The Washington times., 1914-03-11
THE OYSTER ISSUE.

measures IN instant and pressing
concern to the State, the question of
oyster culture has commanded most
of the attention since the Maryland
legislature has been in session. A
number of years ago initiation was
given by Maryland to policy of
cultivating oysters. The danger that
the vast supplies of the Chesapeake
region might be worked out was of
course the thought in mind. In or
der to cultivate oysters it was neces-
sary to protect them; and the eff
fort to protect certain areas of the
lay bottoms, and propagate oysters
on them, resulted in tremendous hos
tility by the oystermen. They have
always been accustomed to go out
and dredge just about where and
as they pleased. Interference with
that privilege pleased them precise
ly as much as interference with free
use of the public range has pleased
the Western cattlemen and sheepmen;
| &bout as much as interference with
the exploiters in Alaska has pleased
those same exploiters; about as
much as withdrawal of coal lands
has pleased the Western coal barons;
about as much as the creation of
forest reserves By the nation and the
States has pie. ed The people that
expected to . ali the remaining
forests fer PIRATE enrichment.
In short. g&ryland has had, in
this oyster light, an exact reproduc
tion of the conservation fight, wher-
ever that fight comes up. There is
lot of difference between oyster
beds in the Chesapeake and coal
beds in Alaska II Colorado; but
when the public interest tries to con-
serve either kind of beds, it
promptly discovers that exactly the
same sort of human nature animates
the opposition in The one case as in
the other. The man who wants
present profits out of oysters, Or
coal, or timber, or ranges, or any
thing else under the sun. has small
concern for the future. He has less
concern for any social interest in the
matter. Society, in its organized
capacity, can depend for its protec-
tion only on its own efforts; and,
discovering this, society started the
conservation movement in this coun-
try a number of years ago.
1t will be recalled that the idea
of conserving the riches of the pub
lie domain originated and was long
urged almost entirely in the East,
where there is no public domain.
The Fast wasn't willing to let the
improvident West waste its re-
sources; the West, which was doing
the wasting and getting the immedi-
ate profits, was much less keen for
conservation. So it fell ont that on
conservation roIl-call, it was COM
mon to see the East pretty well
lined up for conservation, and the
West bitterly opposing.
That made the Westerners look
selfish, improvident, and profigate.
They wouldn't conserve their oppor-
tunities, nor let anybody else con-
serve 'em for them. The Eastern
ers looked like wise economists and
true patriots.
But note how the scene shifts
when we view conservation as i
Maryland issue, an Eastern issue,
where the same elements of personal
! and political interest get into it that
are observed in the Western conser-
! walton fights. The oystermen are as
determined as ever the lumbermen of
the West were. The fight for free
bottoms is as fierce as ever was the
fight for free range. The conserva-
tionists of oysters are as fiercely
denounced for being igrOramuses
and theorists, as ever were the con-
servationiSts Of lumber and coal!
With, seemingly, the best inteili-
gent opinion of the whole Chesa-