The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-03-24
A BARREN BUSINESS.

The treaty of arbitration before the Sem
ate involves really but two points; first,
have we any right of exclusive jurisdic-
ton over the waters of Bering sea, and
second, have we any right "of protection
or property in the fur seals freguenting the
islands of the United States in Boring sea
when such seals are found outside the Or
binary three-mile limit ?'
On both of these points in our judgment
We are morally certain to be beaten. No
international tribunal is likely to concede
our claim of exclusive ownership of part
of the North Pacific ocean, in area twice
as large as the Caribbean and larger than
the Mediterranean sea.
1t is true that Russia in 1921 claimed
exclusive jurisdiction for all purposes over
Boring sea for 100 miles from the coast
all the way from Bering strait down to
the 51st degree of latitude, and the
car excluded foreigners from whaling
and fishing and all other industry in these
waters and adjacent lands. But we never
claimed this exclusive jurisdiction; we
could not, because In 1893 Secretary of
State John Quincy Adams denied ex-
plicitly for the United States that Russia
could justly maintain the claim that the
North Pacific was closed sea. In 1912 Rus
STA conceded that under the treaty of 1924
extent of the Pacific, and refused to send
cruisers to interfere with our whalemen in
Boring sea. Boring sea was clearly re-
garded as part of the Pacific ocean by both
Russia and the United States under the
treaty of 1S2i
There is no modern precedent for hold
ing Boring sea, which measures LOO
miles from east to west and 800 miles from
north to south, as "a closed sea-" the en-
trance to which must be narrow enough to
make naval occupation of it easy or prac-
ticable. Boring sea is open on the north
by the straits thirty-six miles wide, while
the Gibraltar straits are less than nine
miles wide. England does not claim the
Gulf of st. Lawrence as a closed sea-
although it is entirely surrounded by
British territory and its chief entrance is
but fifty miles wide.
Secretary of State Boutwell,, in 1872,
said that the United States had no iuris-
diction or power TO expel foreign sealers
from Bering sea unless they attempted to
capture seals within marine league of
the shores. Under the ruling of Acting
Secretary French and Secretary Manning,
our revenue cruisers were directed to ar
rest foreign vessels only to prevent them
killing fur-bearing animals. The object of
the legislation of congress has been to pre-
vent the indiscriminate slaughter and
early extinction of the fur-bearing seals.
on the ground that if foreign and domestic
poachers were allowed TO catch them with
ont limit on their way to the rookeries,
the seals would be exterminated. The
probability is that the tribunal of arbitra-
ton will decide that We may not, even for
the protection of fur-besring sc ais from ex-
tinction, rightfully board, search or seize
foreign vessels on Bering sea more than
three miles from land. The act of con-
gress of March >, 1889, and the PRESIDENT
proclamation merely affirm that we will ex-
ereise our authority in the execution of a
certain law wherever our dominion ex-
tends on that sea. 1t is left TO be deter
mined, if need be, how far that dominion
extends.
The theory of ex-Minister Phelps that
we have property right in the seals, are
that they should be treated not as ferac
nat,rde, like whales. shad, Goldfish or wild
ducks. but as something which We can fol-
low and protect beyond the limit of our
territory, is absurd. President Angel, Of
Ann Arbor, referring to the plea that be
cause seals taken by the British breed on
our soil We have an exclusive claim TO pro
tect them in the sea from extinction is as
absurd as would be the claim of Canada
10 the wild ducks shot in Washing.
ton, on the plea that they were
Matched in the territory of the Do
minlon. We cannot on tenable grounds
exclude foreigners from the open waters
OF BeEing sea for the purpose of protect
ing the seals. and if we cannot do this We
cannot discriminate and exclude our own
countrymen from these waters. for if Ber;ne
sea is high sea our government could nc