Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1907-03-27
THE OYSTERNENS MEETING.
DENOUNcE DESTRUCTION OF
OYSTER SIGNALS.
Large Crowd Present Last Night Al The
City Assembly Rooms - Want To
Bring The Guilty Parties To Justice
As Soon As Possible.
THE INDIGNATION MEETING A
LIVELY ONE.


lis and Passport. recently organized
here and with branch unions through
out the county, held lively meeting
at the City Assembly Rooms last
night. Ii is estimated that between
400 and 500 members of the Union
were present.
The meeting was called to order by
the president of the organization, MIR.
James II. Murdoek. who, after the
preliminary matters were gone through
with, introduced Mr.. G. A. Dubois, a
former mayor of Annapolis, and who
is prominently connected with the
oyster industry in this county. Mr..
Dubois talked very freely about the
harm the oyster law would do the peo-
pie IN the tidewater counties of the
state.
Among other things Mr.. Dubois said !:
1T is hurtful TO me to see in the pa
peTs that our oystermen linen who
earn their bread by the sweat of their
brow-are classed as vandals and law
breakers. / have been associated
with the oystermen of Annapolis and
of this county for thirty years and
I have found them, as rule, good
law abiding citizens. In every speech
that | have made TO our organization
I have said that al good citizens are
all bound TO respect and obey the laws
that are made and placed upon the
statute books, no matter il they are
not with our accord, or may be against
our Interests. The proper and only
thing TO do is To have such laws re-
pealed.'
The next speaker was Charles JeffeT-
son. lie said that the meeting was
properly termed an indignation meet
ing, aud that tbs oystermen were in-
dignant not only at the tearing down
of the government signals, but also at
the law itself and the men who had
criticised the oystermen for their atti-
tude toward the Haman bill, which is
now in force. lie limited that the oys-
termen did not stand as much in awe
of the state laws as they did of the
Federal code, and remarked: There
is not man within the sound of
my voice who would destroy Federal
property, even if he might, perhaps,
run down one of the buoys which the
state authorities.ha placed at va
rious points in the Anne Arundel
waters.'
Charles Russell of j., one of the
members OF the last Legislature, was
then introduced, and he told the
oystermen that as long as the law was
on the statute books IL would have TO
be obeyed, and the only way TO get
rid of Ii was TO elect men TO the legis-
lature who would see that il is repeal
ed
John Frank said that there was no
ignorant and lawless element among
the oystermen. lie said the recent
agitation had made the whole state
uneasy and that the oysteImen would
keep them uneasy for sometime to
come. The cheering that followed this
remark was prolonged, and he was
asked to continue his remarks along
this line, but refused to have anything
further to say, remarking that there
were others who were to speak and
who had equally burning messages to
deliver.
During the progress of the meeting
President Murdock repeatedly asked
if there was anyone in the audience
connected with the Shellfsh Commits
sion, and if so, inviting him TO the
platform, assuring him that he would
not be hurt, and, in fact, would be
treated with every courtesy. There
was no member of the Commission or
any of the employees of that body
there.
Mr.. Murdoch then called one of the
members Of the organization to the
chair and offered the following resolu-
ton.
'Resolyed, THAT the members Of
the Eastport and Annapolis Oyster
mems Union assist in every possible
way the State and the United States
authorities in bringing any person or
persons that have or shall in any way
interfere with them in the discharge
of their duties, or shall in any way
remove. tear down or deface the land
marks or buoys in any part of the
Bay, rivers or creeks in the State of
Maryland. as designated by the
| Shellfish Com mission, or the officials
of the United States Coast and Geo
detic Survey, and we advise all MEM
bers Of the Oystermen's Union in all
| the tidewater counties in the State
of Maryland TO assist in bringing
such person or persons to court of
| Justice, and i'm having them punished
according to the law of the State or
of the United States, as the statutes
may provide
After the resolution had been second
cu MT. MuIuOtk lOOk TIC uOOI anu
spoke on the subject of the recent out
RACES, as he termed them, and the
| oyster question in general.
Mr.. Murdock said that the law had
been passed through corrupt means,
and that it was being put into effect
| by men who knew all about the theo-
retical and scientific side of the oyster
| business, but who were so ignorant
| of the practical side Of the question
/ that they had TO get man from the
county to help them out. lie said that
he was not considering the question
from political standpoint, but from
a practical side, and that if the law
is enforced the oyster industry would
pass into the control of a syndicate,
and where now more than ], 600 men
in this county are repaired to take
out the oysters it would be done,
under the new regime, with about
300 men, who would get between X
cents and $1.25 a day, and that the
/ rest of them would have to move to
Baltimore or some other large city,
| while they and their sons worked as
common laborers on starvation
| wages, and their daughters would
have to find employment in factories.
Mr.. Murdock told the members
that il would be necessary for them
to pass the proposed resolution in
order to set themselves right with