142 ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



that the Copper and Alaska skins are ahuost exclusively the skins of 

 the male animal, and the skins of the Northwest catch are at least 80 

 per cent of the skins of the female animal; that prior to and in prepa 

 ration for making this deposition, deponent says, he carefully looked 

 through two large lots of skins now in his w^arehouse for the special 

 purpose of estimating the percejitage of female skins found among the 

 Northwest catch, and he believes the above estimate to be accurate. 



That the skins in the Northwest catch are also pierced with shot and 

 spear marks, in consequence of having been killed in the open water 

 instead of upon land by clubs; that the business of dealing in fur-seal 

 skins in the city of Loudon has become an established and important 

 industry. Deponent is informed that practically all the seal skins in 

 the world are sold in London, and the number runs up in the year to 

 between 100,000 and 200,000, averaging considerably over 150,000 a 

 year. These skins are sold for the most part either by the firm of C. M. 

 Lampson & Co., through their brokers. Goad, Rigg & Co., or by the 

 firm of Culver well, Brooks & Co. At the auction sales, wliich are 

 advertised two or three times in the year by these firms, skins are 

 bought by dealers from all over the world, who are present either in 

 person or by proxy. The next stage in the industry is the dressing and 

 dyeing of the furs, and practically the whole of these fur-seal skins sold 

 in London are dressed and dyed in that city. The principal firms 

 engaged in that business are C. W. Martin & Sons and George Eice. 

 Deponent's own firm dress a small number of skins, and have dressed 

 in one year as many as 23,000, and Ibrmerly dyed large numbers of 

 skins, but do not now dye skins, as the secret of the present fashionable 

 color is now in the hands of other firms. After having been dressed 

 and dyed, the skins of the fur seal are then passed into the hands of 

 fur merchants, by whom, in turn, they are passed to furriers and dra- 

 pers and retail dealers generally. Deponent estimates the total num- 

 ber of iDcrsons engaged in one way or another, directly or indirectly, in 

 the fur seal industry in the city of London to be at least 2,000 or 3,000, 

 many of whom are skilled laborers, all receiving high wages. 



That a large amount of capital is also invested in the business in the 

 city of London, and the precise value of the industry can be estimated 

 by reckoning the amount expended in the various processes which 

 deponerit has enumerated upon each skin. For instance, after the skins 

 arrive at the London market they are sold at the sales at prices which 

 in the year 1890 averaged, say, 80 shillings apiece. The commissions on 

 the selling of the goods, including warehousing, insurance, and so forth, 

 deponent believes, amount to 6 per cent of the price obtained. That 

 the amount paid for dressing, dj'eing, and machining each skin aver- 

 ages, say, 16 shillings. These processes take together about four or five 

 months. The next exj)enditure upon the skin is, say, an average of 5 

 shillings at least for each skin for cutting up, and that thereafter there 

 will be an average of at least from 3 to 4 shillings per skin expended in 

 quilting, lining, and making up the jackets or other garments, showing 

 a total expenditure upon each skin for labor alone, in the city of Lon- 

 don, of 25 shillings in addition to the percentage paid for brokerage, 

 before the processes of manufacture began, and the most of this money 

 is actually paid out in wages. 



Deponent says that in the above estimates he has given the bottom 

 figures, and that the amount actually expended upon the skins in the 

 city of London undoubtedly averages a larger sum. This would make 

 on an average of 200,000 skins a j^ear, which is not excessive, a total 

 expenditure annually in the city of London of £250,000, minus the 



