The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-02-25
JUMPING AT CONCLUSIONS
THE RESOLUTIONS BY THE STATE
 OYSTER GROWERS.

Oyster Growers Defend Their Associa- tion Right to Take Steps for the Just Protection of Their Important In- dustry.
 To the Editor Journal and Courier:
 How natural it is for many people to jump to conclusions. The author of the so-called Washington dispatch, re- gently published in one of the newspa- pers, says that the resolutions passed by the oyster growers of the state of Connecticut, in unison with the associ- ations of New York, Rhode Island, and other states and cities, speak of Dr. Wiley in one section as "a graduate of medical school who itches for mo- toriety, and who has not even a super f1cial knowledge of the facts," also he is called young M. D., who wishes to advertise himself"
 This is untrue. These expressions oc- cur in the ninth, tenth and eleventh sections of the resolutions, but there is not word to connect Dr. Wiley with these descriptions in any way, and he is not in the slightest degree called upon to apply them to himself, unless they may chance to fit him in some re- spects. The ninth, tenth and eleventh sections are as. follows;
 "9-It is unfortunate that any gradu- ate of a medical school who itches for notoriety can make himself prominent in the newspapers by reckless at tack upon some staple food product of the United States, and can do this without even acquiring a superficial knowledge of the facts before opening his mouth.
 10-This is particularly unfortunate in the case of a great export article, as the foreign producer and trader is ready to seize every pretext to boy colt American products. Foreign op- position may laugh quietly at the folly of the American eagle in fouling it's own nest, but it will use the weapon thus given to create prejudice against American oysters, which already have to carry a heavy import duty into Can ada.
 11-Even in the few cases where some young M. D. has advertised him self by an assumed oyster diagnosis, the accusation was against oysters right from the shell, or else in cans, but the present proposition is to for bid the shipment of oysters by the method which the experience of fifty years has proved to be the most safe and wholesome.
 Dr. Wiley need not have assumed that he was referred to in these resolu- tions, and it was not complimentary to Dr. Wiley that the correspondent should so assume. The correspondent may have seen some circumstances in the description that fitted Dr Wiley to have caused him to assume that he was the man. It is not necessary to deny that there may be justification in some of Dr. Wiley's utterances for the assumption which the correspondent made, but we learn from the oyster growers that the incidents referred to in these three sections did not occur in Washington, but occurred in a place several hundred miles nearer to New Haven than Washington.
 In this so-called dispatch, the corre- spondent having jumped at false con- clusion, proceeds to criticise the oyster growers for defending their industry, and for these statements about Dr. Wiley, which the correspondent un- truthfully says have been made by the oyster growers. The action of the oys- ter growers was prompted by a sefies of perfectly unjustifiable and reckless attacks upon oysters as a food during the past thirteen years. They have patiently borne these sensational in- timations, but when a man in high official position is alleged to have put forth statements which go broadcast throughout the press of the United States, statements which are absolute ly unwarranted by the facts, it seems no more than human nature, and jus tifiable human nature, that those who are engaged in the industry should make public protest, and they ought to have the sympathy of every fair citizen, whether journalist or in any other profession. It would seem right that New Haven man if he be al Washington, even though himself not a representative of Connecticut in Con gress, should aid in the defense of 3 local industry unjustly attacked, rather than to add his own untrue assump- tions and unfavorable criticisms to the injury already done to the oyster in. dustry.
 It has been said sometimes that New Haven men lack public spirit and To- cal loyalty We cannot imagine Vir. ginia man or an Ohio man lending his voice to aid an unjust public attacl upon an industry in Virginia or Ohio.