198 



FUR-SEAL HEED OF ALASKA. 



Townsend does not remember 

 that he did anythmg to try and 

 defeat the re-leasing bill. 



Mr. Elliott. Did you, at the time 

 Mr. Bowers asked you to take up with 

 the Caraplire Chib of America the sub- 

 ject of renewing the fur-seal lease 



Dr. Townsend. What is the question? 



Mr. Elliott. Did you, at the tinie 

 Mr. Bowers asked you to take up with 

 llie Campfire (lul) of America the sul)- 

 ject of renewing the fur-seal lease, in 

 which Ogden Mills is interested, have 

 any 



Dr. Townsend (^interposing). 1 have 

 no recollection of Mr. Bowers asking me 

 to take up the matter of the Campfire 

 Club. 



Mr. Elliott. You do not? Let me 

 see if you do not. On page 157, of hear- 

 ing No. 3, is a letter dated "Department 

 of Commeice and Lalior, Bureau of 

 Fisheries, Washington, D. C.. December 

 16, 1909," signed by -'Barton W. Ever- 

 mann" (p. 157) — Have you got it? 



Department of Com. and Labor, 



Bureau of Fisheries. 

 Washington, December 16. 1909. 

 The Commissioner: 



The Washington Star of December 10 

 last announced that the Campfire Cltib, 

 of New York, had inaugurated a campaign 

 to save the fur-seal herd through legisla- 

 tion designed to prevent the re-leasing 

 of t.he sealing right, the cessation of all 

 killing on the islands for 10 years except 

 for natives' food, and to secure the open- 

 ing of negotiations with Great Britain 

 to revise the regulations of the Paris 

 tribunal. As the result of this move- 

 ment, on December 7 three resolutions 

 were introduced by Senator Dixon, of 

 Montana, one of which embodies the pro- 

 visions before mentioned, the other two 

 (^ailing for the pul)lication of fur-seal 

 correspondence and reports since 1904. 



As the object of this movement is at 

 ^'ariance with the program of this bureau 

 and of the recommendations of the 

 advisory fur-seal board, notably in the 

 plan to prevent killing and the renewal 

 of the seal island lease, the advisability 

 is suggested of having Messrs. Townsend, 

 Lucas, and Stanley Brown use their 

 influence with such members of the 

 Campfire Club as they may be acquainted 

 with with the object of correctly inform- 

 ing the club as to the exact present status 

 of the seal question and of securing its 

 cooperation to effect the adoption of the 

 measures advocated by this bureau.' 



The attached letter is prepared, hav- 

 ing in view the oliject stated. 



Barton W. Evermanx. 



But Lucas remembers- 

 send started him. 



-Town- 



Mr. Elliott. Yes. Now, 1 would like 

 to ask you, Dr. Lucas, witli this letter 

 before you , who called on you , and asked 

 you to go to work and stop this legisla- 

 tion in Congress? 



Dr. Lucas. At the immediate moment 

 1 do not recall that anyone called upon 

 me and asked me to stop this legislation 

 in Congress. 



Mr. Elliott. This resolution of Senator 

 Dixon's presented December' 7, 1909; 

 you don't remember anyone at all calling 

 on you in regard to that? 



Dr. Lucas. If anyone it was Dr. Town- 

 send. 



Ml. Elliott. Did he cite any authority 

 for calling on you? 



Dr. Lucas. He did not. 



Mr. Elliott. Just his own individual 

 idea? 



Dr. Lucas. To the best of my knowl- 

 edge he said this resolution was up — I 

 wish this to be taken down as mere hear- 

 say, Mr. Chab-man; he called me up over 

 the phone and said this resolution was 

 up, and asked me to write a protest 

 against it, which I did. 



The Chairman. A protest against the 

 enactment of the law? 



Dr. Lucas. Against the enactment of 

 the proposed law making a closed season. 

 (Hearing No. 12, pp. 724, 725, May 16 

 1912.) 



