The San Angelo press. (San Angelo, Tex.) 1897-1907, 1904-04-28
TO PANHANDLE STOCKMEN
Address of Thomas S. Bigbee Pres
ident OF the Association, at
Amarillo.

the address of Thomas 5. Bigbee,
president uf the Panhandle Stock
mans association delivered at the
convention which opened at ANA
rillo on April 10:
Members of the Panhandle
SCockmen's association, ladies
and gentlemeu:
At all former meetings ] have
outlined the object and purposes
of this organization and it is too
we'll understood for me TO go into
detail ON this occasion.
After an absence of three years,
we again assemble in the metrop.
oils of the Panhandle for our fifth
annual meeting. Your town has
made wonderful growth since we
last met you, and SO has our asso-
citation. We were in our baby
clothes at that time and now we
feel we have attained the size of II
good big school boy but our miss
ION will not be complete until II
large majority of the men Of the
Panhandle engaged in the live
stock business are members of
this body.
think | speak sentiments of
every COW man here when | say
we look with pride upon the
growth of this city of the plains;
for to YOU we feel that we can
look for market at no far distant
date, and should ! live the allot-
ted time of man, three score years
and ten, / expect to see going
from here packing house products
by the train loads, bound for the
Oriental markets, via the Panama
canal
You will no doubt say that |
am extravagant in my predic-
tions, but, gentlemen, look back
twenty years and see what our
great Panhandle country was
then. This was the last and best
part Of our great domain to be
wrested from the Indian and buff
lalo, and the ten years will see far
greater changes than have the last
twenty. Twenty years ago this
Panhandle had not mile of rail-
road in it. today eighteen coun-
ties have railroads, and some as
many as three.
have heard Panama canal
talk from boyhood but il was all
talk. 1t was left to your Uncle
Sam to build that canal, and he
will do it splendidiy too. lie has
always brought to II successful
termination any job that he has
undertaken. As was said by an
orient writer many years ago,
Link the two great oceans and
you make the gulf of Mexico the
Mediterranean of the western hem
isphere." No wonder we should
look anxiouily for its completion,
for it will then throw more than
half of the worlds population
from five to ten thousand miles
nearer to us by water transporta-
ton, thereby placing our products
on the oriental markets cheaper
than we can ship to New York by
rail, but this matter will be dis
cussedby ADLER tongues than mine.
Now, gentlemen, we will take
up the COW business as it stands
to day, and | think ! voice the
sentiments of every COW man pres
ent when ! say that the prices re-
ceived are far below the cost Of
production.
What brought about this de-
preston? All other farm prod
ucts are bringing "A good living
price. Is there any over produce
tion of cattle? Statistics do not
show that this is the reason for
the great slump in the values of
the COW. Nearly every one says
the packer has done it | am not
here to defend Mr.. Packer; he has
always seemed able to take care
OF himself and is no doubt reap
ing rich harvest from the low
prices we are forced to take. /
think you will all bear me out in
what | have TO say about the
commission man, when | say he
has had something to do in bring
ing about this depression; not
that he would willingly do you an
injustice, but in his anxiety to
do business, not that he loved you
less, but that he loved the fifty
cents more. lie has advanced
many millions of dollars to cat
tlemen on the range which has
cost the COW man from fifteen to
twenty per cent, and in the face
of hard winters, dry summers and
declining markets has bankrupt
many Of our most deserving and
thrifty cow men and has brought
disaster to many commission
! firms.