The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-01-10

something ike an old poor COW that
/ has been hazed around in the round
up and finally gets off to herself and Is
/ on the prod. She makes a run at ev-
/ erything that comes her way, knowing
such devil of a rough deal these last
i few years that we begin to doubt the
/ honesty and good intentions of every
one. 1t may not be the packers, it may
not be the commission men, it may not
/ be the sheep men or even the railroads.
but some way every mans hand seems
to be against US these days." When
is not right.
The remedy for most of our troubles
| IS IN our hands, and by this mean a.
proper organization of each and every
i've STOCK interest, an organizations so
big, broad, so solid, so impartial that
criticism viii be disarmed and honor
and obedience follow its every dictunl.
You have heard it said that this idea
is visionary or Utopian. Have we then
reached point in this industry be-
yond which we cannot go2 Is the mil
lenlum upon us? Is abuse of or attack
upon an allied industry the only meth
cd OF correcting bad conditions? You
can't catch flies with vinegar or court
girl with big stick. The age of the
club and stone Ratchet has given way
to the age of reason and arbitration.
The live stock industry is like the
woven cloth; the producer forms the
warp, the transportation and manu-
featuring interests become the wool,
other. A weak or defective spot any
where injuries the whole fabric.
A famous orator has declared 'tAll
government, indeed every human
benefit and enjoyment, every virtue
and every prudent act. is founded on
compromise and barter" By a thor
live stock interest we collectively gain
much and Singly lose nothing that we
now have. If the wool grower be-
lieveS the rates on his product too
= 1r~F-
carrying that contention to the high
est court in the land, or to have legis-
latiOn enacted that will make a fair
adjustment possible. Nor does the
cattle man commit himself to a peace |
able condonement Of bad railroad
service or excessive rates, nor are the /
railroads irrevocably bound to haul
forever for nothing private refriger- I
ator cars for the packer, nor will the
packer be compelled to pay cOrn-fed
prices for second class hides stuffed
with sage brush.
am optimistic enough to feel that
many of our differences being found
ed on ignorance of true conditions
and lack of understanding one an
other, can be settled or regulated by
such an organization. BY this plan
we can at least determine clearly the
lines of demarcation betv cen us, and
If fight we must, ascertain precisely
what we are fighting about Friction
is waste, wherever found. Ignorance
and prejudice are the chief menaces
to progress. Let US dispel the one and
forego the other.
In this beginning of the brightest
century of all the ages, opportunity
presents itself to US here and now in
no uncertain manner. We have a
noble work to perform for the live
stock industry both today and, for
evermore. We must uphold the /
hands of the president in the great
work of adjusting the range problem.
The fearful power held by corpora
lions must be regulated; it will save
US, and it will save them. The power
to confiscate property either directly
or indirectly belongs to the govern
ment alone, and then only in certain
possessed by railroad and other cor
pOrations. 1t is but a step from such
a condition to socialism or even an
archy. Early and provident fear is
commerce commission must be given
broader powers or an interstate COM
merce court be created, of equal dig
nifty with the United States supreme
court Such action, in the long run,
will prove as beneficial to corporate
interest as to the public. The great
traders in meat supplies must not
Stihe competition, it is dangerous to
thus arouse public sentiment. The
packers profit is secure and fixed
and great enough without resorting to
the manipulation of markets. A five
day market should obtain. Over
must be avoided or minimized. An
even distribution of supplies will re-
suit in stable and higher. prices. Half
finished stuff must not be slaughtered;
the bad quality of any product re-
stricts its consumption. The average
American thinks no part of an animal
At to eat except loin steak or rib
roasts, when in fact the most nourish-
ing portions of a beef are found else
where. By concerted effort the public
can be educated to appreciate the
,1r1a ,R
carcasses.
Our growers must breed fewer and purer
animals, thus creating a superior pro-
duct, and feed such product, whether on
the range or feed lot, so as to go to mar
lxet in the best possible condition. Thus
Inbred and thin trash will be eliminated
as a competitive factor in fixing prices
to produce a 2-year-old steer weighing l.
400 pounds than a 4-year-oid Weighing l.
must be had along. proper con-
cationaI upbuiiding of our indus
try. This aid We need not supplicate,
American industry, we can, when organ
zed. demand Federal control of infec-
and should be uniform in all states we
require annual census of live stock
of the camping column Fat stock and
pure bred shows should be held in every
TAI auspices and as determined by eli
matte and typographical differences.
All these Utopian dreams can be made
realities by our organization if we are
broad and big and. fair enough to build
accordingly. Fairness with one another
$ essential, the mote in our eye must not
obscure high Olympus on the horizon T
The fault is not in the stars, but in our
selves that we are underIings.''
Ny fellow laborers on the plains. in the
ield, in the factory and the office "let
lim who is without fault cast the first
stone" Let US be big enough that by (
cones may be by-gones. The scientific
spirit of the twentieth century progress K
0eckOnS US on. Shall we fOlIoW2 It is |
given to us to cherish and upbuiId and
make perfect one of the creators chosen