INVESTIGATION OP THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 231 



inquiry, I shall be obliged to have you do it promptly, because Mr. Lembkey is 

 expected to leave for Alaska in the near future, and after he has gone it will be diffi- 

 cult to make a change or even to communicate in time to take action. 

 Respectfully, 



Charles Nagel, Secretary. 



Dr. W. T. Hornaday, 



Camp Fire Club of America, New York City. 



P. S. — Since dictating the above, Mr. Bowers has shown me your letter to him of 

 the 19th instant. You make serious comments upon one or more of the fur-seal 

 experts or expert advisers. Of course, I do not know what you have in mind, but 

 inasmuch as these advisers occupy positions of some responsibility, especially at this 

 time, it is of great importance to me to know the facts just as promptly as possible, 

 and you are therefore invited to put in my possession all such statements as you may 

 be willing to give that will enable me to make a proper inquiry. 



Charles Nagel, Secretary, 



To this letter asking for specific charges, Dr. Hornaday at once sent 

 the following direct, pointed specifications, to wit: 



Exhibit E. 



letter from committee to secretary nagel closing correspondence. 



[The italics are ours.] 



Bedford Park, May 27, 1910. 

 Hon. Charles Nagel, 



Secretary of Commerce and Labor, 



Washington, D. C. 



Dear Sir : Your letter of May 23 is really discouraging, because it shows that 

 your resolution regarding the killing of fur seals forthwith remains unchanged. 

 I have decided that in fairness I ought to write you once more on this subject, 

 because there are powerful influences endeavoring to lead you into an unten- 

 able position, and the fur-seal scandal is rather new to you. But this will be 

 my last letter to you of warning or entreaty. 



My objection to Mr. Lembkey in the ranks of your expert advisers regarding 

 the fate of the few remaining fur seals is due to a belief that by reason of 

 his well-known personal interests in seal killing he is incompetent to act as 

 either a judge or a juror in the case. Throughout the civiized world, it is a 

 rule of law that any man whose personal interests are involved in a case is 

 thereby rendered ineligible to act on that case, either as a judge or a juror. 

 In view of the indisputable fact that Mr. Lembkey has much at stake in the 

 seal-killing business, it seems to me that his eligibility as one of your advisers 

 is not a debatable question. 



Since you invite me to give you any information that I have which bears on 

 the matter before you, I will briefly mention two things. 



I will call your attention to the known fact that on the Pribilof Islands paid 

 representatives of the United States Government have permitted female and 

 young seals to be killed, skinned, and sold in defiance of law. For example, the 

 unlawful slaughter of females was observed, and has been officially recorded by 

 a committee of United States Senators. Beyond a doubt, Commissioner Bowers 

 can immediately refer you to the published record, and name the Government 

 men who were on duty at the time. Just how many female seals and very 

 young seals have been killed from year to year on our islands since 1903 re- 

 mains to be demonstrated later on. 



It will be an easy matter for you to ascertain who were the men in charge 

 of the islands who were so careless as to permit illegal killing during the visit 

 of the Senate committee and consider what shall be done with them, provided 

 the guilty men are still in Government employ. 



I respectfully suggest that the American people will be interested in knowing 

 through your investigations how many female seals and very young seals were killed 

 during the past eight years when no outsiders were visiting the islands to observe 



