New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-08-09
THE EYTERMINATION or THE FUR SEAL

When DIR. Dawson, one of the British Com
missioners sent TO investigate the Alaska seal
fisheries. reached Victoria on his way to Behr-
ing Sea he publicly declared to dcputaVoh ol
Canadian sealers that "there is no danger OF
fur-scalina being ended, because the seal IS
an animal which cannot possibly be eNterlhi-
mated =" The improperly OF such remark
from a man who then on his way as
public official to investigate that very question
is obvious. One hardly knows what to tank
Of a man who speaks so audaciously or or the
Government that sends him out. If Dr. DaW-
sons assertion was accurate, there was 10 Oc
casion for his mission. He had no other erfanu
than to discover whether the fU-seal was being
exterminated, and if it was, to suggest method
of saving it. And before he has 50 much As
embarked upon the steamer that Is TO carry
him where he can get at the facts, he ]auntliF
declares that he already knows all about them
that his conclusion is reached, and that the
Canadian contention is established! The re-
port Of such an investigator as this is not likely
to be worth the paper it is written on
In a volume just issued by the Bureau OF
Statistics on the commerce of the Pacific states
Mr.. Ivan Petroff, the United States Treasury
expert in Alaska, has supplied large amount
of valuable information concerning the past
and present condition of the fur-seal herd. Not
by speculation hut by statistical proof, he
shows that the declaration OF DR.. Dawson Is
thoroughly false-that it is. indeed Just what
tho circumstances under which it was made en-
title us to assume the declaration of an ignO-
rant person. entirely devoid Of discretion. Mr.
petroff shows that just after the discovery OF
the seal islands by Pribyoff so reclkleSSly were
the seal assaulted by the Russian hunters at
the beginning of this century they had al
most abandoned Behring Sea and had become
so scarce that their killing was prohibited by
law. 1t was not until 1913 that the herd
had ec,perated and returned in force TO It's
old resorts, and from that time until the pres
ent the industry pursued in its skins has been
regulated by governmental prescriptions. The
annual catch has been steady and Trustworthy
only because of the watchful care of the
Russian and American Governments.
The fate of the sea-otter, which is not more
shy than the seal and at one time was far more
numerous. furnishes plain warning of the Re-
suit which must soon come from indiscriminato
assault upon the seal. In their habits the seal
and the otter are very similar. They are both
amphibian mammals, breeding on land and
msorting thither constantly The otter has en-
loved no such protection as has been extended
TO the seal, and has become. at last, almost
extinct. Mr. Petroif thinks that his pelt must
within few years be one of the rare curiOSitics
of a fur dealer. 1t might be possible even now
to prevent this pidful shame if Congress will
take the right view of our dominion over the
marine animals that nhabt our islands in
Behring Sea. Upon no proper theory can either
the seal or the sea-otter be looked upon as the
common prey of mankind. The laws of hui
mainly as well as of trade require the assertion
of our sovereignty wherever it is necessary in
Behring Sea for their protection. As we have
shown many times. the assertion Of a qualified
jurisdiction by the sovereign of the shore over
the high seas contiguous TO his dOmniOnS, a
jurisdiction that does not interfere with ordi-
nary commerce or any of the Just purposes for
which seas are held TO be free, but which is
intended to protect his revenues or his prop
| critics, is q common incident Of modern practice
by all maritime nations. The seas are free for
purposes that are right but not for marauding
enterprises that injure the industries Of others.
1t will be the duty Of Congress at its next
session to declare our jurisdiction over the ma
rine bearing animals born on our Alaskan
possessions wherever they may be found in the
waters aoout their island homes.