

FUK-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA 



v ^ *j r 



'Alexander McLean, known as a notorious British pirate, for the pur- 

 pose of committing, and in fact did commit, depredations on the high 

 seas, in American waters, and on the Pribilof Islands, by way of 

 unlawfully killing fur seals belonging to the Government of the 

 United States. (See pp. 224, 225, 285, 290, 294, 295, hearing No. 1.) 



Your committee is of the opinion that the conduct of the officers of 

 the North American Commercial Co. during 1890-91 and subsequent 

 thereto was such that the officials of the Government should have 

 promptly revoked the lease and prevented this great loss of property. 



In this connection it may be stated that the following is a clause 

 which appears in the lease: 



The Secretary of the Treasury reserves the right to terminate this lease and all 

 rights of the North American Commercial Co. under the same at any time on full and 

 satisfactory proof that the said company has violated any of the provisions and agree- 

 ments of this lease, or any of the laws of the United States, or any Treasury regulation 

 respecting the taking of fur seals or concerning the islands of St. George and St. Paul 

 or the inhabitants thereof. 



That the said North American Commercial Co. gave a bond dated 

 March 12, 1890, in the sum of $500,000 conditioned for the faithful 

 observance of all laws and regulations of the Treasury Department, 

 said bond being signed by I. Liebes, piesident; H. B. Parsons, 

 assistant secretary; and Darius O. Mills, Lloyd Tevis, Herman Liebes, 

 by D. O. Mills, attorney in fact, and Stephen B. Elkins, as sureties, 

 and approved by William Windom, Secretary of the Treasury, and 

 which said bond is on file in the department, as part of the record in 

 the case. 



IV. Your committee further finds that, in spite of the ruinous 

 record made during the last 20 years by the North American Com- 

 mercial Co., under the supervision of the Government agents of the 

 seal islands of Alaska, H. H. Taylor, the president of said company, 

 C. H. Townsend, of the advisory board fur-seal service, Department 

 of Commerce, and George M. Bowers, Commissioner of the Bureau of 

 Fisheries, did recommend to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, 

 the Hon. Charles Nagel, that he enter into another lease of the said 

 islands for 20 years. The testimony discloses the fact that the 

 Secretary of Commerce and Labor had intended to enter into another 

 contract to release the islands to the highest and best bidder. 

 Strenuous objections to any leasing of the islands, however, were 

 made by public-spirited citizens, and this prevented the renewal of 

 the lease. (See statement of Charles Nagel, dated Mar. 19, 1914, 

 and review of same, appendix to hearing No. 3.) 



V. That since the lessees were prevented from further killing by 

 the expiration of their lease and by the passage of the act of Con- 

 gress approved April 21, 1910, which act prohibited the re-leasing 

 of the islands for the purpose of killing seals, the Secretary of Com- 

 merce and Labor was placed in full control of affairs on the said 

 islands. 



Your committee, after due and careful deliberation, finds that the 

 lessee company took 128,000 yearling seals in violation of law during 

 the term of then lease. That this was done in collusion with the 

 agents of the Government on the islands. That on May 4, 1896, 

 the Hon. John G. Carlisle, Secretary of the Treasury, issued regu- 

 lations which prohibited the killing of yearling seals and seals whose 

 skins weighed less than 6 pounds. That, in spite of this regulation, 



