Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1908-10-23
BIG FISH MEETING.
Representatives Of All
Branches Before the
Norfolk Board OfTrade
and Other Business Or
CARNATIONS.
COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES LEE
: ADDRESSES THE MEETING.


was held Friday night in the Board s
handsome quarters in Norfolk. Every in
terest in fishing circles was represented.
and the fishermen found ardent cham
pions in the leading local men like
Louis Feuerstein, Geo. Mccoy, Chas.
Colonna and others. Capts. Messick.
Squires, Reed and Hinton, Of the men,
baden association, with attorney Chinn.
we're in attendance. Trappers and
seiners from Gloucester, Buckroe,
Ocean View and Virginia Beach were
also there in force. Messrs. Lee and
Mathews of the Commission of Fisher
les, attended by invitation.
AS result Of the conference the
Legislative Committee will meet from
time to time to formulate recommends
tons for the next Legislature. After
the conference number of the officers
and Legislative Committee waited upon
Fish Commissioner Lee and invited him
to participate in their future delibera-
lions and stated that his views would
most probably be accepted by the Com
nittee in its recommendations. They
assured him that he had the sympathy
and confidence of every man in the
meeting save and except Mr.. Walter
Sharp. a gentleman agitator, who has
written some rather rough letters to
Governor Swanson, criticising the Gov
srnor and the Commission of Fisheries.
We give below extracts from the
Norfolk papers which devoted many
columns Saturday to full and correct
account of the meeting
The joint committee from the Nor
folk and Portsmouth Business Mems
Association met last night in the
directors rooms of the B. ID. A.,
and for four hours heard a dozen
persons discuss the reason why food
ish, and especially spots, are scarce,
and whether or not menhaden fishing
nas anything to do with it.
More than usual interest was mani.
tested in the proceedings when Hon. W.
Mcdonald Lee, of Irvington, chairman
Of the State Commission of Fisheries
declared that the allegations made ir
the public press of the State that the
Commission had failed to carry out the
statutes were unfounded-
Mr.. Lee said he had been indicted anC
tried without hearing by the news
papers. eff the statement that have
failed to do my duty is proved, viii
resign my position
Continuing Mr.. Lee said that not
\ only were there no provisions i'm the
statutes by which the violators of the
present fish laws could be prosecuted
but that every effort to have such
amendments made was blocked at the
last session of the Legislature.
w. w. Old, jr., member of the Legis.
tature, told the Committee how Mr..
Lee had assisted him in drafting laws
which they tried to get the Legislature
to adopt, but which were turned down.
Mr.. Old declared that Mr.. Lee had
been very active in trying to get ade.
quate fish laws passed by the Legisla-
trre, but that they had met with rebuff
whenever they attempted to get the
bill through.
Mr.. Old furnished the Committee with
copy of the laws which he and Mr..
Lee tried to have passed by the Legis.
lature.
During the discussion reference was
made to the author of some communica-
tions and editorials that had been pub.
lished in some of the Richmond papers,
charging that the Fisheries Commission
had failed to protect the oyster beds.
Mr.. Old said that some of these reports
were absolutely false, and that he
could put the name of the man who
wrote them in an envelope for the in
formation of the Committee. Mr.. Old
reviewed the history of fish legislation
in the last Legislature, stating that the
representatives from upstate do not
understand conditions that exist in
Tidewater.
President Lees defense of the charges
against him and his ideas on the scarcity
of foolish follow:
81 have been tried, convicted and con-
demned without a hearing. / deny
that have not enforced the fisheries
law. 1t has been charged that the
Commissioner of Fisheries has not en-
forced the law. am willing to resign
If you can prove one instance where /
have not enforced the law. The Com
mission has carried out the laws, but
they are insufficient Give me the laws
and I'll enforce them. The Commission
cannot regulate the fish supply, but it
can and will enforce the laws, and is
ready to give this Committee all the
assistance in its power to regulate the
industry. 49,"
efsWhile some of you people have been
asleep have been laboring to have laws
passed by the. Legislature that would
impose fine of 81, 600 on menhaden
fishermen who catch Foolish, and other
laws prescribing sizes of meshes, a
closed season and other needed regula-
tons.
81 deny emphatically the statements
published in the Times Dispatch that
have been derelict in my duty. What
we need is some laws to apply to these
alledged violators of the fish and oyster
statutes. Unit! the Legislature passes
law against menhaden fishermen hav-
ing Foolish in their possession it is inn
possible to stop them if they are catch
ing foolish. Nor is there any statute
on the books regulating the size of mash