The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1917-09-01
Announcement
To My Friends and Voters

| To My Friends and Voters
OF Dorchester County:
| am a candidate for the Republl
! can nomination for State Senator at
| the approaching primaries, Sept. IL,
| and am using this means to let eV-
efyone know my position on some
| VERY serious matters which affect the
interests Of the public in this day OF
high prices, when the necessities or
| life are almost prohibitive. In some
cases, many OF our people who are
honest, God-fearing and law-abld1ng
citizens, are burdened with obnoxi-
Gus laws, one of which affects the
crab industry. | know something
about this, for my near relatives and
friends are in this business, and some
have had 10 leave it entirely TO make
a living.
Believing, as l do, that the Repup-
lican party will control the next Leg
islative body of Maryland, If | should
secure the nomination and election
at the hands OF my party this COM
ing November, | shall be in a posi-
tion to help in securing better law
than that now in force, namely, the
5-inch crab law, as its enforcement
has driven people out of the county,
and away from home, TO make llv-
ing for their families, and, in some
instances, whole families have LEFT
and moved away; this affects the
merchants and all other business In
terestS i'll that community, and in
directly affects every portion of the
county. This or any other law tina.
makes it harder for the laborlng
man to make a living is an obnOxl-
Gus law, especially in this day, when
it costs more to live than ever be-
fore, and l stand pledged to do my
utmost toward securing the modln-
cation and repeal of these laws; also,
if we must have crab ana oystel
laws, | know that the laborer'S In
tereSt must first be considered.
1t seems to me that the Crab law
passed by the Legislature of 1917
was not consistent. We take up hrst
the inch crab law, affecting the
soft and snedder crabs, or peeier
crab, as called by the crabber; the
law says you cannot have any in
your possession less than three in
ches. The crabber says today he
throws away this crab, and tomor-
row catches this same crab, which
has hardened up some, and is then
called by the crabber buck; he can
sell this crab, then, but has to give
the buyer crabs like this to count
as one; in other words, if soft crabs
were &c. each, he only gets one-halr
cent for the buck, the catcher losing
1ac. on each crab that he throws
away and catches again. This means
not only the loss on each crab, Du,
IT means four times as much time re-
quired, etc.
Also take the hard crab law, as it
affects the trot line crabber. The
law says you must not have either
crab less than inches. Now this
seems very unreasonable, as it is a
known fact that crabberS have tried
their utmost to Gull their catch, ana
in some way in handling the crabs
from the net used in dipping them
from the line, 4 few small craD-
crawl into the barrels of culled crabs
and sometimes find their way down
toward the bottom of the barrel. Now
just imag CINE a crabber out in the ho,,
burning sun, his boat tossed to and
fro. trying to find this small crab
which has, without any intent upon
his part, gotten down into his bar
rel of crabs. Also imagine what "
means when crabs are biting and
to go over barrel after bar
rel, with lines still baited, and the
crabs eating up the expensive bait.
while the poor crabber goes search
ing through the barrel after these
one or two small crabs that have got
into it.
1t seems an impossibility that any
crabber can escape this law.
l again pledge my people of this
both crabbers and oyster
men, to stand for Legislation that will
make the burden lighter TO make
living, instead of harder, as it now
s on them, in trying to obey these
avs. | appeal 10 all in general that
We stand solidly and use our every
means that legislation may be had
n the near future to correct some OF
he evils not only in the tide-water
section of our beautiful country,b but
wills that exist over our country in
EDWARD S. PHILLIPS.
Adv. S29-tf B&R.