publicans tried to line up to de-
leat any progress Oh the bill until
something had been decided on
two Questl0nS-firSt, the Murphy
Election Bill and the COnstltu-
tlonal Convention call.
1t was declared by the Republic
can leaders that in this bill was
one Of The biggest political snakes
/ that the Democrats ever attempt
ed with the ballot. In part of
the bill Is the question allowing
the Election Supervisors to des-
ignate whether the voter shall
write or put an N" mark to the
query whether there should be a
COM rntion. The Republicans de
Glaze that this puts an educa-
tlonal test 10 the voter, and also
allows hundreds of ballots to be
nrOwn ont as defaced owing to
/ the writing being HcraWled all
over IT, They wanted to hold up
the Oyster Bill until they could
determine whether or not the
paragraph iii question would re-
main III the blll.
The tidewattr county people
bitterly opposed the effort to
have the bill brought out imme-
dlalely aud voted for the post.
ponemcnC whene' er they got ii
chance. Murdock, the fiery law.
maker of Anne Arundel County,
was one Of the first TO oppose il.
There was quite division
among the Republican leaders
on the question of the oyster bill.
Mudd led the dilatOry tactics for
political profits exclusively.
Some of the Baltimore papers
give great credit to Mr.. Hannah
tor his untlrlng work in behalf
of his measure. The bill was
greatly amended, however, and
differs greatly from the original
Hamam Bill.
Member from the tidewater
counties opposed the measure on
the ground that it would initiate
against thousands of Oystermen
who make IA living dredging in
the free waters. The bill pro-
vldes for a commission to survey
Chesapeake Bay and its tribu-
taries and designate the barren
bottoms, which are believed to
be about 25O, 900 acres.
Holders of riparian rights will,
for SIX months, have first claim
on leasing barren bottoms. The
oystermen will then have four
months, and after that any resi-
dent of Maryland may lease ten
acres III tributaries or 100 acres
III the bay. The rentals will be
81 per acre the first two Years.
~ the third year and So the
fourth year as the beds are Guilt
waited. The law bars corpora
lions from renting the bottoms.
but there is nothing to prevent
~ or 30 individuals each LEASING
lOO acres and then forming a
company. Prominent oystermen
on the Eastern Shore predict that
the scheme will be a failure and
mat II Will be years before it will
go further than the survey