FUR SEALS OF ALASKA. 45 
Mr. Crarx. If you thought that would be carried out you would be 
in favor of it? 
Mr. Exxiotr. Yes; if I thought he would be there, but I have found 
that these officers are constantly changing, and men come and go; 
good men are supplanted by men who are not so good, and the oppor- 
tunity comes in 
Mr. Tawney. Have you any evidence of collusion between these 
Treasury agents and the company that has this lease, for the purpose 
of getting any special privileges up those? 
Mr. Exxiorr. I do not know exactly what you mean by collusion. 
Mr. Tawney. Are they under the influence of or in the employ or 
connected with this company in any way? 
Mr. Warsow. Do they get a rake off? 
Mr. Exxiorr. The Government agent in charge to-day on St. Pauls 
Island left the employ of the company two or three years ago and 
walked over into the Treasury agent’s office. Heisthere to-day. He 
is giving information to the Department of Commerce and Labor. I 
do not mean to say that he would not discriminate against his company 
for the Government—well, what would he do? 
Mr. Tawney. Is he still an employee of the company ? 
Mr. Extiorr. No. What I mean to say is this: Unless there is 
some man like Mr. Hitchcock here, it is more than likely that the 
lessees, through such means, will get back again and make their own 
selections as usual, and not his selections, if he should leave the office. 
That is the point I make in this thing. If we had this business for a 
few years so fastened down that they could not get in there, and 
would be obliged to kill exactly as the Department of Commerce and 
Labor prescribes, even if the man who succeeds Mr. Hitchcock is not 
as straight as he is 
The CHarrman. You heard the statement of Mr. Ivy that 75 per 
cent of the pelagic sealing is done within our jurisdictional waters. 
What do you say about that? 
Mr. Extiorr. That is news to me; I do not believe it. . 
The Cuarrman. How long has it been since you have been up there? 
Mr. Extiort. Not since 1890. But why should they come there? 
Their favorite feeding grounds are from 80 to 90 miles from the seal- 
ing islands, and that is where these hunters get them. 
The CuatrmMan. Mr. Ivy seems to say that that is not where they 
get them. 
Mr. Exxriotr. Yes; I have heard that. I have formed a very high 
opinion of the revenue-marine service in Alaskan waters. I know 
that the seal patrol does not amount to much; but that is not in the 
slightest degree the fault of the revenue-marine service; the fault lies 
elsewhere. 
The Cuarrman. You know nothing tothe contrary, but itis against 
your judgment? 
My. Extiort. It is against all the knowledge and judgment I have 
had on that. I know that since 1901 the Canadians have masqueraded 
as ‘‘ Japanese” fur-seal hunters, and in ‘‘ Japanese” vessels have been 
able to practically nullify what little restraint the Bering Sea Tribunal 
rules and regulations impress. 
Mr. Crarx. How old do male seals live to be? 
Mr. Extiorr. Sixteen or 18 years old, on an average. 
F s—04——4 
