314 INVESTIGATION OF THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 



great injury to the fur-seal herd to the end of practically destroying 

 its value, for the next 10 years. To gain that end of violating these 

 rules and regulations of the Government, these men, Liebes, Tevis ; 

 Mills, and Elkins, have successfully combined with certain agents 

 of the Government in charge of the seal islands, as will appear by 

 the following: 



II. Isaac and Herman Liebes, Lloyd Tevis, D. O. Mills (lessees), 

 on the 12th clay of March, 1890, combined with Stephen B. Elkins 

 and George R. Tingle to deceive William Windom, Secretary of the 

 Treasury, in order to gain from him the lease of the seal islands of 

 Alaska, said lease running from May 1, 1890, to May, 1910 (20 years). 



They were successful, and so secured the lease (full details of which 

 were given to the Ways and Means Committee, January 14, 1907, by 

 Henry W. Elliott, and renewed by him to the House Committee on 

 Expenditures in the Department of Commerce and Labor, May 15, 

 1911). 



III. On the 5th day of April, 1891, Charles J. Goff, United States 

 special agent in charge of the seal islands, was removed therefrom, 

 through the combined efforts of said lessees and Charles Foster, 

 Secretary of the Treasurer, said Goff having stopped said lessees in 

 their illegal and injurious killing of seals on the Pribilof Islands, 

 June 20, 1890, and having recommended that all killing by said 

 lessees be suspended entirely for an indefiinite term of years tor the 

 public good. 



Said lessees had one W. H. Williams appointed in Goff's place 

 April 5, 1S91, and with Charles Foster's own selection also, Joseph 

 Stanley Brown was appointed April 23, 1891, to visit the islands as 

 his own personal representative "to get the facts," etc. 



These men reached the island June 10, 1891; the international 

 modus vivendi of June 15, 1S91. was anticipated by them, in their 

 instructions of May 27, 1891, which were not to permit the lessees 

 to take more than 7,500 seals. These orders were duly entered in 

 the official journal on the islands, June 13", 1891. In spite of this 

 specific order not to permit the killing of more than 7,500 seals on 

 both islands during the entire season of 1891, yet these lessees so 

 influenced these agents, Williams and Brown, as to actually kill and 

 secure the skins of 13,695 seals by August 11 following, and have 

 the same regularly endorsed by them. 



IV. On June 9, 1892, said Joseph Stanley Brown, returned to the 

 seal islands as the "chief special agent in charge''; and, en July 8, 

 1S92, he ordered that the entire supervision and control of the 

 Government over the lessees on the killing grounds be given to the 

 lessees; thus, as the following certified copy of the official < rders 

 reads on the official j mrnal cf the United States Treasury agent, 

 St. Pauls Island (p. 2). 



