The Rise And Decline Of The Olympia Oyster 



oyster growers of the East Coast, those things which ap- 

 plied to the entire industry were settled and adopted. 

 Then the specific provision which applied to the Olympia 

 Oyster and the Pacific Oyster, consolidated under the 

 Pacific Coast division of the Oyster Code, were worked 

 out. 



Finally, it was ready for drafting. I returned home 

 and made my report. After receiving the first draft, it 

 was reviewed and finally adopted. I became its adminis- 

 trator. The latter part of September, 1933, the following 

 was received from Washington, D. C: 



"Official recognition of E. N. Steele of Olympia, as a 

 duly elected member of the code authority for the fresh 

 oyster industry has been announced by the National Re- 

 covery Administration. Steele was approved as a member 

 for the Pacific Coast section of the oyster industry, which 

 under NRA regulations, is a division of the fisheries in- 

 dustry. Approval of members of the code authority for 

 the North Atlantic, and southern section, also was an- 

 nounced." 



This now sounds like a small matter in the history of 

 this industry. But it is not. We lived it for many years. It 

 was a daily concern in our lives. All business transactions 

 were governed by it. Some liked it. Others did not. But, 

 taking it as a whole, by the time it was ended by court 

 proceedings we were again on the way to prosperity. 

 Who can say but that the stabilization of prices and the 

 rules of fair competition during this period was of much 

 value to our own industry as well as to the whole coun- 

 try. At least, we participated in it, and it is a part of our 

 history. 



(69) 



