Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1910-03-04
position to carry out this program than
any other body in the State.
The James River Bill.
CRichmond Virginian.,


Richmond virginian,
With as much accuracy as anything
can be forecasted. it can now be said
that the Senate Committee on Fish and
Game will favorably report the Wick
ham-Byrd bills providing for straighten-
ing the lines of the Baylor survey.
Whether the General Assembly will
pass the bills, or either of them, and
thus remove the oyster course from the
legislative bill of fare Git has been a
more or less toothsome and appetizing
morsel for decade or more) is quite a
different matter, and one that no eau
tious prognosticator or seer would ven
ture to approach. The fact remains,
however, that the Senate Fish and
Game Committee will put its stamp of
approval on the provisions of the oyster
measures or measure.
The House Committee on the Chesa-
peake and its Tributaries, which heard
the same argument on the bill as the
Senate committee, reported the Byrd
bill without any Recommendation as to
whether it should or should not pass.
This, coupled with the fact that the
oystermen of Tidewater are willing to
have the line in James river straighten-
ed. portends that fruition of the many
years of fight and labor on the part of
the commissioners of fisheries in the
past ten or twelve years is not only pos
sible but is to be expected. Just as
certain as death and taxes the Baylor
survey line is going to have the kinks
taken out of it by this Legislature or
the next General Assembly.
The fight in the past for Strengthening
the line was based principally on alleged
high handed violation of the law, and
some little heat and animosity was
shown. This year the fight was more
calm, deliberate and deadly.
Commissioner Lee based his conten-
tion for performing an operation on the
line for the removal of the twisting and
wriggling deformities, almost entirely
on financial grounds; the ground that
by reason of the lines resemblance to a
New York politician in the matter of
crookedness, the State was losing
thousands of dollars.
The statements of DR.. H. C. Moore.
assistant commissioner of United States
fisheries, that the line should be
Strengthened in the financial interests
OF the State, are believed to have had
great weight with the committees, not
only because they suggested a new
source of revenue, but because they
were from a man not interested one
way or the other, and were the products
of months of sincere scientific investi-
cation.
Friday morning the Senate Fish and
Game Committee met. Commissioner
Lee was there with his much-worn
map and architects "T." Once again
he explained how he would change the
line for the betterment of the States
finances if the Legislature would only
give him the authority. DR.. Gravatt,
an ex-naval officer, who knows the sea
and the way to patrol it, made certain
suggestions abont Strengthening the
line. which Mr.. Lee, although not en-
thusiastic about them, agreed to accept.
Senators Holland and Saunders, both of
whom have large numbers of OYSTER
men in their constituencies, and who
have opposed any change in the line up
to this time, added eff it had been
made plain to the oystermen when they
were here that the line was to be
Strengthened that way they would not
have objected"
Although the Gravatt amendments"
VIII not exclude vast deal of oyster
beds, 1t will straighten the line.
StraighfeninDT Tho Iinaa