The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-04-09
OYSTERMEN SUE THE CITIES
 FOR POLLUTION
Judge Mathewson Tells Equalization Board They
 Might Use Injunction

l New Haven, April 9.-The most tn- terestfng4 feature of the. public hear l ing of the State Board of Equaliza- | tion and Oyster Investigation Com
 mission, to investigate the oyster properties, held here for three hours yesterday afternoon, was the state | ment made by Judge A. McC. Ma thewson that the oystermen can 13 uniIe a1t turning sewage into the nav1gable streams of the state. He presumed those proceedings either in the form of injunction or otherwise would help to bring a settlement of the matter
 with Dr. Wiley's National Pure Food Commission. la
 pollution of Connecticut's waters by cities and factories.
 The question of taxation was lost sight of in the debate over the general pollution of the states waters, and the consequent threatened ruinat1on Of the
 oyster industry.
 The state board composed of Free
 man F. Patten, state treasurer, as
 chairman Thomas D. Bradstreet, state
 controller, and William H. Corb1n, state tax commissioner, had invited turaI growthers of New Haven to meet them here. The board has al- ready held similar meetings at Bridge port and South Norwalk on this mat ter
 Frank J. Mansfield, of the F. Mans field & Sons Company, said that the oysters growers New Haven were up against a hard proposition from the Board of Health in consequence of the requirements of that board, resulting from the alleged pollution of the har- Dor.
 F. ". Porter. a large eastern oyster grower, said that there was no objec- tion to the increase of taxation if the board would only give the growers pure water so that the growers could float their oysters, as has been for bidden by the Pure Food rules.
 Ca1T1 1iTaE Sai fIn int nT~fn wifi the present plan of the factories in this matter was likely to lead to good deal of trouble.
 F. J. Beardsley, Bridgeport grow CT. showed that his firm had been obliged to send oysters to Rhode Is land in order to protect them and quoted the law there which prevents pollution of streams.
 He said~in closing: God Almighty put the rivers here, and the thing to do is to stop dumping sewerage into them. This board can make recom- mendation that the state clear up con- tamination of streams"
 MT. Mansfield said that the practice of floating was very necessary in order to clear them from mud. It has been prohibited by the local board of health.
 Senator Luzerne Ludington told how the Quinnipac river has been injured by the discharge of sewerage.
 Judge Mathewson, formerly of the Connecticut Shell Fish Commission, was called upon next and he said that there was no question that the oystermen could sue the city for dam age to their beds, but the men of course dislike to exploit their busi- ness in this way. Consequently the state Board of Health should compel every city and village to stop dump ing their sewerage into the harbor or even into the sound Every city should do as Meriden is doing, look out for it's own sewerage. There is a law on the books to make the city responsible but the individual oyster men do not wish to ruin their busi- ness by making ft\so."
 He added that in trial of pollu- tion cases against the city by the oys- ter men, it might finally require an to determine the exact sit uatfon in the matter, but that this | could not be done under the present | laws.
 There were number of additional | speakers.