768 INVESTIGATION OF THE EUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 



Mr. Elliott. Because I wanted the natives to speak without the 

 slightest pressure or influence or bias. I wanted them to speak their 

 minds without the slightest pressure, influence, or bias to us. I 

 have lived with them on the islands long enough to know what kinds 

 of pressure has been brought to bear on the natives by both lessees 

 and Government agents. 



- Mr. McGuire. You do not mean to say you have used pressure on 

 the natives ? 



Mr. Elliott. No; but I have seen pressure used; that is what I 

 mean. I have seen them suborned, bribed, and browbeaten. 



Mr. McGuire. And in view of that knowledge 



Mr. Elliott (interposing). I wanted them to be free from any 

 possible influence. 



Mr. McGuire. You did not want anybody present? 



Mr. Elliott. Certainly not; anybody who might have any 

 influence on them. I want to say right here, that they spoke very 

 highly of Mr. Lembkey to us. 



Mr. McGuire. Do you mean to say that the natives spoke highly 

 of Mr. Lembkey ? 



Mr. Elliott. Yes, sir. 



Mr. McGuire. They were satisfied with him? 



Mr. Elliott. That is in the report. They found no fault with 

 him. That is what we wanted to get at, a free and unbiased expres- 

 sion. 



Mr. McGuire. What did they have to say about the other repre- 

 sentatives of the Government ? 



Mr. Elliott. We did not ask them any leading questions. 



Mr. McGuire. I did not ask that. I asked you what they had to 

 say about the other representatives of the Government. 



Mr. Elliott. Well, it is in the report. 



Mr. McGuire. You did not ask them leading questions about Mr. 

 Lembkey, did 3*ou? 



Mr. Elliott. Xo; they volunteered that. 



Mr. McGuire. In your manner of questioning those people were 

 your questions designed to suggest the answers ? 



Mr. Elliott. We tried to avoid that. We worked a whole day 

 over those questions so that we would not put leading questions. 

 They were not leading questions at all. 



Mr. McGuire. That is what I am asking you, whether your ques- 

 tions were designed to get the answers you wanted ? 



Mr. Elliott. There was no design about any of the questions. 

 We worked hard over those questions in order to have them free from 

 any suggestion of being leading questions, and then when they 

 answered them we never went any further to have them qualify their 

 answers, or to draw them out, or to get them to explain, because that 

 would involve leading questions. 



Mr. McGuire. I see. When they made an answer 



Mr. Elliott (interposing). We stopped right there. 



The Chairman. The fact is that personally I told Mr. Elliott and 

 Mr. Gallagher to be sure not to lead anybody into saying a thing to 

 them that was not true, that is, when they were among those unfor- 

 tunate people. 



Mr. McGuire. I know; but they seem to have spoken highly of 

 Mr. Lembkey, and with that knowledge of Mr. Lembkey I wondered 



