Evening star., 1896-10-28
PROTECT THE SEALS
Importance Of Russian and Japanese
Concert With This Country.
how TO REPLENlSH TIE HERDS
PeIagic Sealing Must Be at Once
Entirely Stopped.
VIEWS OF AN AUTHORITY

The publication in The Star yesterday Of
a story to the effect that Russia and Japan
stand ready to aid the United States in an
attempt to preserve the seal fisheries of
Bering sea has attracted a great deal Of
attention in this city, and has given rise to
more or less comment
One of the men who have naturally taken
particular interest in the subject is Mr..
Frederic A. Lucas, the well-known scientist
of the National Museum, who has given a
deal of thought and study to the seal fishs
cries. and has been to Bering sea as one
of the American experts.
In conversation with Star reporter today
Mr. Lucas said: ''It is matter of the
greatest importance, for as things are go
ing now the seals will be completely ex-
terminated unless radical measures are
taken to protect them. There was one
statement In The Star. however, which was
erroneous or at least misleading. 1t was
said that while Russia owned Alaska and
the seal islands now attached to the United
States there was complete protection to the
seals and the destruction began under
American management
"In point of fact the seal fisheries have
been better managed under the control Of
the United States than they ever We're Ly
Russia. There is far better policing and a
more consistent effort to preserve the seals.
The only reason for the destruction of the
fisheries was the introduction of pelagic
sealing. AS nearly as l can remember Just
now this began in 1884, and up to that
time and all the time that Russia was in
control the killing of the seals was confined
entirely to the islands. Since pelagic seal
ing has been carried on the rookerieS have
been decimated and in many cases COM
pletely depopulated. The sealers lie off in
the open water and kill the seals on their
way to their feeding grounds. The result
Is that thousands of mother seals have been
killed, and the young that were left on The
Islands starved to death. Last season no
less than 10000 pups died in this way.
The Only Salvation.
1.-THE only salvation of the seal fisheries
lies. in the complete abolition of pelagic
sealing. When the killing Is confined to
the islands 1t is easily possible to keep it
within proper limits. Only the young males
about three years of age are killed. and no
harm Is done to the females. Seals are
polygamous, and it is not necessary that
there should be anything like as many
males as females In fact, 1t is much bet
/. ter that there should not be as many, for
when there are the males simply fight
among themselves and create a disturbance
in their efforts to establish harems. If the
killing were confined to the islands it would
not be long before the herds would be built
up, and the fisheries would once more be-
come of immense value.
This summer 1 believe that none of the
vessels in Bering sea has more than paid
expenses, and many of them have not even
done that l was glad to see the statement
that Japan thinks it to her interest to sup
press the piratlng.' for many of the Cana
dian vessels fiji out at Japanese ports. Still,
1t is a waste of words and names to speak
Of pirates and poachers, for with the pres
ent system theirs is comparatively legiti-
mate business