, 1898-07-14
H0WT07REATsT0C
AN ABLE APPEAL FOR THE DUMB
RRUFEs BY HON. w. N. BY
ERS OF DENVER.
Humane Treatment Required by Stat
ute, and Morality. and Also For
Selfish Reasons-Cattle Must Be
Given Plenty to Eat or They Will
Prove a Losing Investment.

Prove a Losing Investment.
The following address by the Hon.
VIM. N. Byers Of Denver was delivered
last spring before the National Stock
growers association:
"Mr. President and Gentlemen Of the
Convention: 1t pays better to treat
cattle we'll than i'll. 1t pays better to
feed and shelter than to starve and
freeze them. 1t pays not to overcrowd
the range.
There are two kinds OF cattle In the
spring-the dead mes and the live
ones. There are others, tottering
shades" Of last years prosperity that
gaze languidly toward the spring sun
and wonder il grass will grow this
year.. Meantime their skins seem dry
ing on racks Of bones. They excite
pity because not dead. The dead ones
are losses. dead losses. The Others"
are partly losses. because they are
stunted by starvation. cold and thirst.
They will never reach their normal
size. They we're never meant to eat
and starve alternately. II their value
consists in size and weight, it is wise
to keep them eating. 1t is a long and
costly matter to raise to good condi-
ton again an animal that has gone
back. down to the point Of death by
starvation.
There Is not much nourishment in
any amount Of prairie grass after the
rain and snow, sun and wind, have
dashed and dried 1t out for weeks and
months. When, besides. the range is
~overcrowded, what can be expected ex-
cept stunted, cheap and understood
cattle, which no amount Of subsequent
feeding can bring to full size and
weight? Practical cattlemen estimate
that a half ton to a ton of hay will
make a yearling or 2-year-old worth IS
to IS more in the spring than II range
fed alone. The cost Of hay cut on the
ranch cannot we'll he over 80 or 50
per ton. Which way does profit lie,
even on stock which lives? Those
which die are, OF course, a total loss.
Occasional years come when storms
or SHOWS almost wipe out the herds.
Which would have been cheaper-to
keep a few hundred tons of feed on
hand against such a year, or to lose 50
or 75 per cent Of the herd? A supply of
feed, though not used for a dozen years,
Is an insurance. policy against the de-
struction Of the herds. Stockmen IAN
not afford to take chances OF this kind.
Nor can they afford to lose by annual
starvation 50 many dead. and so large
a part Of the value Of the living. This
Is the stoekgrower's side, the mans
side Of the feeding question. There is
another side-the animals right to food
and shelter.
1.-THE first law for the prevention Of
cruelty to dumb animals was passed
In parliament a little over seventy
years ago. From that time down to the
present 1t has been an honored part of
f'hs'ahus 'a~' oi.eh allehoeu' Jul d.
ways - DIS u give 'uiier pro'ecion'
ihete ID hot d cl''ilzeo country II tne
"oi'n "hien mas ho' such M"s' lhe
Socie''es tut their enforcement are De-
sono computation. inc justice OF pro-
'ectins 'heipless aump ahamais ID 30
pam the faeahhess ana co"aroace OF
- 1,.-t- - 1-- IA --l
ABUSING ohem are so great Una une SUD-
'ect appeal WIN irresistible 1orce TO
every generous hear.
loday IL Is recognazed ina the
~hoie world OF living creatures Is a
Vast society OF which mar Is the head.
IN 1t every other creature has mis-
appointed place ana his rights
AZ absolute as mans own.
While man has dominion n power OF
HE and death over all other animals,
1T is a power to be used but not abused.
the inniction OF pain or the
destruction of life Is necessary and I'M
s ssvss; w osss,. pain is .,, ssssss Or Or life life