Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-05-20
Conserving the Fur Seal.


SONS for believing that thru the meet
ing in Washington of representatives
OF Great Britain, Japan and the United
States n Arrangement may be reached
which shall at last and forever put an
| end to pelagtc sealing. The effect OF
| this it can be stated at once, would be
| to increase Immediately and immensely
the fur bearing seal herd and With 1t
| the revenues of the government. Some
| progress has already been made in both
directions, but this latest arrange
n1ellt may lead even to the transfer OF
the worlds sea-skin market from
England TO the United States. A treaty
has already been ratified which brings
Great Britain, Canada and the Cnited
States much closer together than they
| have ever been before with reference
to the seal fshris. The seals are better
protected nov. The latest, and 10 some
degree the most difficult, problem arts
ing out of the controversy has been
! that which has involved the treatment
! of japanese, and others sailing under
the Japanese flag, and carrying on Il
whole sale and almost indiscriminate
! sla liter in deep water of seals Of both
, sexes and ali ages. Under the newer
arrangements only the superfiuous
! males may be taken.
| The controversy which seems TO be
/ nearing a satisfactory close is of long
standing. 1t seems to be generally for
gotten row that one OF the principal
+; inducements for the purchase of Alaska
| by the United States was its prospect ct
large revenues from the seal fisheries.
| Since the acquisition of the territory
=, the revenue from this source has been
| large. but only fraction Of what it
| would have been had the government
| been able to maintain all OF its rights.
| 1t Will presently be seen, however. that
| to do this might have invited serious
| international complications, because, al
| the most. the rights which this coun-
| try asserted were subject to reasonable
F.! contention on the part of other nations
| claiming access to and a share in the
product OF the seal fields.
AT no time has the Washington gov
+; eminent conceded to other nations the
privilege of entering Its waters in pur-
/ suit Of the seal. Such permission has
e; not been necessary. The home of the
seals is on the Alaskan coast in ter
! r:.ory Enthusiastically and ind!spu'ahly
! American. But the seals do not stay
/ at home. At certain seasons It is their
great number for breeding purposes
! These islands are also possessions of
the United States. But right here is
where nearly all Of the trouble has
| arisen. To get to the Pribyioff islands
! the seals must cross Boring sea-that
| is must swim thru neutral waters
| where they have been intercepted and
! slaughtered in great numbers by Can
adam and. latterly by japanese seal
! ers. Thousands of the seals killed in
! the deep waters sink to the bottom md
+; are lost. This IS true Of the females as
well of the males
Of course, the leading question thru
out the controversy that has extended
over a period Of twenty-one years has
been the right Of the United States to
assert jurisdiction over the seals in
their passage from the mainland to
the islands, or, as an authority put 1t.
TO protect It's property in waters that
would ordinarily be regarded as part
of the open sea, where according to In :
irrational usage. every nation ordi-
narily has the right to hunt and fish
according to its own free will The
question has been arbtrated and de-
| cided favorably to the United States,
| but the conditions have been such that
| something more than a mere diplomat
&c agreement has been necessary to
bring about the desired conditions: The
, other nations interested are now ready,
it is understood, to join hands with
this country in putting an end to the
useless destruction OF seals. The moral
side of the question has been swung
around to tbs front. The equities are
to be recognized regardless of techni-
calities, humane treatment OF the seals
is to be enforced. and one Of the
worlds most important and most in
teresting industries is to be conserved.
Christian Science Monitor.