The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1909-02-04
news and views FROM
OUR HARPERS SCRIBE.
IPR0TEST AGAINST SENATOR BASS'S
FISH BILL-MR EADDY'S DEATH
k0URNED.

Harpers, February 1:-With cold
fingers from the blizzard of the past
few days your correspondent will
enGeavor to express his views with
reference to Senator Bass fish bill.
l believe your readers will agree
with me when l say that the Su.
preme Being made the public
streams, then stocked those streams
with fishes of various kinds for his
creatures, all mankind. Nor did He
say in His words to St Peter how
many he should eat, but command
ed the good saint to ''arise, slay and
eat" Our laws of today are sup
posed to be founded upon the laws
of the Supreme Ruler. Now, Mr.
Editor, you will notice that Mr.
Bass bill allows anyone to fish with
nets for the purpose of stocking
streams or for commercial purposes.
In other words, We can't fish with
nets except to sell the fish that are
caught. This law seems to be plan
ned solely in the interest Of the fish
speculator. Mr. Bass is a lawyer and
yoar scribe has no knowledge of the
Law, but | believe the whole bill un-
constitutional on its face. How can
our law makers draft laws to allow
people to catch fish in a Gel tain man.
ner for commercial purposes and deny
them the same right for personal
use. And If the law be passed, when
a man Is found fishing with net or
~seiLe the fish warden must needs
follow the fisherman home to see
w,,t,, disposition he make. of his
catch. The fisherman can tell the
warden that he is fishing for CON-
mercial purposes whether he is or
mot and save himself being reported.
'The enactment of this kind Of laws
is calculated to bring the law in con-
tempt more than ever.
The next unreasonable part of Mr.
Bass bill is the provision making 1t
unlawful to fish IL q public stream
because some one else owns the land
that borders the stream. People not
fortunate enough to OWE land hor-
derlng on streams are entirely barred
from fishing unless they use a boat,
as Mr Bass bill deprivts them from
fishing every way.
This is the first step toward prl-
vate ownership of public streams
when we have laws made to allow
landowners alongside of public
streams 10 say whether or not We
shall be permitted to fish in the
streams that flow through the lands.
This is the way it appears to your
scribe and this discussion is not IN
tended to throw any reflection on
Senator Bass, whatever. We regard
Senator Bass as one of the smartest
men from our county but We believe
that this bill of his is one of the
mistakes of his life, as we all make
mistakes sometime or other. Mr.
Editor. if you remember, it is just
such legislation as this that brought
about the horrible conditions at
REEL Foot lake, Tenn, that culml-
mated in the lynching of the lawyer,
Quentin Rankin. don't believe in
the passing of laws that take away
the rights of one class of people to
allow special privileges to another.
This bill allows the man who Is
fishing for commercial purpose to
fish with nets or any other way, and
denies this right to the man who
wants to catch few fishes for HIM
self and family. | would like to
know the views Of some other reader
of The RECORD on this subject,
which is fraught with far-reachlng