Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-01-12
National Convention
OF Live Stock Men
lconcIuded from page u

land that the selling tag shall plainly
reveal to every purchaser just what
sort OF suit he is buying in order that
the outrageous frauds against wooden
goods may be stopped.
Another bill livestockmen are vital
ly interested in is that with reference
to forest reserve. Stockmen have
no objection to honest reserves,
where there are forests to protect or
to foster the growth thereof, but
where millions OF acres are set apart
by the secretary of the interior, when
you could not locate a tree with a
Lick Observatory telescope, which is
done only on account or the fine ma
nipulation Of some great land graft
railroad syndicate. who wishes to I'M
load its worthless holdings on a guilt
able government.-this is the point
where the American stockman insists
on rising and entering a general and
also a special demurrer. This scheme
is now being worked in Arizona, In
fact, all the western states and terri
tories by some combine or other. Land
grabbers are a blot on twentieth cen
fury civilization, ami the old cowboy
methods Of dealing with horse
thieves may have to be resorted to in
order that the rapidly disappearing
public lands may be conserved for
the needs Of the coming generations.
/ regret to say that the year last
past has witnessed SO many failures
among honest, Woodworking, patient
and accomplishing stockmen in the
United States. Without apparent rea-
son, prices began to drop, and they
have gone from bad to worse until we
see the cattle kings in the Hereford
and Short Horn world forced into
bankruptcy, their h%ard-earned for
tunes dissipated, and their careers
blighted. Will some one kindly give
us a positive reason for this loss Of
hundreds Of millions of livestock val
ues. It must be conceded that the
consumption of meat was so
great, or the retail prices never SO
high. It must be admitted that we
still have a growing demand, rather
than a closing of markets against our
meat products. It is patent to all
that American labor Is today receiving
the highest average wages ever en-
joyed in this union. Finally, it must
be conceded that we have a general
prosperity throughout the Union. and
only the Wall street grumblers and
the army of sycophantic sufferers
hanging on the fringe Of respectable
ity, who coddle their pee-wee brains
that they can buck the tiger" on the
stock market,-and lose, as they al
ways dot is only these gamblers
who have honestly .'bit the dust"
financially speaking, during the past
year. We can account for all their
bad breaks and losses. But why the
producer Of meet, who feeds the
world, should be singled out for
financial destruction is altogether an.
other proposition. Here Is where the
great combine called the packing
kings" comes in. We all concede they
have made colossal fortunes. We
know they have converted the old
neighborhood slaughter-house, with
its odors and nuisances, to gigantic
abattoirs, where the bi.products are
all saved and every ounce Of the ami
NAL Is turned to a profit. We produc-
ers have paid for the hundreds Of
millions now represented by the big
Four SO called. We commend their
success, but we protest against the
gigantic monopoly they have forced
on the people of the whole country,
both producer and We pro
test against the withdrawal Of open
competition In each and al OF the
great markets Of this country, in the
agreement made every day between
the buyers of these houses.
We demand laws which will prevent
daily meetings OF packers and their
agents to arbitrarily fix the prices to
be paid on the hoof, and also On the
block. Every stockman In this coun-
try is generous and willing to give
and take, but he certainly objects to
giving the whole profit or raising and
feeding Of livestock to a merciless az
gregation Of clearinghouse capitalists.
who by their actions want the earth.''
1t was these reasons which forced a
large number OF the biggest producers
to meet 10 Kansas City and organize
the Independent Packing company,
with a capital Of $4,000, 900.
We advocate more markets and
more packing houses. We insist on
open and fair competition. We op.