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STATEMENT R^DRED3ING BY
-	LOPEZ,	DUN	BAH	1S SONS & CO.
^	00452
August 26, 1893
The Biloxi Herald - Saturday Evening, August 26, 1893 Geo. W. Wilkes, Publisher
TO THE PUBLIC
We desire to present for the consideration of the public at large some facts in relation to the oyster ordinance recently passed by the Board of Supervisors of Harrison County, together vith the causes which led up to its passage, a careful and unbiased consideration of which we believe will be of interest to the entire people of the seacoast of Mississippi, and especially to those of Harrison County.
Ever since its inception, the greatest drawback to the oyster industry on the Mississippi coast has been the fact that the factories could only get enough raw material to run them from two to three days in each week during the oyster canning season, not on account of the scarcity of oysters but because there are not enough boats engaged in fishing oysters to supoly the demand.
As our expenses are very heavy, we could not afford to have our machinery and employees idle one-half the season, during which time we ought to make whatever profit is to be made out of the busiri'ess, nor can the hundreds of men, women and children who are dependent for their support on their daily labor in the oyster factories, afford to be thrown out of employment three days in each week.
To remedy this evil we have for more than twelve months carefully considered the propriety of employing the use of the dredge, but before we decided to try a dredge boat we made a thorough and full investigation of its effects on the oyster reefs, as we have too much at stake to Inaugurate a movement that might result in injury to the supply of oysters.
We have made the oyster—its nature and cultivation—a study for many years, but we had never had any experience with this mode of fishing oysters, and erroneously supposed—as most people do who have not investigated the matter—that the use of the dredge would destroy the reefs; but the result of our investigation has not only shown that our fears were unfounded, but on the other had has demonstrated that if not abused the use of the dredge improves the size and quality and increases the quantity of the oysters.
0	Our investigation was not only conducted by correspondence with officials and business men acquainted with the use of the dredge and its efrects but we sent a representative to Baltimore, where he made a personal inspection of the use of the dredge and a thorough investigation as to its effects.