104 FUK-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 



By the Chairman : 



Q. I believe you stated in the earlier part of your evidence that you 

 and those associated with you brought the value and condition of the 

 rookeries to the attention of the Government and advised the present 

 policy of creating a reservation and leasing. Have the results con- 

 firmed your judgment as to the wisdom of that policy ? — A. Most de- 

 cidedly. The policy was very much criticised at the time when the 

 lease was being put into operation. Secretary Boutwell, who had given 

 the matter as he considered careful attention, was very much opposed 

 to the plan, but I think that the development of the policy and the 

 results which have been obtained from it have been such as to convince 

 all parties who then regarded it adversely that it was the only wise 

 system. Secretary Boutwell himself some time last winter, when I hap- 

 pened to meet him, in speaking of this said that he was perfectly clear 

 in his own mind that there could be no question of the propriety of the 

 policy of leasing rather than that of Government operation. 



Q. Is it your judgment that the present policy had better be con- 

 tinued rather than either to reduce it to an exclusive Government opera- 

 tion or sale of the property ? — A. I should say that the present policy 

 was preferable to either a Government operation or a sale. 



Q. What would be the difficulties of a Government operation? — A. I 

 think the difficulties have manifested themselves in the statements I 

 made as we went along in regard to the necessary operation of the com- 

 pany in getting their skins from the island to the market. It is one of 

 the peculiarities of this trade that the necessity exists that they should 

 go to London rather than be sold at the nearest point here. London 

 seems to be the center of the world's market for this class of goods. If 

 the skins were sold in America the buyers from Eussia, Germany, France, 

 and England might have representatives here, but the probability is they 

 would not, and the sale of skins here would be at a much less rate than 

 it is abroad. The factory, so called, in which these skins are dressed 

 and dyed is generally an elaborate establishment developed by a great 

 deal of capital and a great deal of labor. 



Dressing and dyeing is done to some extent in the IJnited States ; but 

 the fact remains that, although the United States purchases and uses 

 more than half of the annual catch of seal skins, the purchasers prefer 

 to have their skins dressed and dyed in London. Therefore the sale 

 takes place there because in every case if the skins were sold here it 

 would be necessary to send them to London for dressing and dyeing, 

 and they would have to be returned here. There are not such large fac- 

 tories here. Then the difficulty which the Government would exper- 

 ience in intrusting such a business to a class of agents would be en- 

 hanced by the liability to a change of management from time to time 

 as the administration might change in the country, and such a business 

 as that can only be conducted by the pursuance of a regular system, 

 and the experience which the managers may gain as they go on with 

 their business. 



With regard to the sale of the islands, there is one objection that pre- 

 sents itself immediately as most forcible to my mind, and that is, what 

 are you going to do with the people there? There are about four hun- 

 dred people whose sole living and existence is in this business. If you 

 sell the seal islands to a company you can not sell the people. They can 

 not get away; they know nothing else. If you sell the islands and the 

 purchaser says to these people, "You must go away; I want to have 

 better and cheaper labor here; I do not propose to pay you $40,000 for 

 two months' work, when I can get it done better for $20,000," in that 



