Shellfish Monopoly.
For years the fishermen have feared that the shellfisheries would fall into the hands of a few companies or trusts, and the individual fisherman thereby lose his independence. As the present age tends toward the formation of monopolies in all business, the fears of the fishermen are not altogether groundless in this respect; nevertheless, while there are certain chances of monopoly in the shellfisheries, these chances are very small. In the first place, a monopoly of a raw edible product, such as shellfish, is hardly possible. Never can it be possible for any one company to control all or the majority of a shellfish supply, which possesses unlimited possibilities of expansion.
Secondly, there are but two ways in which a monopoly of the shellfisheries can be obtained: one is the control of the market by buying up all the shellfish,—a thing far easier under the present conditions; the other, by buying through contract the rights of the individual planters. The success of such an enterprise would depend wholly upon the personnel of the shellfishermen, and such a result could never become possible if each shellfisherman would refuse to sell his rights.