FUR SEALS AND BUREAU
OF FISHERIES
Senate Bill 373 L provides that no
fur seal taken on the Pribilof Is
lands shall he sold except in the salt
as cured and shipt from the Is
land. This bill was introduced by
Senator Johnson and is identical
with a previous bill introduced by
Senator Harding
The Bureau of Fisheries are ac
tively opposing’ the bill for reasons
stated by Henry O’Malley, Fish Com
missioner. He objects to measur
ing’ the skins in their salted form,
and to the clause that no skins less
than 37V2 inches after salted shall
be taken. But the real objection is
against the selling of these skins
only as cured and shipt in salt
from the islands which he says is
evidently “intended to prohibit the
dressing and dyeing of sealskins be
fore they are sold.”
Henry O’Malley says further: “This
industry was established in this
country through the instrumentality
of the Department of Commerce,
and for the following reasons should
be maintained. First. It material
ly extends the circle of bidders upon
Government fur-seal skins at the
auction sales, by encouraging small
dealers who will buy the skins dress
ed, and finished ready to make into
garments, but will not purchase the
small quantity they require in the
raw state. Second. By having all
the Government fur-seal skins
dressed, dyed, and finished by the
best known process we have a guar
antee that no poorly dyed sealskins
will be put upon the market, with
the inevitable tendency that a poor
article would have to discourage pur
chasers and depress prices. Third,
In the sales of Government fur-seal
skins from 1910 to 1921, inclusive,
the Government has netted 30 per
cent more per skin from the dressed,
dyed, and finished skin than from
the raw salted skin.”
The Bureau of Fisheries presented
a statement of their operations on
the Pribilof Islands to the Senate
on July 21, 1921, but in the hearings
in February, 1923, O’Malley writes
that his department had made many
mistakes in that statement and wish
es to correct.
Senator Jones then called atten
tion to the fact that there was still
a discrepancy of from thirty to for
ty thousand skins in the report,
whereupon Commissioner O’Malley
submitted another statement with
these w’ords: “The discussion con
tains many other statements which
appear to be incorrect.” What a
frank admission!
As soon as Mr. Hoover was seated
as Secretary of Commerce, Henry
W. Elliot addressed a letter to him
calling his attention to the poor bus
iness methods of the Bureau of Fish
eries and the great loss thereby en
tailed on the government and stated
that contrary to the intent of the
law they permitted the slaughter of
little 30-inch seals in the guise that
they were 3-year-olds, and that the
Bureau of Fisheries was killing
yearlings, two-year-olds and all the
three-year-olds so that the males
would eventually be exterminated.
As this letter was unanswered,
Dr. Elliot wrote again one month
later and said in part:
“The heavy loss which the Public
Treasury sustains annually on ac
count of the Redfield method of
taking and selling our fur seal skins,
stirs me to take this subject up
with you. The following tabulation
shows that our Alaskan fur seal
skins alone did not make any pro
portionate advance in value which
all other furs attained by leaps and
bounds in 1015 to 1910.”
Senator Willis: “Let me inter
rupt you a moment- You say that,
ns a matter of fact, when other furs
were increasing rapidly in value—”
All'. Elliot: “Everything* from a
catskin up to the choicest sea otter.”
Senator Wilils: “Were the seal
skins increasing in value also?”
.di. Elliott. 1 he sealskins stood
at pre-war prices.”
I he record of the Buerau of Fish
enes ls stampt throughout with .in
efficiency both in relation to fish
eries in which virtual depletion has
been accomplished under their very
eyes by the aid of their own law,
and in the sealeries. They now de
fend the special contract with Fouke
Company of St. Louis.
This contract was at first a secret
contract made by Secretary Redfield
and without bidders in 1915 with
b unsten Bros. Co., hitherto unknown
to that business. There were at
Thvvaites Photo Shop
Ketchikan
Kodak Finishing
Copying—Enlarging
EAGLE CAFE
S. Nakamura, Prop.
OPEN DAY AND NIGHT
Best Meals in Ketchikan
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M. 0. JOHNSON, Prop.
First Class Work
Telephone 28
Newman Paint Store
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_Ketchikan, Alaska
Totem
A XI
Phone 116
Ketchikan, Alaska. Jack King
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DR. L. P. DAWES
Physician and Surgeon
First National Bank
Building
Phone 2602 Juneau
t
Home Undertaking
Parlors
Embalming and Professional
Services
The Personal Attention of
H. V. SULLY
Given to Out of Town and Home
Funerals
Third and Gold Sts.
JUNEAU - - ALASKA
v.__/
DR. W.A. BORLAND
Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat
Specialist
JUNEAU, ALASKA
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Candy, Cigars, Ice Cream
Fruit, Soft Drinks
BEN SIMPSON
Metlakatla, Alaska
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ROY BAKERY
Also Has Fine Ice Cream and
Fruit
SITKA, ALASKA
Dr. R. L. CARLSON
EYESIGHT SPECIALIST
Ketchikan, Alaska
Prompt attention to mail orders
for optical repairs and lens re
placements.