ss Wrote:

"Is the bell and other artifacts being donated to a museum, or
are they going to rot in a box in a basement?"

Have you ever taken time to look in the endless dusty boxes of
government museum and institutional basements?  I doubt it.
You'd be completely astonished at all the items the public will
NEVER get to see because of government's self-serving public
master policies.  I've seen state warehouses full of artifacts no
one has viewed in decades excepting some career lifetime student
in their 22nd year of post graduate research, usually at taxpayer
expense.

Private collectors hold hundreds of public shows every year where
anyone can view and learn about artifacts and their respective
history from the unpaid "Real Experts" who've personally
sacrificed to find and preserve them. Whether it be maritime
treasures, fossils, or relics, one can easily find these shows
with little effort if they are truly interested in learning.
Remember also, not everyone dives, thus if it remains underwater,
they will never see it.  I've personally given away thousands of
small trinkets to curious children knowing I have helped to
stimulate their appreciation and love for discovery.  I've come
to know many of them over the years who've come back later and
thanked me for sharing this with them ~ many still possessing
their original trinkets that got them started.  What government
entity would do the same?

At least if a private collector decides to leave something
significant in his basement, when he departs this world, someone
will clean out that basement one day and it may fall back into
the private realm of those who truly appreciate its' value and
beauty ~ The private collectors.  At least it won't "Rot" away on
the bottom or remain lost buried somewhere in the matrix.  Then
again, it may be donated to a museum and wind up in one of their
infamous warehouse boxes.  The government on the other hand will
never depart us, and if they ever do clean out their basements,
they'll certainly haul everything to the dump because heaven
forbid anyone from the private sector getting hold of it.

For the most part, private collectors do an exceedingly superior
job of sharing archeological resources and information with the
general public than government bureaucrats.  In fact, private
collectors are where government academians and curators learned
most of their knowledge and received much of their donated
displays in the first place.  They weren't born "Archeological
Experts" as many would like everyone to believe nor were the
first professors.  Who educated them?

Never forget that Mel Fisher lost upwards of 30% of his original
Atocha treasure because State of Florida employees "Stole" it
while in their custody during legal battles with him over
ownership in the early to mid eighties.  Most of it is still
unaccounted for today ~ Probably lost in some "State Employee's
Private Collection."  Government officials originally laughed and
scoffed at Fisher as just another Foolish Old Treasure Hunter
when he first went in willing to provide hard cash to lease the
bottom salvage rights off Florida's coastlines ~ But, they still
greedily took his money.  After the Atocha discovery and survey,
Florida officials decided they weren't satisfied with the
original terms previously negotiated with Fisher to
archeologically document the Atocha site and donate 25% of the
treasure to them for public display in the State Museum.  They
wanted everything in typical government fashion and confiscated
it.  Finally after many years of legal battles, Mel compromised
with the state to avoid future legal battles. He had already
spent $1.6 million dollars defending his rights, and he offered
to donate twenty percent of his "Yearly findings" to be displayed
publicly. The state agreed and has not pursued further lawsuits.
The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled that Fisher owned all
[100%] of his findings. Fisher died at age 76 in December 1998.
However, the state of Florida continues to subtlety harass his
company to this day.

The Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society Museum
[http://www.melfisher.org/] features exhibits that travel around
the world displaying Fisher's treasures both for those who want
to study it and for those who are just interested. If Fisher
hadn't invested the time, money and lost lives searching for the
Atocha, it would all still be forever lost on the ocean bottom
because the state is too incompetent to have ever found it in the
first place - then, now, or in the future.  I've personally
witnessed it all here in North Florida.  The evolution of
protectionist laws is absolutely mind boggling and absurd to most
of us.  Hell, you can get into more trouble now days for picking
up a piece of flint rock than you will for selling "Crack Rocks"
down on a street corner.

Another convoluted example of "Government Knows Best Thinking."

Ever heard of the Empire Mica?  It was a freighter sank in WWII
by a German U-Boat off Apalachicola Florida in 120-140 feet.
Sounds perhaps a bit historically significant to me, huh?  It was
once a premier dive site in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.  The
government in all its' infinite wisdom and concern for historic
preservation decided it posed a "Navigation Hazard" and ordered
the Army Corps of Engineers to knock down the superstructure with
steel drag cables.  Their thoughtless and careless action totally
destroyed its' prior majestic beauty for all divers.  The Empire
Mica only has 30-40 feet or less of relief today lying in a
tangled heap of metal junk ~ Hardly worth the effort it takes to
dive it anymore.

How many other wrecks have fallen victim to this same kind of
senseless government vandalism?  "Navigation Hazard?"  Ever seen
a vessel with a 90-100 foot draft?  Some have argued it was for
submarine navigation.  Do you really believe modern subs can't
see something this freaking large on their sonar or read their
charts missing it being there at the same time?  Give me a break.

The government is run by completely incompetent MORONS!

I could go on, but the only way you'll ever comprehend just how
F@#$%& Up our beloved government is will be to live into your
fifties.  Even then, you will only "Get It," if you've learned
how to use your brain for "Thinking and Supporting" yourself
along the way ~ Odds are far better, as demonstrated by your
obviously uninformed question and email suffix, you'll end up on
the "Public Tit" perpetuating their BS policies and compounding
the problems further.  Then one becomes the "Problem," not the
"Solution" to it.

Regards,

Jer

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