, 1884-11-29
CATTLE CONVENTIONS.
The True Purpose of the St. Louis
Meetings.
A Picnic Devoid of Results of
Importance.
coIorado's lnsincers Attitude In the
National Trail Matter.

The meeting of cattlemen at St. Louis
last week, has afforded the press OF the
West a text from which has been written
er porte articles and so-called accounts of
the proceedings of the convention, while
the varied assortment Of statements re-
garding the significance of the meeting
is equaled only by the number Of States.
Territories, counties and cities wherein
they have been printed. A correct re-
port of the objects and results Of the st.
Louis Convention is therefore pertinent
at this time.
The National Stockgrowers' Association
met in Chicago a few days prior to the
St. Louis meeting. That it was not held
in the latter city was due. in the main, to
the refusal of the managers Of the St,
Louis meeting to fix a date wherein it
would be practicable for the National As
ISOLATION to assemble, and therefore it
was held incidentally in Chicago. At its
assembly one year ago twenty-six States
and Territories were represented and this
year a number of others were added to
the representation. A constitution and
bylaws were adopted and the National
Association was madean incorporated one.
After the convention adjourned many of
its members accepted an invitation to be
present during the st. Louis meeting
and accordingly went to that city.
The convention at St. Louis can in no
sense be termed a national one. 1t was
called, and the fact was patent to all,
solely in the interest of St Louis, the
wishes of the Texas stockmen for a Ma
tional trail being made conspicuous as one
Of the excuses of the meeting. st. Louis
merchants, St. Louis stock yard men, St.
Louis Transportation companies and St
Louis hotel men arranged the meeting
and prepared a programme, consisting of
nine parts picnic to one part business.
The intelligent and thoughtful action Of a
large body Of men, in mass meeting as
sembled for the purpose of discussing i'm
portant industrial questions, was evidently
a minor consideration in the minds of the
patrons of the convention. The pro-
gramme, as prepared, apportioned a few
moments of each day to the elaboration
of matters worthy of the attention of a
dignifed body of men, and several hours
of the day and night to excursions and
banquets.
in the language of the programme.
The convention would meet and adjourn
and would proceed in n body to visit the
stock yardy.n or 90 boating on the river.
OF strike attitudes of admiration as some
public building was viewed. and the inter
ests of cattle men after being thus ad-
yanced. would be still further augmented
by a BANQUET in the evening.
1t would appear that the St. Louis
gentlemen entertained a mistaken idea
that the National Association was a
Chicago one, and to the end that the
rivalry between those cities might not be.
come a mere matter of tradition. decided
to have a convention in St. Louis. As
the National Association will meet either
in Kansas City or Omaha next year and
as its annual meetings will be held in
such cities as convenience OF geographical
situation may make it practicable to as.
semble in, the St Louis people possibly
permitted the piaue of local rivalry to in
fuence their arrangements in the scheme
of the meeting, as they surely did in its
minor details. Living below the parallel
of the belt of cities of which Chicago is
the more Western, St. Louis has natu-
rally been unable to compete with Chicago
as a depot for range cattle; its market is
recognized as being from a quarter to half
a cent lower than the Chicago while it
handles 500, 900 cattle annually as against
1900. 900 marketed in Chicago.
Much to the surprise of the St. Louis
projectors of the meeting, the stockmen
almost reversed the prepared programme
and astonished the people by discussing
questions of interest to cattlegrowers,
while the pleasure boats impatiently
waited for passengers and the viands of
the banquets grew cold.
One of the first moves made in the
meeting was to inform the Eastern cattle
men that they we're interlopers. Indeed