326 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVII. No. 



is likely to prove highly detrimental to the wel- 

 fare of the herd. 



The majority report is summed up in a 

 series of recommendations. The first four 

 provide for confiscation of the bond of the 

 North American Commercial Company, for 

 suit for damages against the original presi- 

 dent of that company, for rectification of a 

 wrong against Russia in the matter of a seiz- 

 ure of a sealing vessel — all matters foreign to 

 the interests of the herd. The fifth recom- 

 mendation only is pertinent and this we may 

 give in full. It is as follows : 



(5) That in view of the closed season of five 

 years provided by act of Congress, of August 15, 

 1912, the services of the Treasury agents on the 

 said Pribilof Islands can be dispensed with, result- 

 ing thereby in a saving to the Federal Government 

 of approximately $25,000 annually. 



Presumably the act of Congress refers to the 

 Sulzer bill which is actually of the date of 

 August 25. There have been no treasury 

 agents on the Pribilof Islands since 1903, 

 when the islands were transferred to the De- 

 partment of Commerce and Labor. But these 

 are matters of detail. The important thing is 

 that the government force on the islands is 

 to be disbanded. These men have charge of 

 300 natives who must be governed, fed and 

 clothed. The law still permits the killing of 

 a few animals for natives' food. Their skins 

 must be cared for. The blue foxes must be 

 cared for and fed. There is a reindeer herd 

 on each island. The rookeries are in need of 

 betterment work, especially in the eradication 

 of areas infested with the hookworm, de- 

 structive of the young pups. The recommen- 

 dation of Mr. Rothermel and his colleagues 

 would abandon the islands and their inhabi- 

 tants to their owa devices for five years. 

 When left without restraint it is well known 

 that the natives are unable to resist the temp- 

 tation to kill pup seals for food. That they 

 would kill thousands of young seals for that 

 purpose, should the agents be absent, is cer- 

 tain. Are Mr. Rothermel and the three who 

 united with him in this recommendation will- 

 ing to assume the responsibility for this waste 

 which is quite sure to take place if their advice 



be accepted by congress? In return the goT- 

 emment would efFect a saving of $54,750. 

 (The salaries total only $10,950 annually in- 

 stead of $25,000 as stated in the Rothermel re- 

 port.) The suspension of land sealing which 

 has paved the way for this magnificent stroke of 

 economy involves the wasting of at least 63,- 

 000 superfluous males which at the age of 

 three years would give skins worth $40 each, a 

 cash loss of $2,500,000, to say nothing of the 

 damage these animals will occasion to the 

 mother seals and their helpless young by their 

 fighting. 



It is hard to see how this recommendation 

 came to be written. Some explanation is de- 

 ducible from a significant paragraph in the 

 minority statement which follows: 



Although the committee took more than 1,000 

 pages of testimony, and the last hearing was six 

 months ago, on July 31, 1912, the committee has 

 never held a single meeting for the purpose of 

 considering the evidence, and the report made by 

 the chairman was never submitted to the com- 

 mittee for its consideration; no meeting of the 

 committee was ever held for this purpose, and we 

 are not satisfied that it has been approved by a 

 majority of the committee. 



This interesting commentary is followed by 

 further equally interesting comment, and then 

 comes the minority report itself. This is an 

 able document and treats the investigation 

 from the only rational standpoint, the welfare 

 of the herd. The charges are stated in detail. 

 The natural history points necessary to an 

 understanding of the problems are accurately 

 set forth. The methods of land sealing and of 

 pelagic sealing are discussed, with their efFect 

 on the herd. The charges are then specifically 

 treated in the light of the testimony and found 

 to be without support. The minority's con- 

 clusions are expressed in the following words: 

 We are convinced that the sole important cause 

 of the decrease of the fui-seal herd during the last 

 decade has been pelagic sealing, and that land 

 killing, as practised on the Pribilof Islands during 

 that time, has had nothing to do with the diminu- 

 tion of the herd. 



After a careful examination and consideration 

 of all the evidence, we find that the administration 

 of the fur -seal service by the Department of Com- 



