The Days of a Man 



1898 



Efforts to 

 neutralize 

 the treaty 



of State, citing this as an example of mutual aid 

 between governmental departments. 



Having signed, Japan and Canada at once re- 

 called their sealers and paid them for their boats. 1 

 (I must here explain that Canada had now acquired 

 the right to make treaties on her own account, free 

 from Great Britain's nominal control.) As a result 

 of protection, the number of breeding females - 

 which by 1910 had dropped to 43,399 rose in 

 1916 to 116,977, m I 9 I 8 to 157,172, and in 1920 to 

 167,527. With continued care there is no evident 

 limit to the possible increase, food and rookery- 

 space being of the amplest. 



But certain interests opposed to settlement by no 

 means gave up the fight. Through their efforts an 

 order was promulgated, limiting for five years the 

 land-killing of superfluous males to about 4000 - 

 the bare number necessary to provide the Aleuts 

 with food although upward of 15,000 could have 

 been safely or even advantageously taken. It was 

 further required that at least 5000 three-year-old 

 males should each year be definitely reserved. This 

 limitation was of course absurd in connection with 

 the other provisions, for some thousands would in- 

 evitably escape, and no practicable degree of killing 

 could endanger the necessary stock of males, as had 

 been already demonstrated on the Russian islands, 

 where the killing was continuously far more drastic 

 than any ever attempted on the Pribilofs. 2 



One unacknowledged motive behind reduction in 



1 A procedure costing the Japanese Government about $252,000. 



2 It should be added that in 1918 the yearly quota of killables was raised 

 to 35,000, and orders were issued to kill 7000 of the idle bulls which had car- 

 ried on constant warfare with their more fortunate brothers. 



n 608 n 



