INVESTIGATION OF TH^E FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 449 



Mr. Clark. The instructions under which I worked in 1909. The 

 quotation is this, page 829 of Appendix A: 



* * * It is important that certain observations and investigations made by the 

 fur-seal commission of 1896-97 be repeated in order that a, comparative estimate be 

 made of the condition of the herd at the present time as related to the condition 

 obtaining in 1896-97. The main elements of the comparative investigation would 

 include the following: A census of the breeding herd; a count of live pups on. certain 

 areas; a count of idle bulls, half bulls, etc.; a count or estimate of the virgin females; 

 a count of dead pups, etc. Your acquaintance with the problems involved, gained, 

 through your active participation in all the work of 1896-97, will enable you to deter- 

 mine "the scope and details of the observations to be made this year, and these are left 

 to your judgment. You are authorized to confer with the chairman of the advisory 

 board and to conduct the investigations in a manner which, will result in the securing 

 of the desired data, always bearing in mind, however, that no unnecessary disturbance 

 of the rookeries must be permitted. * * * Upon your return from the islands 

 you will prepare a detailed report embodying the results of your observations and 

 your recommendations based thereon. 



The Chairman. Those were your instructions ? 



Mr. Clark. Those were my instructions. Mr. Chairman, you 

 asked me about the question of whether the killing of 1909 was with- 

 out restraint or not. I would like to make the statement regarding 

 that now. I inferred you wished me to refresh my memory and to 

 make the statement. I should like to make it now. On page 866 

 of Appendix A is this statement: 



The young males set aside for breeding purposes having been marked, the lessees 

 have been free to take what they could get, and this resulted in their taking practi- 

 cally all of the bachelors appearing on the hauling grounds. 



On page 867 I said: 



If not in name, in fact at least the leasing company has been in supreme authority 

 on the Islands during the past season. 



In the next paragraph I state: 



This authority, actual or assumed, has a practical bearing of importance. The 

 lessees had the right to take 15,000 skins. They failed to get this number by 632 

 skins. 



Then I refer to certain incidents that might have affected the com- 

 pleting of that quota, and then conclude: 



These acts together with my investigations of the rookeries might easily be made 

 the basis of a claim for damages resulting from the failure to obtain the full quota. 



Now, the purpose of those statements was to express my opinion 

 as an expert that it was not wise that the Government should have 

 this dual authority of lessees and its own agents on the islands. In 

 other words, it should not have to consider whether the rights and 

 privileges of lessees were interfered with if it wanted to take action in 

 regard to the protection of the herd at any point. That was the sole 

 purpose of raising those points. With five men to two a crisis might 

 arise in which the Government's interests might have to succumb to 

 the superior force of the lessees' representatives. Now, I did not 

 imply in any way that such a situation existed — that is, that the 

 authority of the Government was not completely maintained. In 

 the season of 1909 the killing was conducted in accordance with the 

 regulations and the legal quota authorized by the department was 

 not exceeded. 



I point out on page 867 again: 



These matters are pointed out merely to show the anomalous situation induced by 

 the present division of authority between the Government representatives and those 

 of the company on the islands and in dealing with the herd . 



53490—14 29 



