Evening star., 1936-08-23

IllC 41uLlb2Cs SAoS GAL ORROk SAAAAOy "
contribute happiness to the human
race. 1t has done its share already,
but it is working now against a great
neutrality-suspicious. And the doctor
would like to know how the word fish"
got in selfishness. Certainly fish. run
ming in schools, are not that way.
Nor is the crab. If let alone, per-
mitted to run his true course in nature,
he would bring to man lot of sheer
joy.
Washingtonians, Baltimoreans, New
Yorkers-inhabitant Of the Eastern
Seaboard-who relish the toothSome
flavor of the crab, know little or moth
ing of what has happened, what is
happening, and what may happen to
their choice food supply. They sit
down to tables and have crabs served
in 20 different ways and still do not
realize that the day is coming when
there may be no more crabs. if present
conditions continue. Or, If there are
crabs in the future, they may be selling
for 81 or So apiece, available, therefore,
only to the Weather classes. That is
what the crab Is coming to, the lowly
crab that once made fertilizer for the
fields and bait for fsh-the crab that
years ago was given away as free
lunch, alongside a schooner of beer.
The crab is on the way to being So
cial equal of caviar.
TO APPRECIATE what has hap
pened to the crab, you must go
back to the very beginnings Of the
Chesapeake Bay country-and the Pc
culiar gift Nature bestowed on that
body of water. Nowhere in all the
world-not even in the Mediterranean
Sea-waS there such superabundance
of marine life as that of the lower
and upper Chesapeake Bay when John
Smith and his companions sailed
through the Capes-Henry and
Charles-on the way to Jamestown.
The Indians had a word for it
blessings of the waters. The white
man came along and reaped the bless
ings. In the reaping, the doom of the
crab was eventually spelled, according
to DR.. Truitt. The white man reaped
but he did not replenish.
In giving the reasons for the disap-
pearance of the crab, this scientist
cites first of all the great mystic
religions of the people who usually
take their livelihood out of the sea.
Unlike the farmers, they do not plant
seed-except in the case Of oysters.
So, the crabbers came to the belief
that what they took from the bay
was put there especially for their
benefit by God Almighty. Also, that
the supply would 60 on forever.
Never hand was lifted to help the
crab. On the contrary, all hands
were raised toward the permanent de-
struction Of the crab, though the short
sighted persons who took part in this
destructive process did not realize what
they were doing. Grabs were so plenti-
full in Chesapeake Bay up until the late
sos that the mind of man could not
comprehend their eventual disappear
ance. OF sudden, the crab started
to go the way of the world-and, at
this particular time, he is about to
vanish. Make no mistake about that.
1t will take the two conservation
departments of the two States-Mary-
land and Notwithstanding in full
cooperation with politicians, whole
sale dealers, retailers, and the crab
bers themselves, to save the crabs.
Further than that, every fisherman
who goes for his sport to the lush
lands Of the Chesapeake must lend a
helping hand. And the oystermen-
and the commercial fishermen, who
seine with swarthy seines. They are
all instrumental in sounding the doom
of the crab.
FIRST, the politicians. The poll
ticians. elected to State and ma
tional offices from Maryland and vir-
ginia, are blamed by many students
Tor placing and keeping the Grabbing
industry in its present state. To begin
with, the common, ordinary craobers
vote for their politicians on the
premise that these men will prevent
legislation putting too much restric-
ton on Grabbing. In other words,
| closed season.
The old-line crabbers, believing that
God stocked the waters in the first
place, still continue to believe that
no matter how fast you pull crabs
out Of the water, or at what season
or condition Of the crab, more crabs
will come to take their places. The
big men of the grabbing industry
know this to be q fallacy, but they
are small voting unit, so it is said.
Consequently, crabs are taken from
the Chesapeake Bay in every month
OF the year. In every condition Of the
| crab-when the crabs are alternating
in the Winter, when they are spawn
ing, when they are just beginning to
get claw-hold on life. Mother crabs,
baby crabs, all go into the hopper
to be used as ground bait for the
fishes, for this, that and the other
purpose, until there Is no limit what
soever on grabbing. Restrictions are
violated willy-nilly. As one Of the
leaders in the industry put it, you'd
have to have q policeman on every
fishing boat in the Chesapeake Bay
to make our people respect the rights
of the crab. The crab has no rights,
at the present time"
The poor old crab. aside from being