OCR Text |
Show Uncle Sam, Fur Dealer, Is Out of Luck SECRETARY HOOVER of the Department De-partment of Commerce Is assembling as-sembling a national committee of merchandisers to study disposition dis-position of the department's 10.0UO sealskins, which have become, strangely strange-ly enough, so many white elephants. Fashion, that dictatorial force which prevents women every year from wearing wear-ing what was the very thing last season, sea-son, put a crimp Into the sealskin market and incidentally hit Uncle Sam pretty hard. Sealskin, the most durable of all furs, has been dropped by fashion. They're wearing nutria and chinchilla the fur-buying public. Only some 2,000 skins at $:iO each were sold; the rest were put into storage by the government. govern-ment. As this fur enterprise of Uncle Sam's Is a special pet of the Department of Commerce and of particular Interest to the experts In the bureau of fisheries, fish-eries, feminine fashion Is receiving much unfavorable criticism In these offices. As to durability all skins are graded down from the seal, the only other uYV that approaches it In this respect 1 Ing the otter. Rabbit, which Is ma into French seal, Is about at the b and rabbit called something else. The result Is that more than 10,000 fine pelts have been returned to the government gov-ernment In recent months by auctioneers auction-eers who were unable to sell them. Every bit of Alaskan seal made up In this country is supplied by the United States government through ownership of the Prlblloff islands, where the seals have their rookeries. From 30.000 to 35,000 skins have been taken annually by natives of the Island, employed by the government and sent to St. Louis for treatment and sahi. Only 12,000 skins were prepared this year and even these were spurned by torn of the list. The so-caiica uuas , seal, which is dyed muskrat, Is mu superior to rabbit, but even it is f below the standard bf the r things. The government's Interest In furs h not only been of benefit to the fa; disappearing seals and foxes but It h been the means of creating a n American Industry. Until it enter into a contract with a St. Louis fir In 1915 for dressing and dyeing eei skins this work had been done almo exclusively in Europe. Since that tlr. all these skins nre prepared and dy, In our own country. ! I I |