10 INVESTIGATION" OF THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 



Mr. McGuire. I say that is your judgment. Go ahead with your 

 statement. 



Mr. Elliott. That is a fact. Passing now from that census, which 

 I have described in detail here (every step of my census of 1872, every 

 step of my census of 1874, and every step of my census of 1890 is 

 detailed in this report) , we come to another point of investigation. 



When we landed on St. Paul Island July 8 last, one of our first 

 steps in looking into the conduct of public affairs on the islands was 

 to ask the agents of the Bureau of Fisheries to give us their daily 

 journals and official records (the "log books") from 1890 to date. 

 They were brought to us, and we examined them. We found officially 

 entered and recorded in them a specific order of the Treasury Depart- 

 ment, dated May 14, 1896, issued by Secretary John G. Carlisle ■ 



The Chairman (interposing) . What page is that on? 



Mr. Elliott. It is on pages 75 and 76 — an official order issued 

 through Secretary John G. Carlisle, in which the killing of "yearlings 

 and seals whose skins weighed less than 6 pounds" was prohibited. 

 This order was put upon the books of the agents in charge of the 

 islands and published there before the killing began on June 17, 1896; 

 but we find by the records of the London sales that out of the 30,000 

 that were killed that year over 8,000 of them were yearlings or seals 

 whose skins weighed less than 6 pounds, if properly taken. 



Mr. Watkins. What evidence have you ? 



Mr. Elliott. I have offered it all in here. 



Mr. Watkins. I know, but what evidence have you that they came 

 from that particular section of the country? 



Mr. Elliott. Why, it is all certified here; even the daily killings 

 are put in here, and everything is covered in detail. 



Mr. McGuiee. You know that all of the authorities differ from you 

 on that stale nunt. do you not? 



Mr. Elliott. I have heard them each year, and you heard them 

 say why they diffc r from mo . 



Mr. McGuire. They all differ from you, and you have had no one 

 to corroborate you. 



Mr. Elliott. Xo one to corroborate me? 



Mr. McGuire. Xo one. 



Mr. Elliott. Why do I want anybody to corroborate a fact? 



Mr. McGuire. I am inclined to think you are right about that. 



Mr. Elliott. Give me a fact and I care nothing for the thousands 

 who may dispute it. 



Mr. McGuire. I think that is true. 



Mr. Elliott. It is nothing to me at all — that is, whether they 

 differ with me. 



The Chairman. Your statement is to the effect that with these 

 regulations of Secretary Carlisle on the records, and known to these 

 men, that they should not kill a seal whose skin weighed less than 6 

 pounds, they killed 8,000 in violation of those regulations? 



Mr. Elliott. Yes, sir. 



The Chairman. In 1S96 ? 



Mr. Elliott. Immediately following the publication of that order 

 which prohibited that lulling. 



The Chairman. How do you know that? 



Mr. Elliott. By the record of sales in London, which shows that 

 out of 30,000 skins sent there that year 



