Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-13
FUTURE OF THE SEALS
Necessity for Pending Legis-
lation.
PRESERVE THE SPECIES
THE VIEWS OF HENRY w. Ell
LOTT.
How This Government Has Been Out
witted in Its Negotiations-Try-
ing to Prevent determination.

Mr.. Henry W. Elliott for many years an
attache of the National Museum, and one
of the experts whose opinions were consid-
cred in detail by the Paris Boring sea COM
mission. Is very anxious that the proposed
legislation as to fur-bearing seals now be-
fore the House of Representatives shall be-
come law. In the course Of an interview on
the subject with reporter for The Star he
said:
The ways and means committee have
had under consideration since February
last bill which amends existing law, and
enables the President and Secretary Of
State to take steps which will at least pre-
serve the fur seal species Of Alaska from
total determination, even If it cannot be re-
stored to a basis of commercial value on
the Pribylov Islands. This bill Oh. r.,
1880 is substantially the measure which
the late Gov. Dinsley, Thos. B. Reed, Judge
Gresham and VIM. L. Wilson drew in 1895.
1t has been twice unanimously passed in
the House-February %. 1895. too late for
action in the Senate before the sine die ad-
journment Of March T. and again February
Is, 1896, reported favorably from Senate
foreign relations committee March 4. and
made a special order for March 49, 1896.
AT this juncture Mr.. Olney, then Secre-
tary of State stepped in and asked that no
action be taken on the BILL since he was
successfully negotiating with Great Brit
ain for revision Of the Boring sea regu-
lations.' etc. OF course. the measure was
dropped, and when Congress was safely out
of the way the Canadians dropped Mr.
Olney, and threw him down hard
Prompt Action Imperative.
I'VE have reached the point now where
we have got to act at once, or else lose the
species itself. For under existing law, reg
lations and trade conditions, the male seal
life on the islands will be completely de-
stroyed before the female life is. This con-
dition is due to the fact that the male life
is destroyed on the land by our people and
also in the sea by the Canadian hunters.
The females are carefully preserved from
any injury or disturbance on the land or
In the water adjacent by our people. and
are subjected to no unnatural killing eX-
cept that inflicted on them by the Canadian
hunters under the license of the present
regulations for pelagic sealing.
Unless we take steps to put these sea
hunters out of business, there Is sense
in our saving male life on the islands for
these men to ultimately kill at sea. Be
cause ii will simply prolong their work and
profit to the end of determination root and
branch Ct the life.
But. If We kill off the surplus female
life, we will put the pelagic hunter out Of
business, and at the same time we come
to a sensible check Of killing the young
to preserve the species, which we cannot
do unless we move in this direction and
move at once.
How One Case Was Botched.
inexperienced and ignorant agents Of
our government In 1891 -93 botched the good
case of our government at Paris. and
fresh infection of this inexperience and
ignorance botched the work OF the Jordan
Thompson commission Of 1S9S-97, which
ended in an amazing joint agreement No
vember 16, 1897, that the fur seal herd Of
Alaska, though very much reduced in num-
bers, was, under existing laws and regula-
tions, safe from any danger Of extermina-
ton; that an equilibrium had been attained
then, whereby the remnant of the herd
would neither increase nor diminish in
numbers to any sensible figure, owing to
the fact that the taking of fur seals had
ceased to be profitable to either land les
sees seal hunters.
The rank nonsense of this expert con-
clusion Is well exhibited when l tell YOU
that the dregs Of the young male life on
the islands were drawn last year, and that
the sea hunters profits on their catch for
1900 and 1901 were 200 per cent greater
than they were in 1897. And the herd itself
has diminished nearly 40 per cent since 1897
to the end of the season of 1901!
Position Of the Minority.
Yes, I know that a minority-a small
minority-of the ways and means commit
tee objects to the last section of the pending
bill 1t wants Congress to make faces at
the peiagic hunter, but at the same time
will let him alone unless he sees fit to do
otherwise-to put the odium' Of the abomi-
nable business of destroying the fur seals
Oh him. Why, what does he care about
such charge? Do you suppose that he
even notices 1t, or ever will? Not a bit;
the 'odium' has rolled, rolls and will roii
off his back, just as dirty water drips from
that Of a duck which wallows in some mud
dy pool.
The vaporing lawyers and shallow ex-
perts at Paris had great deal to say about
my theories and inability to realize facts
In the premises Naturally they did But
IL my theory had been followed that sham
battle before the Boring sea tribunal would
never have taken place with its resultant
loss and humiliation for our people, We
would have saved the seals. But those dis
t1ngulshed lawyers would have missed their
ill-gotten fees. Hence these legal lights
viewed with alarm my theories which the
logic of events has INDICATED to the letter
at this hour"