The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-01-29

oil the great lakes, by the banks of the
ftc and rolls the Oregon. and now we
crags and peaks. with We once
again" Nor have we. the rangemen.
workers in the calling made honorable
and historic by Abraham and Isaac, have
mere gathered with US. our brethren OF
the iron rail our friends from the mighty
factory. the fancy breeder, the thought
fui feeder. the traders who buy and sell
lheS nave al come 20 meet an trlcndly
council with The men of the 1Iains. and
this gathering shalf be historic. The lion
Will lie down With the lamb and the oils
shall embrace the waters BlazOned alOfr
on every fleecy cloud. borne on the breath
OF every breeze we read the legend zone
for all and all for one
The year just closed has been mo-
mentOus one for the livestock interests
ana Tor your ASSOCIATION: talamitles aiH
blessings have been mixed The grim
reaper. Death has dealt severely with US
lie has taken away IN his crime that
sterling friend, untirinS worker ana
prince OF good fellows. our hItc secretary,
the lamepted Charlie Martin May peace
so with him
The past year has seen continuation
OF the falling prices for range cattle IN
augUFatetl two wears ago. Statistics show
tins year depreciation To have averaged
$40 per head on all cattle marketed. TO
partially offset the IosseSs sustained by
the cattle men, the mutton grower reaich
a rich reward. With depleted domestic
market. and a worlds shortage Of wool.
the grower OF that commodity faces an
approaching season which at this time
seems TO he of the brightest. I'm the face
OF the years bumper corn crop il would
seem that before long the cattle feeder
must ran his feed lots or store his corn
for another year. The latter he cannot
y ctitabtS do; sooner or later he must
ICED. when this movement begins a much
enlarged market will open for cattle ana
prices shotild move upward.
\ gratifying feature OF the past year
has OcCn the phenomenal success Of the
royal fat stock show DIT Kansas City and
the International at Chicago. These eX-
hibitCns have furnished ocular proof or
the Great Improvement in the scientific
breeding and feeding OF livestock that has
taken place the past five years. The eX-
hibitS were not confined TO pure bred sec
lions OF the country. Texas has demon
StrdtCd IN no uncertain manner that
splendid results i'm breeding and feeding
can be wrought out hy range methods.
She Is no longer the land Of the long
horn. but stands today the foremost eN-
poncnt 90 scientific breeding among the
range states. We doft our hats IN honor
to the Lone star State.
during the year The activity of your
association has been greatly hampered BY
the condition of your treasury. Your
committees have. however. been To Wash
ington in connection with legislative mat
tors IN pursuance of resolutions adopted
a the Portland meeting. They have re
ported back that all was done that could
have been hoped for in a presidential
year: our political friends al the ne tionai
capital. in winning way. babe us hope
Tor better things in the future
Your transportation committee met in
:hicago in February with tho traffic di-
ec.o-s of a number Of western trunk
lies. and in CONJUNCTION with efforts made
by other Influences. succeeded in a meas
urC III SOftening some of the hardShips
that railroad PRACTICES had imposed upon
Us.
In August. under the auspices of this
association the land commission appoint
cd by President Roosevelt held a hear
ing III this city for the purpose of dis
cuSSinE the range question and fOrmUlat-
ing the desire OF the range men 20 this
mOmentOuS proposition. This discussion
=
a great change had occurred in the trend
OF our thoughts concerning the public
domain. The sentiment was endorsed that
il was desira Die that all grazing areas
should be placed under governmental ju-
risdiction. and that a scientific control be
established under the supervision of the
department of agriculture. which. rec0g-
HizinE present conditions q starting
point. would seek TO establish new order
of things inuring to the benefit of the
range and all concerned Present Occu-
pancy to determine l,.,Urity. of range
right and changes when made. to be so
gradual and so regulated not to Gre
ate commercial distress to those interests
directly involved.
In this brief retrospect covering the past
year in the livestock world. we cannot
torebear congra tulating ourselves on the
IN calling one of us. has been elected to
the presidency. / am sure that this SEN
timent will not be styled political partf-
SdnShlp. as lar as the west the home of
the livestock industry. is concerned poll-
ties on this occasion seem to have been
well nigh wiped out. The election Of
Theodore Roosevelt. the man VINO loves
-'fatr play and "A square deal ] believe
means more II the livestock and agrarian
interests of the great west than the most
SdngUine prophet would foresay. For the
first time in our history there is a man
~ IL ~ htte rouse VINO knows ana I'M
corStaudS and will help us Whether we
can rise TO the occasion and do our part
remains to be seen. Another such oppOr-
tuntN may not occur in generations.
During the past year the efforts of your
president and executive Officers have
been largely devoted TO a reorEanizatio
OF your asSOcia ton. The condition of
your treasury, the inCffiCiency Of your eff
forts and the general lack of interest
shown in your association by the allied
issues some of which went so far as TO
withdraw from membership, had demon
strated need for radical treatment. 1t
has become evident that your association
though national in name. is not so in
character. The constitution which binds
Nou is too narrow in its scope and does
not provide sufficient Capitalization: your
financial scheme Is uncertain. impTovident
and not based ON business principles. In
q word. you are attempting to draw Il
thoUsand-ton load with hundred-ton en-
CINE.
Edmund Burke has reflected: He that
wrestlcs with us strengthens orr nerve
and shaTDenS our skill. Our antagonist
- our helper" This truth might sup
plement by adding: Men learn best
through their errors: mist axes are noI III
vain II not repeated. 1 believe that the
concurrence of the ma jority OF my fellow
broad statements; First, we have suffered
from our own errors as wen as the blum
ders OF others. Second. we are facing an
era based on changed physical and com
merciai conditions.
our own mistakes have been many.
Through a shoTt-sghted and uuSua rded
policy our grazing areas have lost q large
part OF their value Where two blades or
grass grew before but one grows now. Is
the range man. a whole. breeding muC
better cattle or sheep or horses than he
bred n decade ago. Is he caring for and
feeding them so as to bring out the very
best that nature intended2 I think not.
is this prOgressR Do our cattle anu sheep
20 to market in the perfect form they
should Dresent-well bred. we'll fed. well
nigh perfect in shape and condition. or
or is afraid TO touch and which the can
ncr only can use2 Have we set up guam
tity as the god we worship, and forgotten.
quality After doing these things, do we
lay the blame FOR poor cash returns at the
doors OF the railroad and the packer. cen
surfing the one because in the process of
TRANSPORTATION he did not transform our
scrub into "A weyy-conditioned thorough
bred and accusing the other of manipu-
Ia ting the markets. because our haIf-bred
half-fed trash brough us nothing Is this
faroeress2 Is our wool shOrn and packed
and graded and marketed in a scientific
manner
Nor are our own mistakes the only ones
that have hurt us nor have the range
men and feeders alone been short-siGhteo
ard unprogressive. Those who have
properly bred and properly red their ami
mails iufcfuE that their Ia 0or% were