Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1911-08-30
MAKES FOR PROGRESS
SIGNIFICANCE OF CONCLUSION
OF SEALING TREATY.
Diplomatic Victory Credit to the
Republican Notwithstanding
an End of Long and AcrI-
monious Dispute.

president Tart was justified In tell
Ing the Christian Endeavor convention
at Atlantic City that the conclusion of
the sealing treaty was an important
step toward a saner application of the
principles Of international fair deal
Ing. The agreement among Russia.
Japan. Canada and the United States
to suppress wasteful pelagic sealing is
noteworthy az settling a troublesome
international Issue of long standing by
the intensely practical methods of
modern diplomacy. The four nations
concerned adopted the sensible view
that each had an interest which the
others ought to be willing to recognize
and that each would be benefited by
an agreement which did not bear too
hard on any O. its neighbors.
The controversy had dragged along
for generation because each nation
had been reluctant to recognize the
justice of any other point of view than
Its own. Rather than yield its con-
tentions each party TO the dispute was
willing to see the once abundant seal
herd gradually depleted from over
100000 head in 1868 to less than 1870,
600 In 1909. The proposal had even
been seriously made to exterminate
the seals as tho only means OF ending
an irritating situation. The United
States naturally felt aggrieved that it's
Alaskan rookePies should be impoy-
er1shed year by year through the OPP
erations of the deep sea poachers. 1t
felt that it had substantial claim to
proprietorahip over the seal herd be-
cause 1t owned the breeding grounds
to which 1t resorted. But the poaching
nations held that their subjects we're
Tree TO take seals anywhere beyond
the shore line limits without restraint
OF any sort. So long as these two mu-
tually destructive theories were insist
ed upon no agreement was possible
and each nation went ahead In it's
own way, rapidly extinguishing
natural source OF wealth which could
and should have been conserved and
multiplied for the benefit OF all
II Is interesting to contrast the
methods by which the preservation of
seal life has been finally assured with
the methods followed in the earlier
stages OF the controversy. AL four
nations now contract to pool their In
terests In the catch and to work to-
gether to replenish the waning herd.
The notion that possession Of the rock
cries involves complete ownership OF
the animals has been abandoned. as
has the opposing contention that seal.
ers killing in the open sea owe no re
spect whatever to the rights Of the
nation on whose soil the seals must
/ propagate In order that the sealing in
! dustry may survive. In former days
diplomats engaged in learned argu-
ments over the question whether or
not Boring sea was mare clausum. and
whether or not pelagic killing was con
+ ira bonos mores in the international
sense. Such arguments were peril.
nent enough SO long as each nation
\ stood on It's own rights and didn't want
/ 10 recognize the rights Of its neigh.
I bors. Now all have been brought to
/ see that the conflict OF interest I'm.
/ volved could be removed only By a
/ joint arrangement equally beneficial
J TO all. BY asking less as a participant
In common enterprise each country
/ has obtained more than It could ever
have realized trying to push It's claims
alone.