INVESTIGATION OF THE FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF ALASKA. 847 



"Now, how did lie get the idea that they would be exterminated after he had con- 

 ferred with your scientific acumen? 



•"Dr. Lucas. Men may confer, you know, and do something entirely different. 



•"Mr. Elliott. How did he get that impression, if not from you? 



"Dr. Lucas. I do not know. You will find all my publications entirely different 

 from that. 



•Mr. Elliott. So you will not be responsible for what Dr. Osborn says? 



'"Dr. Lucas. Not in this case; certainly not." 



You can therefore understand what this "advice" really was worth, Mr. Chairman, 

 when you note the fact that it is self-confessed nonsense and worse, which Mr. Charles 

 Nagel relied upon. 



Mr. Nagel under this head says: " Briefly stated, the considerations upon which the 

 decision to continue the killing of male seals was reached, were these: The law left the 

 decision absolutely with the Secretary. There is no doubt about its terms and Senator 

 Dixon in reporting the bill so explained to the Senate. It is doubtful whether the bill 

 could have been pasesd if it had contained a provision for a closed season." 



That Mr. Charles Nagel has deliberately attempted to deceive you as to what the 

 temper of the Senate really was — to deny its intention to have a closed season — please 

 observe the following extracts from the Congressional Record covering the debate 

 when the bill was up and passed, March 23, 1910, to wit: 



"Mr. Dixon. I will again say, then, that owing to the urgency of the present situ- 

 ation, under the provisions of the present leasing law, the lease for killing fur seals 

 expires in April. The Secretary of Commerce and Labor believes that its provisions 

 are mandatory unless those provisions are repealed. The President sent in his message 

 one day last week urging the enactment of this legislation. This bill, which has now 

 been reported with some amendments, was drafted by the Secretary of Commerce and 

 Labor. He appeared before the committee, urging its passage, yesterday. The bill 

 was also referred to the Secretary of State, and he favorably recommends the imme- 

 diate passage of the bill. On account of the urgency of the case, the bill having to go 

 through both Houses, I ask for its consideration at this time, 



"The bill, in effect, if the Senator has a copy of it on his desk, repeals the present 

 leasing law and puts the killing of the seals entirely under the control of the Secretary 

 of Commerce and Labor. 



"Mr. Hale. Now, upon that important detail, what change does that effectuate in 

 the law? 



"Mr. Dixox. It, in effect, gives the Secretary of Commerce and Labor the right to 

 declare a closed season. All the zoologists and scientists and Government officials 

 who appeared before the committee were, I think, unanimous in expressing the belief 

 that unless some immediate legislation was had two or three years would see the exter- 

 mination of the fur seal in the North Pacific waters. 



"Mr. Hale. Then there is no existing law which authorizes any Secretary or any- 

 body to inaugurate a closed time? 



"Mr. Dixox. None, 



"Mr. Hale. This is a new feature? 



"Mr. Dixox. It is a new feature so far as that is concerned. 



"Mr. Hale. Does the Senator believe, and do the committee and the Secretary 

 believe, that it is absolutely essential to the preservation of the seal? 



"Mr. Dixox. Both Secretaries so believe, and that is the unanimous opinion of the 

 committee and of every man who appeared before it from the Government departments 

 and outside scientists and zoologists. 



"Mr. Hale. Is it all open now without a closed time? 



"Mr. Dixon. Lnder the present provision of the old act passed 20 years ago, the 

 Secretary of Commerce and Labor must let a contract for killing the seals to some com- 

 pany. That expires in April. He feels that the provisions are absolutely manda- 

 tory, and unless the repeal takes effect at once he will have to go ahead and let the 

 contract to either the present company or some other conpany. 



"This provision puts it in the power of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to 

 make a closed season if he so desires, and if the seals shall multiply and increase, it is 

 under his control to kill in the future as many male seals as can be done without di- 

 minishing the herd. 



******* 



"Mr. Hale. Without having much real information on the subject, I should agree 

 with the Senator that unless something be done the practical extirpation will follow. 



"Mr. Dixon. It is immediate. 



"Mr. Hale. Whether this remedy will be effective or not nobody can tell. The 

 disappearance, unregulated, before the ravage of the human race of the animals and 

 fish upon shore and in the sea, as the Senator knows, is something remarkable. The 



