INVESTIGATION OF THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 797 



The Chairman. You differ on that? 



Mr. Lembkey. All our experiments show that the salting of skins slightly decrease 

 the weight. Those gentlemen's inference — and I think the inference of a great many 

 people who have never made an experiment on that point — would be that the salt 

 does increase it. 



Now, opposing that is Mr. Lembkey's own official entry in his jour- 

 nal, Saturday, July 23, 1904. He says: 



On July 18, 107 skins taken on Tolstoi were weighed and salted. To-day they were 

 hauled oat of the kench and reweighed. At the time of killing they weighed 705 

 pounds, and on being taken out they weighed 7595 pounds, a gain in salting of 54 2 

 pounds, or one-half pound per skin. 



Mr. Stephens. Where do you find that? 



Mr. Elliott. It is right here in this deadly parallel, on page 134, 

 hearing No. 1, January 17, 1914. Lembkey affirms Sir Curtis Lamp- 

 son, the English authority. They agree there exactly. Now, why 

 do I want to discredit them? Mr. Lembkey is the authority on the 

 islands, and Mr. Lampson is the English authority. Why should 

 there be any dispute about that? 



The Chairman. Your position is that his statement confirms yours ? 



Mr. Elliott. Yes; and it confirms the English authority. 



Mr. Patton. The English authority does not say that they have 

 made the test. 



Mr. Elliott. They do not say that he had not. 



Mr. McGuire. You are assuming that he has. 



Mr. Elliott. No; you are assuming that he has not. If Lembkey 

 is right, he has made the experiment; and if Lembkey is wrong, then 

 he is wrong. 



Mr. Patton. If I remember correctly, we weighed some skins. 



Mr. Elliott. Yes. 



Air. Patton. And they did not show any gain? 



Mr. Elliott. That is because all the salt and some "welts" of 

 blubber were shaken off of them — was u shaken, swept, and brushed" 

 vigorously and thoroughly off. 



Mr. McGuire. Then you are taking the position that the salt is 

 packed on the skins so that it can not be gotten off, and it will increase 

 the weight of the skins. Anybody can tell you that you can add 

 weight by putting something on things. But you believe that after 

 giving it a fair test the skin will lose in salting. 



Mr. Elliott. I have not made that statement. I have not said 

 that the skins will not lose if all the salt is shaken off and they are 

 dried. Of course, if you take all the salt off and dry them they will 

 be lighter. 



Mr. Patton. Then the skins are lighter after salting ? 



Mr. Elliott. Well, I am not talking about dried skins, I am 

 talking about green skins. 



Mr. Patton. But you said they were lighter. 



Mr. Elliott. I said as dried skins they can be lighter. 



Mr. Patton. Mr. Lembkey says that they are lighter after salting. 

 You now say that you agree with him that if you take all the salt 

 off the skins will lose. 



Mr. Elliott. Of course; if you take all the salt out of the skins 

 they are bound to lose. He did not do that on the islands, and no 

 one ever has done such a thing when the skins were cured and 

 shipped. It would ruin them. 



