The Cordova daily times., 1920-01-28
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2S, 1920
UNCLE SAM, FURRlER

So prevalent has become the idea of Uncle Sam as person who. at the present age and time, is forever eter- nally disgorging himself of money in answer to various and sundry appeals, ranging from giving Italy another loan to enable her to keep D'Annunzio in Fiume to lending France a few million honest American dollars to keep the German wolf from her door that it is pleasant to discover a transaction in which the benevolent old gentle man has made million or two to salt away to care for him in his old age when his nephews and nieces may be so occupied with new fads that they won't have no time to look after his wants. And it does not detract from that pleasure to know that Alaska is the source of the revenue
 Most of the world knows about many of Uncle Sam's activities, as railroad builder, as the embarrassed operator of nations railway systems, as shipbuilder, as knight-errant to distressed nations, prime mover in in Humerable causes. friend of the Ar Henians but trusted by the Turks but few have any knowledge of Uncle Sam, The Furrier. While he dabbles bit in foxes, seals are his main forte. Here he reigns supreme-seaI king of the world, with a market already created and an increasing source of supply that makes him the object of envy by less fortunate individuals.
 The seal census of 1918 gave the number of seals in the Pribiloff islands as 496,611 animals of all ages. This was after the close of the killing sea- son. The census taken at a corre- spending date for 1919 gave the size of the herd as 524,26O animals. Uncle sam's employees in 1918 killed 34,SS3, and in 1919 the number of skins taken sp to August 10 was 25,3S1. More should have been secured but expert eaced workmen could not be secured so they were left over for another year.
 Reporting on the industry, the de- partment of commerce says: "It is estimated that when the entire take of sealskins for the calendar year 1918 shall have been dressed, dyed, ma- chined and sold the net revenue to the government, based upon the proceeds obtained at the sale September 10, 1919, will be in excess of S2450,OOO To this should be added an approxi- mate net revenue of S123,00O for the sale of fox skins It is safe to say that when the proceeds of the sales of bones, oil and other by-products are taken into account the net revenue Tor the products of the calendar year 1918 will reach a sum in excess of s2600,000 This would more than pay aH expenses of every nature connect ed with the administration of the Pribiloff islands, the Alaska salmon fisheries, and the care of the minor far-bearing animals of Alaska for period of twelve years"
 Nineteen-eighteen was the first year of the resumption of the commercial taking of seal skins The proceeds fer the operations of 1919 should equal if not exceed those of 1918, as a sub- stantially higher price was obtained for skins sold during the former year than those sold in 191S The fur business of Uncle Sam is one of the smallest branches of his Alaska estab- 1ihment at the present time. Nor is it the only one which shows balance on the credit side of the ledger Fairbanks Citizen.