The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-03-31
FORAKER AFRAID
OF HOT DOCUMENT
Sensational Paper is With
drawn from Senate Files
STORY HAS LEAKED OUT
Attacks Are Made Upon Vice President
Fairbanks and Other Government
Officials Relative To Seal
Fisheries In Alaska.

w ds-iluBVOll, Mdrcn Ex-senator FORAKER
today obtained leave to withdraw from
the Senate files a paper introduced by
him on Wednesday last, and published
as a public document and the order to-
day carried with it the suppression of all
the printed copies of the paper. His in
PRODUCTION of the paper last week and
the withdrawal today contained no inti-
nation of the sensational character of the
document which still would not be
known had it not been for the fact that
several copies had been given out before
it was suppressed.
The paper was prepared by Henry W.
Elliott of Lakewood, o., and purported
to be the Official record of the loot and
ruin of the fur seal herd of Alaska"
1t was stated in chronological order,
beginning with 1863 and continuing to the
present time. 1t was written in long
hand, closely written ana difficult to read.
Professor Elliott had submitted records
of Pelagic sealing several times and they
had always been printed as public docu-
ments. Therefore. when Senator Foraker.
Yves asked to have the alleged official
record" printed, he made the request in
the usual form, and did not take the
trouble to read it. Today he made apollo
gies to Vice President Fairbanks and
several senators. r.
Cat Out of the Bag.
1t was not until the paper came out in
printed form today that it's character be-
came known. 1t was found to reflect
upon the integrity of the presiding Off
oars Of fha 70 on Tf1PIDDnfE of
the Senate and House and other govern
ment officials. 1t transgTessed one of
tie established though lhwritten rules
of both houses of Congress, and caused
a sensation of no small magnitude.
Passing over 80 years OF the official
record" Prof. Elliott dealt with the work
&C the Anglo-American joint high eommls-
sion in connection with the sealing, and
told of an argument made by Mr. Fair.
banks in opposition to a sealing bill be-
fore the Senate committee on foreign re-
iations IN 1902-03, when be was a member
CT the committee. This paragraph is
taken as Representatives:
Mr.. Elliott secured on February p 1909
the passage of the bill i'll the House; bdt
on February H. in the Senate foreign re-
Iations committee Senator Fairbanks de-
tells the committee that his bill
IS not needed; that the fur seal question
has been all agreed upon in the joint high
commission, and only waits the formal
publication by that commission when it
assemblies; he assures the committee that
this re-convention of the commission is
20 take place soon after March 4, 1903.
"The statement of Senator Fairbanks
was an untruth in every respect-a square
and wholesale fabrication on his part to
defeat the pending bill Under the err
cumstances, his colleagues could not dis
rdte his false report; therefore, they took
no action on this bill, at his request
John Hay Referred To.
The "offical record" refers in disparag-
ing manner to the part taken by the late
Secretary of State John Hay. in regard To
The sealing question, and charges that leg
islation was bitterly opposed by the land
and sea butchers of the fur seal herd,
who had certain Senators, Congressman
and the department officials
II refers also to the extended trip of
inspection over Alaska" made by Sena-
tors Dillingham;, Nelson, Durham and
Patterson, and mentions the fact that no
legislation was accomplished. Fault is
found also with. the fact that Secretary
Root and Assistant Secretary Bacon had
done absolutely rotning," although fully
informed that a plan of mutual conces-
sion and joint control of United States
and Canada could be successfully nego-
tiated in six weeks time
The long record closed as follows:
why should this infamous work of
the land and sea butchers of our fur seal
herd go thus unchecked? And that. too,
when the Canadian government asks us
to unite with it ON a proper plan to sup
press it? No quibbling or nonsense about
the necessity of seeing sounding ia
pan or Russia first will bear the light
of honest discussion. Those governments
have been ready at any hour since 1897
TO unite with us on any plan to sup
press Pelaglc fur sealing which we could
first get Canada to assent to-"