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



We find that on May 14, 1896, the Secretary of the Treasury in- 

 structed the agents in charge of the seal islands to permit "no taking 

 of seals that had skins less than 6 pounds in weight," or "yearlings." 

 This order is entered at length, at page 14, of the official record or 

 journal, of the special agent, St. Paul Island, on June 17, 1896. In 

 1900, Chief Special Agent Lembkey (succeeding John Morton, who 

 died that year) submits a report to the Treasury Department for this 

 season's work of 1900 (as well as 1901), in which he says: 



In 1900 the standard was lowered from 6 pounds to 5 pounds, being the first time in 

 the history of this business, and as many 5-pound skins as could be found were taken. 



An inspection of the official journal of the chief special agent, St. 

 Paul's Island, for the season of 1900, fails to show any entry of any 

 order from the Secretary of the Treasury which rescinds that official 

 order of May 14, 1896, and which would be in the same official log 

 book if made. By what authority was this killing which Mr. Lemb- 

 key, and which the London records certify to — by what legal or moral 

 authority was that lolling, as well as "the taking of skins weighing 

 less than 6 pounds or yearlings," made during this season? None, 

 whatever. 



In 1904, following the visit of Senators Dillingham, Nelson, Burn- 

 ham, and Patterson (this killing of those yearling seab having been 

 noticed by those Senators on the islands August 3, 1903), they intro- 

 duced a bill which suspended entirely the work of the lessees on these 

 islands. That caused the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, Mr. 

 Cortelyou, to come forward and engage to check up this work of killing 

 the small seals and yearlings, and on his pledge the Senators refrained 

 from pressing that bill. He accordingly issued what is known as the 

 Hitchcock Rules, ordered May 1, 1904, which forbade the killing of 

 " any seal having a skin weighing less than 5^ pounds or any seals un- 

 der 2 years of age." 



We now reach that combination made between the lessees and the 

 Government agents to evade this order of the Hitchcock Rules ; when 

 Hitchcock left the Department of Commerce and Labor early in 1905 

 these men went to work as follows: 



An unwilling confession was made by Lembkey of that guilt of 

 nullification, when cross-examined, under oath, before the House 

 Committee on Expenditures Department Commerce and Labor, Feb- 

 ruary 20- April 13, 1912. (See pp. 363, 458, Hearing No. 9.) 



This conspiracy to enable D. O. Mills, United States Senator Elkins, 

 and Isaac Liebes, as lessees, to enrich themselves at the public cost 

 and credit, has been shielded and approved by the "scientific" 

 "Advisory Board on Fur-Seal Service," with Dr. David S. Jordan, 

 as "president" of the same. 



Liebes and Lembkey got together to nullify the Hitchcock Rules 

 n 1908, w Inch ordered the reservation of 2,000 young male seals 

 (1,000 2-year-olds and 1,000 3-year-olds), annually before the 

 lessees' killing began, this reservation being ordered thus, to pre- 

 vent the swift impending ruin of all male breeding seal life on the 

 rookeries. 



In further proof of the fact that Lembkey knew he was killing 

 those "reserved" 3-year-old seals, so as to meet the wishes of Liebes, 

 the following official evidence is submitted. 



In 1905 First Assistant Agent Judge, finding that he was killing 

 in October and November, 1904, all of the 3-year-old seals which 



