Los Angeles herald., 1907-11-10
PROTECTORS
FINISH THEIR
CONVENTION
TRIP TO MOUNT LOWE MARKS
CLOSING DAY
REPUpIATE ATTEMPT TO REPEAL
A5ALoNE LAW
Thousands Of Sportsmen Greatly Dis
appointed Because Their Delegates
Failed to Join Quail, Dove
and Deer Seasons

to Mount Lowe ana plB paHquet ht AL
pine tavern, where felicitous speeches
were made, and the sixty-five delegates
who attended discussed plans for the
coming year.
Toasts were given In honor Of Santa
Cruz and Mr.. Keating, who swung the
delegates to vote In favor of that city
for the next meeting place on the second
Friday in November, 1908.
President Payne. who was reelected as
the associations executive last Friday
night, received a great ovation at the
hands of his fellow sportsmen, Many of
the delegates were accompanied by their
wives and yesterdays trip was more in
the nature of q social affair than a busi-
ness session.
However, the delegates talked among
themselves in parties of twos and threes
on the cars going to Mount Lowe, and
numerous pieces of important legislation
we're brought forward.
The sportsmen will spend Sunday fish,
ing at Catalina and arrangements have
been made by Louis Herzog of Los An
geles to furnish them with royal enter
tainment.
The delegates will part tomorrow and
go their several ways, and many of them
have long trips back home, as they jour-
neyed from such distant points as Porter
ville.>
No Change In Law
The California Game and Fish Protec-
tive association put itself on record in
unmistakable terms in convention as
sembled against any tampering with the
present law governing abaione fishing.
Judge H. A. Greene of Monterey start
ed a grand row when he attempted to
influence the delegates to pass a resolu-
| tion asking the legislature to alter the
law by allowing fishermen to use diving
| suits in going after abalone.
| Although the convention turned him
down on the main point 1t was pleased by
Judge Greene's mastery address upon
| the Life, Habits and Characteristics"
of the abalone. 1t was certainly a fine
study in the natural history of that anil
NAL, and no one could be better prepared
to discuss the subject than Judge Greene.
whose article on the abalone has been
accepted by the editors of the Encyclo-
| pedia Britannica and will appear in the
new edition of that world-famous au-
thority.
| Judge Greene spoke in part as follows:
"A good law was passed forbidding the
taking of any except adult abalone. But
1t was defective and radically wrong in
one respect, in that it forbids fishermen
to go after 1t in diving uniforms
AbaIone Fishing Ruined
"Abalone fishing had developed into
great and valuable industry and it has
been absolutely paralyzed and ruined on
the California coast by the operation of
this unjust law. I have no pecuniary
interest in abalone fishing, but I know
of firms in Monterey which have been
run out of business by this law.
| "Abalone is the most expensive canned
meat because of the great cost of taking
the fish from the waters. 1t is hazard
Gus operation, and white divers demand
| $25 per day, while Japanese divers will
work for s45 per month and the additional
perquisite of the pearls in the shells,
which they are given by the factories.
1.-THE taking of abalone by diving has
been a custom for ages in Japan, where
the industry Is worth over s3,0oo,000
year.
"Today in California the fishermen are
allowed to go under the water after
abalone without diving suits, but this
has killed the business. Many applica-
tions have poured in from sanitariums
all over the country begging for abalone
since this industry was ruined in this
state.
"The divers can do nothing to injure
the supply They have to work on
rocky coast where the waters are clear
est and they cannot get nearer the shore
than where the water is twenty feet
deep, because the tides and swells throw
the diver over. The divers require great
courage and carry hatchets to fight off
the octopus.
"Abalone mature in from three to four
years and never during their lifetime do
they move over four feet from the place
where they were born. The Japanese
fishermen are not responsible for the de-
pletion of the abalone. Last winter mud
and gravel were washed into the sea,
covering up the kelp and killing the sea-
weed upon which the abalone feeds, thus
causing the death of millions upon mill
lions of abalone. Monterey harbor was
filled with dead abalone from this cause.
The abalone also has countless natural
enemies of the deep which prey upon 1t,
including the octopus. bullhead and crab.
"It is wrong for the state to ruin an
industry and not give the people an op-
portunity to procure the abalone, which
is the daintiest Ash in the sea.
There is no reason why the Japanese
divers should not be allowed to use
divers suits in gathering the abalone.
The Japanese never take the young fish,
but only the adult abalone. which means
that they take no black abalone under
five inches, nor any red abalone under
| eight inches. The red abalone are The
choicest"
A fierce discussion followed Judge
| : reenes speech and small riot was
threatened by the majority, who were
uncompromisingly opposed to repeating
any section of the present abalone law.
H W. Keller made a motion, which
was carried by an overwhelming ma
jority, that Judge Greene's resolution be
not adopted because it has always been
the policy of the association not to in
terfere with commercial fishes
Judge Rose of Los Angeles made a
stirring speech against Judge Greene's
resolution which was received amid a
storm of applause from the delegates.
Judge Rose said in part: ut is not
right that American sportsmen should
have their fishing destroyed by lot of
cheap labor Japanese. l think that the
time has arrived when this association
should demand the legislature to pass. a
law forbidding the issuance of license
| to any fisherman unless he is :. citizen
| of the United States.
1.-THE Japs use nets so small that they
| catch little fish, which they dry and
pack in gunny sacks and ship to Japanese
aborers in grading camps all over the
country who are taking the bread out
of the mouths of American citizens.
; 1.-The Japs also dry and export young
i