Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1893-08-29
TnREE QUESTIONS

brANDARD.-- nFee OF US tired Tor q
hour yesterday to decide whether III
United States won or lost in the Bel
ring Sea case. We disputed abou
how the question came up, what thi
government claimed and who got tn
best Of il. Will you kindly have tn
STANDARD settle these points 70, us
This letter came in Yesterdays mai
from Butte. To answer the first an,
second points in detail wonld take to,
much space at this time, but, briefly
the facts are: The trouble involved
England, Canada and the United
Sta,os; il began in 1886. Our gov.
srnment claimed that the Behrinp
Sea Is mare ciausnna---a closed sen
over which the United States bas
sole jurisdiction; that the Russian
government had held exclusive con.
troll over the seal fisheries until 1867.
when Alaska was coded to the Uni-
ted States; that the body Of water
now known as the Behring Sea wa.
not included as part Of the Pacific
ocean in the treaty Of 1925 between
Great Britain aud Russia; that all Of
Rnssia's rights went unimpaired to
the United States; Gnd that this coun.
try has such property right in the
seal herd as to justify it in employing
upon the high seas such means as are
necessary to prevent the destruction
OF the seal.
On the other hsnd, Great Britain
claimed freedom Of navigation and
fishing in Behring Sea, outside the
three mile limit, insisting that it is an
open sea 10 which all the nations OF
tho world have the RICH. to navigate
and fish; that when, in 1921, Russia
undertook to close the water OF part
OF the Pacific ocean, Great Britain
and the United States protested:
that by treaty, in 1925, Russia with.
drew her pretensions; that until 1867 |
the vessels Of several nations did fish
In these waters; and that, after 1867.
while the United States lawfully con-
trolled the Territory, the shores and
territorial waters OF Alaska, it did not
attempt till 1885 to restrict or inter
fere with the rights OF other nations
TO fish in the non. territorial waters Of
the Behring Sea.
The court OF arbitration decided
that Behring Sea Is an open sea to
oil nations and that tie United States
has no exclusive jurisdiction over i,
ana no right OF protection of proper
ty in seals found in the sea more than
three miles off the coas,.
To its case the government OF the
United States attached sort of prop.
os't ton to the effect that if the posi-.
ton taken by the United States was
not sustained the tribunal of arhitra.
ton should decree il to be the duty
Of Great Britain to concur with the
United States in plans to prohibit the =
capture anywhere upon the high seas
81 seals belonging to the Alaskan
herd. The tribunal adopted set of
resolutions intended to prevent the
nd'scr'minate slaughter of seals aud
established protected zone Of sixty
niles around the Pry biloff islands in r
which seals are at all times to be- free /
rom disturbance.
These regulations are a good thing g
or the monopoly which, having
r'ends IN power, got certain exclu.
I'VE rights OF seal fishing from our
government. As for the rest, in an. (
wer to our correspondents third
nestion, We should say that, in this
lpioma''c fishing expedition, the
United states lost hook, line, bob and
mixer. However, il there's money
p on this dispute, we can refer our
correspondent and his two friends IN
'me OF our contemporaries which
heerfully assert that England won (,
10 technical points, and this country
'cures the protection Of the seals
h'ch, they say, is all we really want.
!. h.