Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-12-10
Full Scope of Duties of Depart
ment of Commerce and
Labor Outlined
PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE
Department Must Have the Hearty
Cooperation and Support of the
Great Commercial and Industrial
Concerns in Order to Be of Service
to These neutrality-suspicious..

Washington, Dec. 1o.-The full
scape of the duties of the department
of commerce and labor are fully out
lined in the first annual report of Sec
rotary Cortelyou, which has just been
Secretary Cortelyou enumerates the va
rious bureaus which are embraced IN
his department, and makes q general
statement as to what has been accom-
persisted in the first year OF work.
The different bureaus included in the
department are as follows: Manufac
tures, corporations, labor, paying spe-
cial attention to the relations between
labor and capital, light house board,
bureau of the census. coast and geo.
detic survey, bureau of statistics
steam boat inspection service, bureau Of
fisheries, bureau of navigation, bureau
of immigration. and bureau of stan
dards. A complete statement of the
most of all these is given in the re-
port.
Al aaditINI w tiLC pot pSsC IVA 4"AAA>h
1t was most specifically created to deal
with labor and commercial questions of
the day, the department has also
charge over the concentrated marine
bureaus of the country.
The personnel Of the department now
comprises 1888 employees in Washing
ton, and $3.50 in the country at large.
a total of 1925. The appropriation
to be expended by the department
amounted to s9,7s6,S47.
Appropriation Asked.
Secretary Cortelyou refers especial
ly to the need of an appropriation 20
be expended under his immediate SUI
pervision in the investigation of trade
conditions at home and abroad, with
the object of promoting the foreign
and domestic commerce OF the United
States and for other reasons. Special
attention is also called to the need of
an appropriation for the construction
of building for the department.
Among other matters of chief in
.terest touched upon by Secretary Cor
telyou in his report are the follow
ing:
The report Of the commissioner gen.
eral regarding the fraudulent use of
naturalization papers demands serious
attention. The extent to which sucn
frauds are successfully practiced in
order to evade the immigration laws
shows clearly the need of legislation
TO safeguard more thoroughly the
method of obtaining citizenship and
to prevent the fraudulent use OF certi-
ficates of naturalization.
A National Aquarium.
The department has under consider
alton the question Of establishing, in
connection with the bureau OF fisheries,
architectural excellence that it will be
a credit to the nation. Public aquar.a
are recognized as important aids 20
education and are among the most at
tractive, and useful exhibits that can be
maintained at public expense. An ap-
preparation for such an aquarium Will
in due course be recommended.
The large capital Invested in the
ALASKAN salmon fisheries and value OF
the annual product demand that
prompt action be taken to insure the
permanency of the industry. The
present drain on the salmon resources
is so great that a serious depletion is
inevitable unless adequate artificial
propagation and rigid Inspection are
instituted. The physical and biological
conditions In the salmon streams or
Alaska are so varied and so little un-
derstpod that final regulations govern
ing the fisheries should be based upon
thorough investigation of the waters
and fish in each particular section.
Such an investigation has just been
made.
Altho the seasons pack OF Alaskan
salmon showed decrease in volume,
its market value. owing To higher
prices for the better grades. will excee1
that Of any year in the history OF the
industry. 1t is estimated that the re-
ceipts viii aggregate about s11,200,000.
or a gain of nearly 80 per cent over
those of the year before. The tax paid
to the government will be about $685.
900.
Fur Seal Service.
AS result of the killing Of fur seals
on the Prbiloff islands during the sea-
son ended August. 1903. there were
taken 1922 seialskins for the quota OF
1908, and eighty-two rejected skins
shipped by order Of the department,
and charged to the quota OF 1902.
OF the 1922 skins 90 taken 3.092
were from St. George and 1920 from
st. Paul. The eighty-two rejected
skins came from the latter island.
The catch OF 1903 was so94 less than
that of 1902. This decrease was du,
to the fact that bachelor seals were not
present in so large numbers as In the
preceding year.