Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1915-12-11
OYSTER FIGHT AHEAD.
Shepherd Bills Fiasco May Give In
petus to More Advanced State
Legislation.

a Hght VIII be waged at the next
! session of the General Assembly for
oyster culture legislation Of a more
sweeping nature than any ever here
tofore attempted.
Bills viii be introduced and energet-
icaliy pushed wiping from the statute
books the Shepherd oyster bill and
substituting for it legislation that win
win authorize the leasing of all the
oyster lands, natural bars or other
wise. IN the Chesapeake bay and It's
tributaries.
Heretofore, the natural bars have
not been touched by those advocating
oyster legislation. Neither has there
been any attempt to inavde county
lines. Both are to be ignored in the
bill that will be introduced at the com
ing session of the Legislature.
How such measure will fare at the
hands OF the General Assembly no one
pretends to know The complications
following the passage of the Shepherd
bill. resulting in judgments against
the State already aggregating $29O,000
with the probability that the amount
will be doubled before the condemna-
ton proceedings are concluded. coupled
with the pressing need of the State for
additional revenues, will, ii is believed
give an impetus to such legislation that
1t would not have were the circumstan-
ces different at this time.
THAT the State will eventually take
over this property is to be expected
They are common lands 1t was Sc
with the common land of the West
when the country was thinIy settled.
Squatters infested it. When the lands
were needed by the State. the State
took them. Here in Maryland the prop
er expenses of the Government have
outstriped the revenues. The State
needs the oyster lands to supplement
its revenues. II should be taken re-
gardless of everything else"
No one denies that if oyster lands
are rented to the highest bidded. the
natural oyster lands with those sus-
ceptible of cultivation, the increase of
the revenues will be immense. Indi-
cations are strong that this will be-
come Statewide political issue in
time. A great many people do not be-
lieve that the oystermen in the tide
water counties should be permitted to
control the situation
As many recall, the Campbell Price
bill was passed some years ago throw
ing open for leasing purposes such
lands in the open waters of the Ches-
apeake as the Shellish Commission.
after a survey previously authorized.
should declare were not within the
terms of an act defining natural oyster
bars. The Shellfsh Commission pro-
ceeded with the work. Provision was
made for advertising all the leases
that were made by it,
When the leasing had proceeded for
some time the oystermen stepped in.
declaring that land was declared open
for leasing that was in reality nat
nral oyster land. The courts upheld
their contention. The Shepherd bill
VISA passed reimbursing those who had
rented oyster lands under the outhor-
ity of the Shellfsh Commission
Out of this grew the condemnation
proceedings resulting in the awards
mentioned. The Shepherd bill was
largely the work of Governor
Harrington. He will not, it is pre-
sumed. look kindly upon the repeal of
the measure and the substitution for il
of one so radical as indicated Never
theless the fight will be made