6 FUR SEALS OF ALASKA. 
f 
A 64-pound skin is the hide of a well-grown 2-year-old. 
These skins are known as ‘‘short” skins. 
All 7 to 8 pound skins are the hides of 3-year-olds. 
All 9 to 11 pound skins are the hides of 4-year-olds. 
These skins are known as ‘‘ prime,” ‘‘ fine,” and ‘‘extra fine” skins. 
Here we have the official proof in 1901 of the fact that the lessees 
dropped their limit from a 2-year-old skin to a yearling skin, and since 
then they have taken everything they could find. Who disputes it? 
Ido not. I did not make that statement, and that is brought out by 
these records to the dot. It is borne out by the London echoes. There 
is no disputing the fact that they have done this thing. 
I want to say right here that 1 am not here to find fault with these 
men. I have a good deal of sympathy for them. They see these 
butchers at sea taking everything they can lay their hands on and 
they say, ‘‘ We pay $10 a skin for these, and we bad better have them 
rather than those fellows;” but, unfortunately, the butcher wants 
everything, whether he is on the water or on the land, and it is hard 
to stop him. We have reached the point where we must stop him, 
because they will get all the males and stop the life before those butch- 
ers in the water get all the females. Now, 1 will come to the contract. 
Mr. Wiuuiams, of Mississippi. You forgot that other question of 
Mr. Tawney’s. 
~ Mr. Exxiorr. Mr. Tawney, vour question was about Senator Nel- 
son’s visit? 
Mr. Tawney. Yes; I wanted to know whether you had any evi- 
dence 
Mr. Extiottr. The evidence is the evidence he told me I could pre- 
sent here. 
Mr. Tawney. Did he make a statement? 
Mr. Extiotr. He made a statement before the Foreign Relations 
Committee, but it was not taken down; it was not printed. 
Mr. Witiams, of Mississippi. We had better have Senator Nelson’s 
own statement about that. 
Mr. Exxrott. Shall I take up the contract? 
- The Cuarrman. Yes. Your time is nearly up already. 
Mr. Exxiotr. Mr. Windom, a lawyer skilled in the law, drew a lease 
which binds these lessees, May 1, 1890, fora period of twenty years 
to abide faithfully by any restrictions or limitations that he might see 
fit to put upon their right to kill seals, that he might see fit for the 
preservation of the seal fisheries of those islands under the law. 
The law of July 1, 1870, section 3, reserved to the Government the 
right to make any killing there that it may see fit. The lawof July 1, 
1870, reserved the right of the Government to kill seals for food for 
the natives. The law of July 1, 1870, section 4, gives the lessees their 
lease—authorizes them in distinct terms, nowhere conflicting with sec- 
tions 3 and 1. 
Now, this question was brought here and argued at great length by 
the attorney of the lessee in the presence of the subcommittee of this 
House when the first seal bill was pending, February 20, 1895. Messrs. 
Thomas B. Reed, W. L. Wilson, Henry G. Turner, and Benton MeMil- 
lin were the subcommittee, and they listened to the attorney for the 
lessee, Gen. N. L. Jeffries, who argued at length against the right to 
suspend the operations of his company which the Dingley bill pro- 
