tions along this coast and you have to get back to the point you started from. That was the 4th of July.

The next time we had clear weather was on the 7th of July and we made another attempt. At that time, I invited two of the fishermen's union representatives to go with me. One of them was Mr. Carlson, who testified before you here yesterday, and the other one was Harry Stuhr. We made the same trip and when we came down here outside of Ugashik, we saw a little black spot out in the ocean, which we thought might be it. But that turned out to be an American codfish schooner. We then continued out and finally got out about 20 miles off the coast, and the pilot was getting very nervous, because it was too dangerous to fly out there, for the reason that, in case we had to land, there was not sufficient swell in the ocean so that we could get up again, and we were just about to turn back when finally we sighted four little spots in the ocean. We went out there and found these Japanese fishing vessels anchored there about 28 miles from the coast, which would bring them just about in here [indicating].

The CHAIRMAN. Can not you indicate where that would be?

Mr. FRIELE. That is about 10 miles southerly of the mouth of Ugashik River and 28 miles off the coast in Bristol Bay. The place they anchored, evidently in the neighborhood of where they were doing the fishing, is right in the lane of the salmon run which comes in through Unimak Pass and goes up straight this way to the head of Kvichak Bay, and branches out to Egegik, Ugashik, and Nushagak. We have not sufficient information as to how wide the lane of the salmon run is, but we do know that the salmon do not travel all together close to the beach, which is the reason we found the Japanese that far out.

In 1922, the American fishermen were out just about in this location and also found salmon and did some very heavy fishing out there, and that information corresponded with what the Japanese had discovered during their crab-fishing period.

As we flew over the ships in the plane, we noticed quite a disturbance on board. The Japanese were running around the deck and they seemed to have lost their head altogether, and then all of a sudden they just froze stiff, right there, and stood still and gazed at us. Evidently orders were given to stop running and every man kept his place as long as we were there. We flew over the ships for a good half hour, had a very good view of them, flew down as close as 50 feet just above the masts of some of their boats.

There were four ships in this group. The largest one was the mother ship. I estimated her to be around 5,000 or 6,000 tons. She was very well equipped; fishing gear was draped all over her booms and decks, hanging there drying. I watched the decks very closely and I could see plainly that it was surface gear, because they had an unusually heavy amount of corks which would keep the nets floating on the surface of the water and on the other side were these heavy lead lines. Those floats were made of cedar wood and were about 2 feet long. We took pictures while we were there, and I will be glad to show them here as evidence.

The CHAIRMAN. They will be filed with the record. You want to file them?

Mr. FRIELE. Yes. It was very difficult to take pictures, because———— The CHAIRMAN. Are the pictures identified by being marked on the back what they are?

Mr. FRIELE. No; but I will so identify them.

The CHAIRMAN. Yes; identify them so that the pictures will show what they are.

Mr. FRIELE. Yes. Two other ships were smaller ships, about 150 tons or so, and they were very well equipped; and they had seines on the stern of the same type that they had on the mother ship. But the seines were dark and wet, evidently having just been used.

The fourth ship was a little larger type-about 250 tons. On that ship, Mr. Chairman, we saw the deck was covered with salmon, and we estimated, after we had been flying over it several times, approximately 20,000 fish on the deck. We were so close to it that I could see the fresh blood on the sides of the fish, and also the men working there when we came; they were busy getting the fish in boxes and putting them away.

The CHAIRMAN. Fresh blood on the sides of the fish would indicate what?

Mr. FRIELE. That they were just caught. I want to point out here that I have had quite an experience in judging the quantity of fish when I have been out on the scows and fishing boats. I use airplanes to a great extent in my work in Alaska, in contacting the fishermen and flying over fishing boats, and when I do see a boat with salmon on board, or a scow, I can pretty well guess how many fish are on board. The type of gear they used also convinced me it was salmon gear; it was not crab gear, because crab gear is entirely different. That goes to the bottom and stays on the bottom; but the salmon gear has to stay on the surface, and there are no other surface fish in Bristol Bay but salmon.

I forgot to say, too, that these ships were anchored. They were all anchored in a group at the point I indicated to you on the map, and you might say they were anchored there on American soil. Now that may sound a little funny until I explain to you the nature of Alaska. It is all filled with mountains here, and during the glacial period all this gravel, earth, and so forth, from the mountains was carried down toward and into the ocean, and all of this [indicating is flat country; and if the sea rose another 50 feet, you could travel by boat several hundred miles on land, and formerly the land extended down in what is now Bristol Bay and Bering Sea as far as the edge of the shelf, which extends out over here to Unimak Island, to the Pribilof Island, to St. Matthew Island, and up to St. Lawrence Island. All of those islands in the olden days were part of Alaska. And the water here is very shallow, less than 100 fathoms, and in most places only 30 fathoms deep, or 180 feet. And when you come outside of those islands here to the edge of the continental shelf, it goes right deep down into a thousand fathoms. So that you may say, in a way, that the bottom of Bristol Bay where these Japanese are fishing is part of the American land.

When we returned from our airplane trip, we notified the Government immediately, wired to Washington and also to the Bureau of Fisheries, the Alaska agent, Mr. Wingard, in Juneau, to Assistant Commissioner Jackson, and Mr. Bower, who at that time were in Alaska on a tour of inspection. Mr. Wingard, the Alaska agent, lost no time in coming to Nakeen.

The CHAIRMAN. I notice Senator Bone is present: Did you want to make a statement, Senator?

Senator BONE. I doubt very much if I could add a great deal to what is being said here. I have a companion bill to the bill under consideration, now pending in the Senate.

The CHAIRMAN. If you wish, for your accommodation, we will suspend with Mr. Friele and let you make your statement now. That will be agreeable to you, I suppose, Mr. Dimond?

Mr. DIMOND. Surely.

STATEMENT OF HON. HOMER T. BONE, UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

The CHAIRMAN. You took a trip up there by airplane last year, did you not, Senator?

Senator BONE. No; I have not been up in that country for a long time; but there is pending in the Senate now a bill I introduced, which is a companion bill to the one your committee is considering. I think it probably would be like "carrying coals to Newcastle" for me to attempt to comment on the facts, because they are doubtless being laid out to the committee here very completely.

I want to say to the committee, however, that the situation there is so bad that it has taken on an ominous hue. It is complicated tremendously by our present diplomatic relations with Japan, and I think perhaps it is unnecessary to put very much in the record in respect to that matter. I have been closely in touch with Mr. Hull, as my friend Mr. Dimond knows, and we are trying to work this out through diplomatic channels, if it is possible.

The CHAIRMAN. Whatever you desire to go in the record, you may put in; whatever you prefer to say to the committee in executive session can either be presented orally then, or by letter.

Senator BONE. Let me ask this one thing, and I think this would shorten the matter very much. Are you going into the facts of the Japanese fishing up there?

Mr. DIMOND. Oh, yes.

Senator BONE. You are presenting those facts?

Mr. DIMOND. Yes.

Mr. BONE. Well it would be just so much surplusage for me to attempt that, and I will content myself by saying I want to cooperate in every way with your committee's action, as far as I can, in the Senate, if the bill is reported out. And I can assure you, gentlemen of the committee and Mr. Dimond, that I will do everything in my power to get prompt action over there.

I think my brethern in the House feel much as I do about this, and I suspect you are going to make a full and complete record here and that will serve our purpose admirably over in the Senate and save us duplicating the work, as I think Mr. Dimond will bring out all of the points that are necessary.

I thank you for this opportunity of telling you how I feel about it. I am wholly in sympathy with the purpose of the bill.

Mr. WELCH. You stated, Senator, you have introduced a companion bill in the Senate to the bill now under consideration.

Senator BONE. That is correct.

Mr. WELCH. To H. R. 8344?
Senator BONE. That is correct.

Alaska. Now when American purchased Alaska, we may assume we purchased Alaska with the then present set-up, including the ruling, if it was then in force, that no foreign vessel could come within 100 miles of the coast of Alaska. I am just mentioning that as a suggestion.

The CHAIRMAN. You are just stating a fact?

Mr. FRIELE. Yes, that is a fact. I should also point out, in connection with the same conversation, that no foreigners have ever fished for salmon off of Alaska before; it has been purely an American undertaking.

Now to take up just where I left off, Mr. Chairman, I would like to leave with the record an affidavit concerning the airplane trip we took, with further details.

The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, it is so ordered. (The affidavit above referred to is as follows:)

AFFIDAVIT

NAKEEN, ALASKA, July 7, 1937.

On July 7, at 3:15 p. m., the undersigned, H. B. Friele, Arthur C. Farlow, Aubin R. Barthold, C. Chester Carlson, Harry Stuhr, and Pilot Jack Elliott, in a Star Airways airplane (Bellanca No. NC690E) left Nakeen, on the Kvichak River, and flew along the southern shore of Bristol Bay, to a point about 5 miles north of Cape Greig, passing en route over Naknek and Egegik. Here a vessel was sighted about 15 miles off shore and the airplane was headed in its direction. It was seen to be a four-masted codfishing schooner, probably the Sophie Christenson. Shortly after passing over this vessel another group of four vessels was sighted more to the southward and west. This group was about 20 miles off shore from a point 15 miles southwest of the Ugashik River, in approximately latitude 57°45′ north and longitude 158°46' west.

These four vessels were one large mother ship and three smaller auxiliary vessels. The three smaller vessels were anchored in a group about 300 yards apart, and the mother ship was anchored about a quarter mile distant. They were all painted battleship gray.

The mother ship was the Taiyo Maru, a steam vessel of the freighter type of 5 or 6 thousand gross tons. It had two masts and a cruiser stern. A considerable quantity of steam was being continuously omitted from the single stack. From the vessel's depth in the water it appeared to be about half loaded. The vessel was heavily covered with fishing nets from stem to stern. They were draped over the cargo booms, superstructure, and sides, presumably to dry. Lines of floats were observed on the nets, showing that the nets were of a type used for surface fishing.

Two of the smaller ships appeared to be of the trawler type, of about 150 tons gross. The remaining one was similar but larger, of about 200 tons.

The two smaller ships had a considerable quantity of nets of the same type as seen aboard the mother ship, piled orderly on their sterns, apparently in readiness for use. These nets appeared darker in color than those on the mother ship, as though they were wet. A number of large open cargo boxes containing salmon were stored or piled on deck, in preparation for transfer to the mother ship.

The third of the smaller ships was somewhat larger than the other two. This boat had no fish nets visible on deck, but the decks were covered with about 20,000 freshly caught salmon! A good close-up view was obtained as the plane circled the vessel many times closely at an altitude of from 50 to 100 feet. There was no doubt that this was red salmon, and judging by the bright blood, the fish had been but recently caught. Between 20 and 30 men were seen boxing the salmon. All of their activities were plainly visible in detail to the naked eye.

The four ships were apparently operating as an industrial unit for the catching and processing of the red salmon that are on their way to the Bristol Bay rivers and spawning grounds. The ships appeared to be well manned, equipped, and maintained for handling fishing gear and fish.

it was spawned and came out of the egg. That is not true, I should think, of fish off of the coast of Mexico. What are they, pilchards? Mr. COLDEN. Yes; pilchards.

Senator BONE. So it is just a regular ocean fishery down there; whereas the fish involved in this Alaska situation are spawned in Alaska; they come out of the waters of Alaska, out of the Alaskan rivers and lakes, as Mr. Dimond says, and if there is anything that interrupts that cycle of their run, the salmon become extinct, and one of the great assets of Alaska and of the United States is completely destroyed.

Mr. COLDEN. The salmon fishery is somewhat comparable with the rancher, who has a home place for his cattle, but turns them out on the range in the summertime.

Senator BONE. That is it.

Mr. COLDEN. And nobody questions his ownership.

Senator BONE. We have the same situation out in the West in the range country. The farmer turns his cattle out, and they go in the hills, and then he brings them in. Now salmon constitutes a crop. That is a funny thing to say, but they literally are a crop; and while no one can own them while they are in the river, nevertheless they are raised in a certain place, and they are a crop, if one could apply such a term to fish.

FURTHER STATEMENT OF MR. FRIELE

At the conclusion of the statement by Senator Bone, Mr. Friele continued with his statement, as follows:

Mr. COLDEN. May I ask a question for information: About how far is Bristol Bay from Yokohama and the chief Japanese fishing port, as compared with the distance from Seattle?

Mr. FRIELE. Well it is about the same distance, I imagine. Here is Bristol Bay and Kamchatka is over here, just about in the same latitude [indicating]; Seattle would be about in here [indicating], about the same distance away.

Mr. COLDEN. And Yokohama?

Mr. FRIELE. Yokohama, of course, is much farther away. They are away down here [indicating].

Mr. COLDEN. Much farther away than Seattle?

Mr. FRIELE. Oh, yes; because the lines of steamers going to and from Yokohama all come in and touch the Aleutian Islands, and some of them even go inside of the Aleutian Islands, and come down.

Mr. BOWER. Hakodate, in the northern part of Japan, the chief fishing port of that part of the Empire, is considerably nearer to Bristol Bay than Yokohama.

Mr. FRIELE. The Congressman from San Pedro [Mr. Colden] touched on a subject there upon which I might give you some information. You asked if at the time the Americans purchased the Territory of Alaska from Russia there were any strings attached to it as to this 3-mile limit.

I may say that at one time when the Russians owned Alaska, they had a rule or law-I do not know which it was; but, anyway, no fishing vessel could come within 100 miles of the coast of Alaska. They barred any foreign ships from coming within 100 miles of the coast of