ABUSE OF THE SCAPHANDER IN THE SPONGE FISHERIES. 539 
this industry was followed in the first locality by 1,827 persons, in the second by 
354 persons, and in the third by 64, making a total of 2,245. Among these, 1,239 
men were working on small vessels, 874 on barks, and 132 on shore. There were 
1,356 colored and 75 white men among the sponge fishermen, and among the 
workmen on shore there were 119 white and 13 colored men. According to 
nationalities, 1,268 were British subjects, mostly from the Bahama Islands, of 
which 1,013 were colored; 839 were citizens of the United States, of which 343 
were colored, 5 Portuguese, and 1 Norwegian. Among the men working on shore 
114 were citizens of the United States, all white, and 1 Greek. Up to 1905 the 
sponges were gathered in Florida exclusively by means of the hook. It is to be 
regretted that the dragnet is prohibited for the greater depths where the hook’can 
not reach. 
In 1900 there were used in sponge fishing 156 small vessels of 1,750 tons 
in all, valued at $182,151, and 228 barks valued at $176,465. The trade in 
native sponges was concentrated at Key West and Tarpon Springs, and was 
carried on by representatives of firms in New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis, 
with the exception of one independent firm in each of the two above-named 
Florida localities. These firms had in this year 17 buyers and 124 other em- 
ployees and workmen, the annual salary of whom amounted to a total of $43,947. 
In 1900 there were obtained in Florida 418,125 pounds of sponges, valued at 
$567,685, while in 1880 there were gathered 207,000 pounds of sponges, valued 
at $200,750. (These data are taken from official reports of the United States 
Bureau of Fisheries.) 
In February, 1905, the question of sponge diving arose in America. In 
the course of a few months 70 diving machines from Greece and Turkey, increas- 
ing to 100 in the following year, appeared in Florida, and, so far as I could 
ascertain at such a distance, operated without loss of life, since the work was 
done in shallow waters. It did so much the more harm to the future of the 
sponge beds, however, and the practical Americans did not need much time, 
fortunately, to see the danger threatening from these reckless foreigners. ‘Thus 
the question arose in the United States, and those concerned were divided into 
two large groups with diverging interests for and against the diving apparatus, 
exactly as previously in other countries. All who could obtain a temporary 
profit declared themselves in favor of the diving apparatus, while all those who 
had regard for the future were opposed. Both parties had influence and sought 
justice and protection from the Government, and the matter came before the 
Houses of Congress in Washington, there to be very promptly investigated 
and acted upon. 
On June 20, 1908, was passed the beneficent law by which the diving dress 
in sponge fishing was absolutely prohibited in depths of 50 feet and less, and 
