FUE-SEAL HEED OF ALASKA. 



235 



The lessees suborn Lembkey and Bureau of Fisheries and then 

 secure all of the "reserved" or "spared" seals, in violation of the 

 sworn statements made by the latter. 



THE DEADLY PARALLEL. 



Lembkey declares that it is 

 necessary to put a G^-pound 

 limit on food skins to save the 

 "reserved" 3-year-olds from kill- 

 ing, and tells the Senate Com- 

 mittee that it is done. 



Mr. Elliott. Now, Mr. Chairman, in 

 the matter of the nullification of the 

 Hitchcock rules, with this evidence duly 

 considered by your conmiittee, of the 

 illegal killing of those yearlirg seals in 

 1910 (and that evidence of this guile ap- 

 plies to every season's work on the Pribi- 

 lof Islands ever since 1890 down to May 

 1, 1910), I desire to present the following 

 testimony, which declares that ever since 

 May 1, 1904, when the "Hitchcock rules" 

 were first ordered by the Department of 

 Commerce and Labor, those rules have 

 been systematically and flagrantly vio- 

 lated by the agents of this department 

 who were specially sworn to obey and 

 enforce them. 



On February 4, 1911, Chief Special 

 Agent T^embkey was introduced by Sec- 

 retary Charles Nagel to the United States 

 Senate Committee on Conservation of 

 National Resources, and during his ex- 

 amination by that committee he made 

 the following statement, to wit, on page 

 14 (hearings on Senate bill 9959, February 

 4, 1911, Committee on Conservation of 

 National Resources): 



"Dr. HoRNADAY. How many 'short 

 2-year-olds ' were killed last year? 



"Mr. Lembkey. I do not understand 

 your term. No seals under 2 years old, to 

 my knowleage, were killed. 



"Dr. HoRNADAY. What would be the 

 age of the smallest yearlings taken? 



"Mr. Lembkey. Two-year-olds rarely, 

 if any. I may state here. Dr. Hornaday, 

 that a great difference of opinion exists 

 between Mr. Elliott and the remaining 

 people who understand this situation. 

 There is a great gulf between their opin- 

 ions, and it can never be reconciled on 

 the question of che weights of skins of 

 2-year-olds. 



"Prof. Elliott. I will present my in- 

 formation in a moment. 



" Dr. Hornaday. The minimum weight 

 is what? 



"Mr. Lembkey. Five pounds. Dur- 

 ing food drives made by the natives, 



But the ofTicial instructions 

 which the Bureau of Fisheries 

 order, declare that that limit of 

 6| pounds has been raised to 8^ 

 pounds, and so all of the "re- 

 served" 3-year-olds in June and 

 July annually, are kiUed in Octo- 

 ber and November, following. 



Dr. Evermann * * * 



"[Instructions issued Mar. 9, 1900.] 



"Sec. 8. Sizes nfHllahle seals. — No seals 

 shall be killed having skins weighing 

 less than 5 pounds nor more than 8^ 

 pounds. Skins weighing more than 8| 

 pounds shall not be shipped from the 

 islands, but shall be held there subject 

 to such instructions as may be furnished 

 you hereafter by the department. Skins 

 weighing less than 5 pounds shall not be 

 shipped from the islands unless, in your 

 judgment, the number thereof is so small 

 as to justify the belief that they have been 

 taken only through unavoidable accident, 

 mistake, or error in judgment. 



"Sec. 10. Seals for food. — The number 

 of seals to be killed by the natives for 

 food for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 

 1906, shall not exceed 1,700 on the island 

 of St. Paul and 500 on the island of St. 

 George, subject to the same limitations 

 and restrictions as apply to the killing of 

 seals by the company for the quota. 

 Care should be taken that no branded 

 seals be killed in the drives for food. 



"[Instructions issued Apr. 15, 1907.] 

 "Identical with instructions of 1906. 



"[Instruction issued Apr. 1, 1908.] 

 "Identical with instructions of 1907. 



"[Instructions issued Mar. 27, 1909.] 



"Sec. 10. Seals for food. — Identical 

 with instructions for 1906', 1907, and 1908, 

 except in addition is added 'The maxi- 

 mum weight for food skins shall not ex- 

 ceed 7 pounds. 



"[Instructions issued May 9, 1910.] 



"Sec. 11. Seals for food. — No female 

 seal or seal having a skin weighing under 

 5 pounds or n\ore than 7 pounds shall be 

 killed during the so-called food-killing 

 season . 



