320 INVESTIGATION OF THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 



THE DEADLY PARALLEL. 



Secretary Nagel don't know 

 anything himself — he relies wholly 

 upon the advice of experts duly 

 appointed. 



The letter of Secretary Cliarles Nagel in 

 answer to inquiry by Committee on 

 Conservation of National Resources as 

 to his "authority " for his work of killing 

 fur seals on the Pribilof Islands in vio- 

 lation of law and rules, and who puts 

 this killing as done squarely upon Jor- 

 dan, Stejneger, Merriam, et al. 



[Copy.] 



Department op Commerce and Labor, 

 Office of the Secretary, 

 Washington, January 14, 1911. 



My Dear Senator: I have your com- 

 munication of the 12th instant inclosing 

 Senate bill No. 9959 to amend an act en- 

 titled ' ' An act to protect the seal fisheries 

 of Alaska, and for other purposes." 



The essential purpose of this bill I take 

 to be a suspension of seal killing for a 

 period of five years from and after the 1st 

 of May, 1911. Since the hearing before 

 your committee last year I have had some 

 occasion to consider this question with 

 the result that the impressions then ex- 

 pressed have, if anything, been strength- 

 ened. 



Of course my personal judgment is with- 

 out value. I am relying upon the advice 

 of experts who have been appointed to in- 

 quire and report and who have given the 



department the benefit of their opinion. 



* * * * 



If it is proposed to have a hearing upon 

 this bill, I respectfully ask that as much 

 notice as possible be given, so that I may 

 make sure to have present those represent- 

 atives of the bureau and such members of 

 the boards and commissions as are more 

 especially conversant with the question. 

 Very sincerely, yours, 

 (Signed) Charles Nagel. 



Hon. Joseph M. Dixon, 



United States Senate. 



The fur-seal ''experts" alluded to by 

 Secretary Nagel in the above letter are all 

 "officially" and modestly presented, 

 June 9, 1911, to the House Committee on 

 Expenditures in the Department of Com- 

 merce and Labor, as follows (see p. 109, 

 Hearing No. 2) (Hearing No. 14, pp. 914- 

 918, July 25, 1912. : 



But Merriam swears that he 

 has not advised Secretary Nagel, 

 and does not know anything 

 about it, either. 



The Chairman. Well, how long have 

 you been on the advisory board? 



Dr. Merriam. Since the beginning. I 

 do not remember the date; but I have 

 been absent from the city during a num- 

 ber of the sittings of that committee, as I 

 am engaged in field work in the West at 

 least half of every year, and therefore have 

 not been in Washington at the time most 

 of these meetings were held. 



The Chairman. Were you at the meet- 

 ing of the advisory board that the previous 

 witness referred to in his testimony? 



Dr. Merriam. I do not remember any 

 such meeting. 



The Chairman. Are you a member of 



the board now? 



Dr. Merriam. Yes. 

 * * * * 



Mr. Elliott. One question more. I 

 understood you to say that you had not 

 been in consultation with Mr. Bowers 

 when he issued his orders for killing 13,000 

 seals in 1910? 



Dr. Merriam. I do not think I was 

 present at any conference when that mat- 

 ter was up. 



Mr. Elliott. I have no further ques- 

 tions to ask at this time. 



The Chairman. Is there anything else 

 that you wish to state, Doctor? 



Dr. Merriam. No. (Hearing No. 11, 

 May 16, 1912, pp. 692, 699.) 



Mr. Elliott. I wish to ask Dr. Merriam 

 some questions. Dr. Merriam, when did 

 you arrive on the seal islands for the first 

 time in your life? 



Dr. Merriam. In the summer of 1891. 



Mr. Elliott. What was that date — 

 about what time? 



Dr. Merriam. On the morning of July 

 28. 



Mr. Elliott. When did you leave? 



Dr. Merriam. I left on August 10. 

 (Hearing No. 11, May 16, 1912, p. 695.) 



