The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-03-04
PROTECTING THE SEALS.

| With reference to the protection ri
| the great seal herds of the northern
| Pacific, We find IN the current number
| of the Review of Reviews a fair dis.
cnsslon of the whole matter, bv Presi.
dent David Starr Jordan Of the Leland
Stanford University The foundation
of lns article is the treaty which was
| entered into on the 9TH of Jul, last by
the United states. Great Britain, Rus.
sla, and Japan. designed 10 protect the
female seals from the ravages OF pela.
gic pirates The United States and
Russia own the seal herds, but Cana
dlaps and Japanese claim a sort of pi.
ratical right TO wsylay the herds in
| their ocean migration, and TO kill the
females, heavy with young, these pi.
rates having reduced the number of
seals from approximately 100000 IN
1867 TO about 100000 at date.
1t appears that by the treaty ndi
Gated. the United States buys off these
seal pirates, paving them to stop their
piracy. This payment goes to Japan
and TO Canada each receiving fifteen
per cent Of the product Of the regular
land seal killings. In consideration of
this blackmail. the Canadians and Jap.
anese agree to give up thcir so-caled
pelsglc rights, which is merely pratt.
cal custom, certain to defeat itself in
the end by destroying the seal herds al.
together. Bpt unless the United States
and Russia would buy them off, these
seal pirates were determined to prose.
cute their piracies until the seals we're
al gone. Even as it is, undoubtedly the
Japanese and Canadians viii continue
their depredatione in secret; in fact.
ms seems TO be assumed from dis.
patch printed few DAYS ago to the
effect that the [. :. Navy III the Pa.
cihc would have added to it's other
duties the further duty of stopping this
seal piracy, helping the revenue cut
ters,
That the interests involved are very
great, is qFident from the fact that this
country + herd Welded for twenty
years on and after 1867 au annual
product OF 100000 skins. the royalties
on which. augmented by import duties
on dressed skins brought back from
London for consumption IN the United
States. amounted 10 Sl3,500.000. In
the period Of twenty years in which the
destructive effect of pclagic sealing
brought the herd to 4 low cbb, its prod
uct has been SO reduced as to bring the
Weld ~ ROYALTIES to something below
S5.0O0.OoO. less than onc-fourth Of the
average of the first twenty years. If
the condition Of The herd had remained
unchanged IN the second period Of
twenty wears. the Government of the
United States would have received an
annual income from the seal skins OF
Sl.OoO.0OO, During the season OF 1911,
with the herd at It's lowest point. the
quota Of l2.000 skins under the new ar.
rangement whereby tbe Government
market, it's seal skins directly, the
WELD has been Approximately $3.50, 900.
or about oEe-fortieth OF the annual
product of the 6rst tweDty-ycar period.
II remains only, as pointed out by
President Jordan for the United States
To enact the necessary legislation TO
give effect 10 the treaty. 10 have the
pelaeic sea piracy put on TIC outlaw
basis. This is what the treaty contem-
plates. aud rhe pelagic sealer- from
now Oh viii have an Improbable time,
because under it their outfits viii be
confscated and the pirates themselves
will he subject 70 fine and imprison-
ment. 1t is only because pelagic seal
piracy has been profitable that it has
been continued. II is. in its nature,
both brutal and exterminating. II is
the best thing on every consideration
10 have it oUtlawed, aud the pirates
who conduct il put on their proper ba-
sis - seal pirates. under the ban OF
international law.