The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-01-13


cessIve railway shipping rates, or unjust
discrimination for or against a live
stock market, and other equally as serI-
Gus TO our interest, and that when We
prove the charges to have an Interstate /
commerce commission, which can enter
up decree, and execute an order, to
discontinue the same or send the perpe-
traitors to the federal prison. and 1Ine
them heavily besides. Tt viii only re-
Quire an allopathic dose Of the nnedl-
cine and the balance will be good.
Half of the judges of the supreme
court OF the United States upheld the
position taken by the officers of the
National Live Stock association in our
long fight against the oIeomargerine
bill. 1t win ultimately kill itself as a
law, and our position be sustained that
it was class legislation pure and simple
and against the best interests of the
creamery people and also the oleomar-
garine manufacturers.
I'VE are now urging upon congress
that a census of all live stock animals
on ranch and farm be taken every five
years and promptly published in order
that the breeder and feeder may know
what animals are ready for the market.
What the progressive stockman wants
is reliable live stock statistics every
year as to what there is in sight in
horses, cattle, sheep and hogs. If the
general government will give US a COM
plete census. every five years, we can
easily publish the figures for the inter-
vening years from our national head
quarters to guide the stoekmen of the
country
Il desire to congra tulate our member
ship on the passage of the irrigation
bill, which this organization urged upon
President Roosevelt, and which he so
strenuously aided in making a law. We
all realize that the more water we get
on the great plains the more grass
would be produced. Grass means beef,
and beef brings money anywhere in the
wide world. We should therefore do all
in our power to cultivate the growth OF
grass, and the care of the range and
the protection of the forests, and the
forest reserves. We should consider
ourselves only tenants by courtesy of
this great government principality, and
it should be our chief aim and delight to
guard this heritage for our children and
our children's children
For the senli-arid lands in the graz
ing district, the homestead law, allow
ing 100 acres should be extended to 800
it is impossible for a man to make a
living on any $50 acres remaining.
We should ask congress to authorize
the appointment of a commission to go
into the various states classify grazing
lands, and make recommendations in
line with what the people who dwell
there want. Our position should be, let
the people have what they want, as
their homes are at stake and their chill
dren should have the benefit of the very
best conditions we can throw around
them. On this subject, let all politicians
Go way back and sit down. and let the
plain people settle the matter in their
own counties, all over this great western
country, for we certainly can trust the
people most vitality interested.
Il desire to call the special attention
of every stock raiser to the Worlds ex-
position in St. Louis in 1904 and to urge
every breeder of registered stock to get
ready for one of the greatest contests OF
the various breeds ever known in the
world
As to the proposed merger of inter
ests by the packers at Chicago, Kansas
City, st. Joseph, Sioux City, Omaha and
Fort Worth, President Springer said:
Never before was such an unholy
combination attempted Not content
with amassing colossal fortunes in the
past two decades from the stock rails
ers of the west, these same packers
now blossom out as would be dfctators,
The StOckmeH of the United States
have over four billion working capital
If forced to do so, you can build pack
ing plants of your own, kill your own
stock, market the product and under
sell any packing house trust. We have
men outside this charmed circle who
have money. brains and energy. and
with these three they also have hearts
left in their physical anatomy Let US
pronounce sentence that If this merger
4 is consummated, it can operate it's
$500, coo 000, 600 merger without cattle,
without sheep and without hogs, for
we own the raw material and We will
refuse to sell to any packing house
combine"
REPORT OF SECRETARY.
I Secretary Charles r. Martin present
ed his annual report in which he gave
/ an account of the work done by the
association during the past year
Referring to the anti-shoddy bill III
troduced in the house of representatives
| a year ago, he said: Every possible
effort was made to have the committee
-,p, nj .nz-4 ho IA
/ the house, but without success. With
in the past two weeks I have sent out
additional letters to members of con-
gress and to this committee. again urg-
ing prompt action on this bill have
received replies from a majority of the
members of the house, and I am salts
fed that if the committee would re-
| port the bill to the house it would pass.
/ The leading argument advanced by
the opponents of the bill is, that it
| cannot be made operative It does not
seem to us that it Is any more diff
cult to have federal inspectors regu-
late the importation of rotten rags
! gathered from American people, thar
it is for federal inspectors to supervise
/ the slaughter of American steers and
the manufacture of the oleo contained
in the carcass into healthy, clean and
pure butter The tax which this slegiS-
lation imposes is one-tenth of one cent
a pound to be paid by the manufac-
turer It can hardly be said that this
would work a hardship upon the class
of manufacturers who use shOddy and
sell all WOOL three dollar suits to the
American people for fifteen dollars. Il
is not protection simply for the growers
of wool, that we are asking, but pro-
lection for the consumer as we'll
THE membership Of the association
has steadily increased, but not to the
extent OF the previous year. for the rea-
son that most of the active organiza-
tons in the United States are now mem
bers. The individual membership has
increased very satisfactorily. extending
to Canada. Mexico. Hawaii. and in
Quiries have been received from stock
men in the Straits settlement of the
East Indies. The increase in the as
sessment on live stock from % to 81
cents per thousand has been accepted by
all organizations with the exception o.
one
THE association now has membership