The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-17
so SAYS J. STANLEY BROWN.
NO MONOPOLY FOR THE AMERICAN
COMPANY ACCORDING TO HIS
STATISTICS,
THE GREAT MARKET.
New Law Prohibiting Importations
Works No Hardships to
Americans.
Special to the Globe.

Stanley-Brown, the general manager of
the North American Commercial COM
pany, was asked today by your cor
respondent how far his company would
justify the government in conceding
easier terms to importers of sealskins
than were contained IN the regulations
issued by the treasury department to
the customs service in the circular Of
Dec 80
Our company" answered Mr.. Stan
1ey-Brown. lis taking no part in this
whole affair, in spite Of what many
newspaper writers are saying We are
Of course interested spectators, but
spectators simply. The government is
passing it's own laws and making It's
own regulations, with an eye to the
future of an industry which, If proper
ly husbanded, ought to outl1ve any
particular private interest. The COM
pany's concern with the fur-seal fishery
begins and ends with any contract It
may have already made or may here
after make with the government; but
the governments interest is perpetual,
Just as in its mineral deposits, or its
forest domain, or it's navigable waters,
or any other Of its economic resources"
'But you surely feel the Importance
of preserving your monopoly of the seal
fur trade in the United States?"
Possibly we should If we possessed
such monopoly; but we do not That
is very common error, and the gov
eminent is criticised-congress for
passing the prohibitory act Of Dec. 20,
and the president for signing the regu-
lations under ton the assumption
that both of them were acting in col
fusion with the North American Com
mercial company, or with view to the
promotion Of it's interests. AS a mat
ter Of fact, the government is doing
the only natural and logical thing left
to it. After seeking in vain to pre-
vent the people of other countries from
carrying on pelagic sealing, it now does
what 1t ought to have done at first.
proceed in this matter with clean
hands, by requiring it's own citizens,
at least. to abstain. 1t can invite, and
request, and persuade the foreign seal
ers till the crack of doom, but it has
no way Of compelling them to cease
the destructive methods they are now
citizens, Here is one industry which
you shall not pursue with what grace
can it permit the people of other coun-
tries to follow that industry and bring
the products of it right into the Ameri-
can market for sale? The prohibition
or, [ should say, the restriction-upon
importation is the inevitable sequence
Of the prohibition upon pelagic sealing
But again, bear in mind that the
law does not shut out even all the
skins not taken upon the Prybiloff ISL
ands. The prohibitory line simply fol-
lows the thirty-fifth degree of north
latitude; everything taken in the waters
of the Pacific north of that is con-
demned, but nothing else Skins from
the Commander islands, and the Lobos
Islands, and the scattering product,
such as those from Cape Horn and the
Cape of Good Hope, are admitted to
this country on the same footing as the
PryhilOff skins"
What proportion do the products of
these other sources bear to the total
catch of any year?"
Last year the skins taken outside
of the prohibited area numbered 10000
to $4,000; the Prybiloff catch last year
was about 10000. and this years catch
may be still smaller. So, you see,
there is no monopoly of the market
The popular misrepresentation on that
point arises doubtless from ignorance
of the commercial history Of a seal
skin. Most persons suppose that when
a seal is killed by one of our men, and
we wish to supply the American mar
ket. we send the skin right to New
York or some other American city and
sell it. This is not the fact. We are
not engaged in supplying the American
market, or any other market, as such.
Every skin, or substantially every one,
fn1y Iryn rlNN1y
goes at once to England. simply sailed
so as to keep. In London there are
held, periodically, public auction sales,
at which, all skins from all places are
divided into lots according to their
merit, assigned Tot number and ex-
posed for sale to the highest bidder in
open competition. Here is a circular,
of G. M. Lampson & Co. You will
see that lot 312 is made up
of "a large pups and rs middling
pups lot 346 Of II FAULTY lot 397 of
2 middlings 10 middlings and smalls,
and 81 smalls,' and so on. Our skins
are sold there side by side with the
skins sent in from all over the globe
Sometimes prices rule high, sometimes
low, according to the state of the
market; but in any event, when one of
our skins is sold in this way, our in
terest in it is eXtinguished, except in
the sense that any wholesaler Is al
ways interested in seeing that his re-
tail customer is not robbed Of a mar
ket But we do not control, and could
not, the fate of any skin we SELL It
may come to America or it may go to
Australia, or it may appear on the
shoulders of lady in the streets Of
Stockholm.
But even supposing the statements
going the rounds were true-that this
was a clever scheme manipulated by
the company now holding the lease of
the seal islands to more completely
gain control of the business and trans
fer it to the United States? It Is not
true; but If it were, what fault could
be found with such result? If the
ment were to transfer the Undressing
and dyeing business to our shores,
thereby adding new industry to our
present list, surely this could not be
set down as an injury to the country
Whether this industry will come to US
now or not no one can tell"
"You do not believe, then, the COM
mon statement that we cannot dress
and dye seal skins over here as they do
abroad?
Certainly not There Is no reason
why American ingenuity and skill
should not do it as we'll, or even bet
ter We now lead the whole world In
treating some other kinds Of furs--
why not seal?
eff we can do this, why have we not
done it already?
For reasons which are intertwined
with the whole history Of the seal fur
trade. Long before America began to
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