FUR SEALS OF ALASKA. 55 
must be governed by our regulations in the enforcement of the navi- 
gation laws. 
The CHairman. Are not we obliged to have this revenue-cutter ser- 
vice there under the provisions of the treaty to some extent, by inter- 
national obligation ? 
Mr. Hircucocn. Yes; each government is expected under the agree- 
ment to mantain a patrol. 
Mr. Tawney. So that the cost of maintaining that service should 
not be charged to the account of the revenue derived from the lease 
of this company # 
Mr. Hircucocr. It depends on how you regard it. When once this 
pelagic sealing question is settled that expense will be largely done 
away with. 
Mr. Tawney. Is there any hope of that being done? 
Mr. Hircucock. There is hope. Our Department most earnestly 
hopes that something will be done. We propose to push the matter 
as much as we can. We are acting upon the supposition that some- 
thing will be done. 
Mr. Tawney. Have you any reason to believe that the patrol was 
unsuccessful or of no consequence or ineflicient in protecting the seal 
life within the 60-mile zone? 
Mr. Hitcucock. .I have no positive evidence as to that. 
Mr. Tawnuy. Have you any positive evidence of pelagic sealing 
going on within the 60-mile zone. 
Mr. Hrrcncock. Yes, sir; there is positive evidence that pelagic 
sealers have been within the zone. They approached within a few 
miles of the islands last season, as you will see stated in the Secretary’s 
annual report in the chapter with reference to the Alaska seal service. 
Mr. Evuiorr. They were Japanese boats. . 
Mr. Hirrcucock. The agents were unable to tell the nationality of 
the vessels. 
Mr. Exxiorr. If they are Japanese, you can not interfere with them. 
Mr. Hircucock. Now, if you will permit me, Mr. Chairman, I should 
like to refer again to Mr. Elliott’s analysis of the London sales of last 
December as showing the average weights of the skins, and therefore 
the ages of the seals that were taken during the past season. Mr. 
Elliott in his statement places the number of what he terms ‘‘ prime” 
skins—that is, 8 to 9 pound skins, or skins of seals from 3 to 4 years 
old—at only 646. He places the number of ‘‘short” skins, or 54 
to 6 pound skins, or skins of seals 2 years old, at 1,500; and he places 
the number of ‘‘eye plasters,” as he terms them, or 44 to 5 pound 
skins, the skins of yearling seals, at 18,034. On the showing made by 
these figures he claims that a large portion of the 15,295 skins sold in 
December came from yearling seals, which if true would go to prove 
a most of the seals taken by the company last season were of that 
class. 
Now, Mr. Chairman, I have gone to considerable trouble to make 
an analysis of these sales, and before doing so I took the precaution 
to obtain from the New York representatives of Messrs. C. M. Lamp- 
son & Co., the London auctioneers, a statement of the average weights 
for the past season of the various classes upon which Mr. Elliott bases 
his computations. I find that the class termed ‘“‘large pups”—and, 
by the way, it is understood, of course, that in the trade classification 
of seal skins the term “‘pup” does not have the usual significance; it 
