Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1910-02-18


around the corner from each other'
Oysterman Talks.
Mr.. Conklin presented at the nigh
meeting the resolutions of the mas,
meeting of oystermen. 1.-THE way thi,
land lies now, which Mr.. Lee proposes
to throw OUT" he said. cit is of n,
good in the world. There is nothins
there but old dead shells AMI mud, ant
the best thing to do is to straighter
the lines. If we don't get protection
for the rocks, they are gone. Iva,
dead opposed to this change when
came here, but when l saw the map
was convinced it was right. | hav,
been planter and longer for forty
three years"
Give me these new lines sale
Commissioner Lee, land what is now
1000 acres of rock 1 will make into
5000. Some of this land which we
propose to throw out is valuable; this
was unavoidable in making a line
which was straight. l don't think it
ought to be rented to the highest bid
der, for syndicate would get it all.
But the Commission will get all it can
out of this rock, giving the little fell
low chance. 1t ought to be cut into
squares of from ten to 100 acres. "a
Don't Want Law.
THE upper or shore line of the Bay
Tor Survey, from the corner near Deep
water Shoal Light to Browns Shoal
Rocks, off Newport News, is sixteen
miles long, and the lower or outer line
is twenty miles long, with forty cor
ners. There remains no indications of
these forty corners. They are gone.
Why, at Jail Island Rock the very rocks.
oysters and all were carried away bv
thieves. We have tried buoys. l have
put them in the river and they have
disappeared before the next morning.
The trouble is that the majority of men
in the James River don't want any law
nor any buoys.
1.-THE planter has encroached more
on the Baylor lines than the total num-
Der of acres we propose to throw out
of it. We can't keep him back. You
might as well expect us to police a
ranch of prairie land of 10000 acres
and require us to keep within crooked
bounds 1000 cattle without giving us
mark or tree or a stake. All we
ask is a mark to go by. That is all
this change is for.
''The oystermen come here and tell
the commission that it has done its
work well; that conditions have great
ly improved. But they say, My God,
don't break the Baylor Surveyp How
can you break what does not exist?
There is no Baylor line. The line is
all gone. 1t is myth. The planters
have it. want to put them out.
"Of course l can police the present
lines if we can find them. But it viii
take $40, 900 to establish the forty cor.
ners, and it will take $40. 900 a year tc
maintain them, whereas the State only
gets $4,000 year out of the entire
river. Now if you will give us these
six new lines and four watch houses
we will police the river for $4,000 in
stead of $4,000, which we are now
spending and we will soon be collec-
ting $40. 900 year instead of $4,000. -
Asked why he could not make the new
lines larger, he said there was no
ground shallow enough on which to put
the watch houses.
In Interest ofTOngers
Appealing to the tongers, he said
that he had been protecting their in
terests for twenty-five years. He pro-
poses now to re-establish, not to break,
the Baylor lines. The planters are
holding 5000 acres for which they are
paying nothing. Not one acre will be
thrown out by the new lines which the
longer is to-day privileged to work
upon.
Mr.. Lee was asked repeatedly about
his recent article in the Times-Dis-
patch. He stood by his argument
that there is but the one alternative
for the State to establish these new
lines or to abandon the river. The
Commission has done its best, vet in
spite of all it has lost 1000 to 5000
acres to the encroachment of planters.
To do more would be physical impos-
sibility without expanding a fortune to
get small amount in return, and no
Governor and no Legislature could or
would ask the Commission or himself
to do more than their best.
He was willing, he said, in conclu-
sion, if it were legal, and he would get
the new lines established, to say in the
law that there should be no further
change for hundred years.
Opposition Talks.
E. C. Rowley, of York county, said
he had fifty acres of mud flats in Bru-
ton District of York county, on which
he had lost $500 to $1,000 in oysters in
the past five years. He said no one
could tell him that the Moore survey
ing party had run its chains over Is, 900
acres of the bottoms. Believing that
the Fish Commissioner was honest and
Jealous, he said that officials zeal had
carried him beyond his judgement.
Only about dozen planters in the
State, he declared, want the lines
changed, and of these nine are pack
ers. Now, he contended, they want to
raise the seed, too. He asked that
there be no legislation as to oysters at
this session of the Legislature, but
that committee be appointed to inves-
tigate the whole question from every