INVESTIGATION" OF THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 315 



Friday, July 8, 1892. 

 The entire control and management of the killing grounds and killing of the seals 

 were given to Mr. Fowler, of the N. A. C. Co., by order of Mr. J. Stanley Brown, agent 

 in charge, and Assistant Agent Murray was ordered to count the seals. 1 



V. Having thus given the entire control of the Government agents 

 over the killing of seals by the lessees to said lessees themselves on 

 the 6th day of June, 1894, Mr. J. Stanley-Brown came back to these 

 seal islands as the paid superintendent of the lessees and took charge 

 of their interests on the killing grounds. The following official entry 

 declares Mr. Brown's association with the lessees (p. 222, official 

 journal of the United States Treasury agent in charge of St. Paul 



Island) : 



Wednesday, June 6, 1894. 



Steamer Lahne of the North American Commercial Co. arrived, having on board 

 J. B. Crowley and wife, as chief agent, and Mr. Judge and wife, also Mr. Brown, 

 superintendent of North American Commercial Co., Mr. Chichester, and Mr. Arm- 

 strong. 



VI. On May 14, 1896, Secretary of the Treasury John G. Carlisle 

 issued an order to the agents in charge of the seal islands of Alaska, 

 which specifically directed them to prohibit the lessees from "killing 

 yearlings or seals having skins weighing less than six pounds," thus: 



[P. 14) Official record or journal of the chief special agent in charge of the seal islands, St. Paul Island. 

 This letter is entered by J. B. Crowley (p. 14) in the journal of his office Tuesday, June 17, 1896, and 

 before the killing was begun.] 



Treasury Department, 

 Office of the Secretary, 

 Washington, D. C, May 14, 1896. 

 Mr. J. B. Crowley, 



Special Agent in Charge of the Seal Islands, 



care of North American Commercial Co., 



San Francisco, Cal. 



Sir: I inclose herewith for your information copy of a letter, dated the 13th instant, 

 addressed by me to the Secretary of the Treasury and approved by him, in relation to 

 the taking of fur seals on the Pribilof Islands and determining the quota of such seals 

 to be allowed the North American Commercial Co. during the season of 1896. You 

 are instructed to permit said company to take on the islands during the season of 1896 

 all killable male seals over and above the number which in your opinion is sufficient 

 to fertilize the female seals, the number taken not to exceed in any event 30,000 

 seals. The killing of yearlings and seals whose skins weigh less than six pounds is 

 prohibited. 



Respectfully, yours, 



C. S. Hamlin, Acting Secretary. 

 True copy. 

 Attest: 



A. F. Gallagher. 



i Mr. J. Stanley Brown appears in 1894, on the seal islands, as the "superintendent of the N. A. C. Co." 

 He is still useful in this conspiracy as late as 1909, in the attempt then made by the Bureau of Fisheries to 

 renew the Elkins lease, as the following official letter attests: 



Depaetment of Commerce and Labor, 



Bureau of Fisheries, 

 Washington, December 16, 1909. 

 The Commissioner: 



The Washington Star of December 10 last announced that the Campflre Club, of New York, had inaugu- 

 rated a campaign to save the fur-seal herd through legislation designed to prevent the re-leasing of the 

 sealing right, the cessation of all killing on the islands for 10 years except for natives' food and to secure the 

 opening of negotiations with Great Britain to revise the regulations of the Paris tribunal. As the result 

 of this movement, on December 7 three resolutions were introduced by Senator Dixon, of Montana, one 

 of which embodies the provisions before mentioned, the other two calling for the publication of fur-seal 

 correspondence and reports since 1904. 



As the object of this movement is at variance with the program of this bureau and of the recommendations 

 of the advisory fur-seal board, notably in the plan to prevent killing and the renewal of the seal-island 

 lease, the advisability is suggested of having Messrs. Townsend, Lucas, and Stanley Brown use their 

 inSaance vith sich members of the Campflre Club as they may be acquainted with with the object to 

 correctly informing the club as to the exact present status of the seal question and of securing its cooperation 

 to effect the adoption of the measures advocated by this bureau. 



The attached letter is prepared, having in view the object stated. 



Barton W. Evermann. 



