708 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



the islands, just as it has been so done 

 during the last ten or twelve years, to 

 the great and unlawful injury of that 

 life so destroyed. It was the intention 

 of the framer of this bill that it should 

 be put through without any amendment 

 of Sec. 11. A report upon it was writ- 

 ten by the officers of the Department of 

 Commerce and Labor for Mr. Sulzer 

 who, on Feb. 3, 1912, presented this bill 

 to the House and also that report, H. K. 

 No. 295 to accompany H. R. 16^1. 



X<>t a hint was given of any minority 

 objection to it in that Committee's re- 

 port, and on Feb. 7, 1912, an attempt 

 was made to "railroad" it through 

 the House as an "urgent measure, 

 unanimously reported to the House/' 

 Only by accident did one of the 

 members of the Committee learn 

 what was being read at the Clerk's 

 desk in time to prevent this action and 

 throw the bill over to the next week. 

 On Feb. 14 it was amended so as to or- 

 der a close time of one year, and then 

 passed over to the Senate for final con- 

 sideration. 



In the Senate Committee on Foreign 

 Relations, on March 22d, 1912, this 

 "one year close time" \vas amended so 

 as to give the herd ten years of rest; 

 and this bill was so reported and placed 

 on the Calendar. The Senate Foreign 

 Relations Committee carefully reviewed 

 the whole history of this treaty as it 

 had been ratified July 7-24, 1911, and 

 found that it was the same one which I 

 had drawn for John Hay in 1905 and 

 that it carried a distinct order for a 

 close time on the islands of "10 or 12 

 years" from the date of its acceptance. 

 The conditions demanding a close time 

 in 1905 were not as imperative as they 

 were in 1911, and there was no logic in 

 the arguments used by Nagel's "scien- 

 tists" against it. Doctors Jordan, Stej- 

 neger, Merriam, Lucas and Townsend 



all declared that if these young male 

 seals were not annually killed off to 

 leave not more than 5% of their normal 

 number, they would grow up to fight so 

 savagely among themselves on the 

 breeding grounds that they would 

 greatly injure the prosperity of the herd. 

 One advocate recorded the opinion that 

 in fifteen years' time the species would 

 exterminate itself ! 



\Yhen this Senate Committee had 

 finally perfected the House bill, and it 

 was placed on the Senate Calendar, 

 March 22, 1912, then the opponents 

 tried to so delay the consideration of it 

 in the Senate that it would not be 

 brought up until the last hour of the ses- 

 sion, with adjournment close at hand. 

 Then the plan was to try and force the 

 House bill on the Senate as the only one 

 which could be agreed upon. This fail- 

 ing, they were to let the bill die in con- 

 ference, and rush through in lieu of It 

 a joint resolution paying the $400,000 

 "advance" money ordered by the treaty, 

 leaving the treaty in effect, and permit- 

 ting the killing on the islands. 



This scheme was recognized in time 

 by several wise Senators, and very soon 

 it became evident that the scheme pro- 

 posed would fail to work. It did not 

 work. The bill was called up and put 

 through August 15, 1912, just as the 

 Senate Committee had reported it, with 

 the full ten years close time amendment. 

 In conference with the House a compro- 

 mise was fixed at five years as a "close 

 time," and in that form the bill passed 

 both Houses on August 19, 1912. 



Thus was the fur seal industry finally 

 fought for and saved to the nation. Now 

 when that herd is surveyed, five years 

 hence, by a competent authority, the 

 condition of it will be known. If it is 

 wise to resume killing, or not, it will be 

 apparent, and the facts will govern 

 action in the premises. 



