Daily Yellowstone journal., 1888-03-20

| ulunoet capaclty, reghfuless OF Oul
prior right Of location or any scrupu.
lous feelings whatever. Buying cattle
at any price 10 get on hand the great
est number possible In order to derive
from their investment the greatest
part of the profit, knowing very well
that the actual settlers OF Montana who
have to pay from II TO Is per cant in-
terest for the money invested in cattle
could not compete with outsiders US
Ing capital bearing interest from 10 8
per cent only. The logic OF such a
conclusion was to beat the settlers out
o. their location, in spite o: their good
or bad will, by the system of crowd
ing. . The great loss OF live
stock during The winter of 1856 81 was
caused more by the overcrowding Of
the ranges than anything else. The
losses were estimated at one half OF
the cattle aud nearly the same of
sheep, but there is consolation in
favor OF the MoutSnians that they are
still the owners of the greater part Of
the half that was spared, having been
better prepared 10 meet the event from
the fact that native Montana cattle
are M Ich stronger and can stand hard
ship better. This crush among cattle
was unavoidable. 1t had to come 10
furnish evidence and lay many exag-
gerstions at rest. Nothing else could
stop the current started by the num-
berless favorable reports. All men
having cattle on the brain were d.
rected 10 the west, aud more partlcu.
larly to Montana, anxious 10 get a
piece Of the precious pie in IA hurry.
We had the first evidence OF this fact
at the st. Louis National Cattle Con-
vention. We were INVITED TO assist In
a national convention, but in fact it
proved u be more than q sectional ar
rangement intended to serve the inter-
est of the south to the detriment Of the
west and northwest. The Texas cat
tlemen came there in numbers intend
ing to carry everything by the major
ity Of their votes, and they did it. The
vital question Of the meeting WAS the
"Tevss TRAIL" over which to drive the
Texas cattle west and northwest. No
thing else of Importance was trans
arted or discussed. The Texas men
were sollloquizing, 'we need not sell
our young cattle TO Montsnians, we
can raise our calves in Texas and take
them ourselves over our trail and
Craze them on the western ranges"
They had Montana ia mind more par
ticularly, but they were biting too big.
We all knew that the ST. Louis Cattle
Convention proved failure, a regular
self-kiling fiasco. There is nothing
grand or agreeable to be remembered
from II excepting the cordial recep-
ton rendered by the people of st.
Louis, who deserve much credit aud
praise for their natural courtesy to-
wards all their visitors. AT the grand
cattle meeting at Chicago about the
same spirit of selfshness was made
manifest, only much more shrewdly
sheltered. We find the east always dis.
posed to give us
LOTS OF WIND
and cyclonenu- arguments with view
to get into our secrets concerning the
protection of our business ut home
bent on getting all they can out Of us
and to give us nothing in return. We
remember having listened with our
mouths open TO some great orator at
those meetings giving the statistics of
the cattle of the United States in pro-
portion to the population, making IL
appear that there was not 80 many
cattle per hundred people q. there was
seven or eight years ago, and that
America was threatened with beef
famine in the near future. This talk
was given 10 Us when America was
filled with cattle in every corner,
which plainly demonstrates that such
talk was animated by theoretical ed.
ucation rather than practical know
ledge, or else IL was intended TO excite
the cattle growers to their own de-
struction 10 tie profit Of the Chicago
ring. While the cattle men were fuss
ing over who should occupy the most
range aud making a great deal OF
noise, this combined power, with Phil
Armour at the head, was silently
planning to make all the profit out OF
cattle for while, and they have done
IL. They know how many cattle there
were in the United States better than
the statIsticians. Why does
not our government build and eucour-
age public business places such as the
markets aud fairs Of Europe? Not
race falrs like ours that consist only Of
gambling. and where no money Is ex-
changed except among gamblers, but
business fairs where everybody goes to
buy and sell. Where people can meet
10 transact business and enjoy the