The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-01-08
Would Have Experts to Look
After Trade Relations.
THEY LOOK TO AMERICA
Our Live Stock Finds Ready
Market Abroad.
Gives Packing Houses Credl
for Present Development.

ed Stock Breeders association in Rep
resentative hall last night. Coionel
Harris spoke on the subject, Import
ance of a Live Stock Industry to the
Agriculture of a Country"
Colonel Harris talk conveyed without
a doubt the fact that a good live stock
business is of untold value to coun-
try as farming country. He also told
of the enormous benefits which might
acrue to the American live stock men
and farmers as well were the trade re-
lations with other countries improved
Colonel Harris made strong and e!o-
quent plea for the conservation OF the
agricultural resources of the country
He also emphatically expressed himself
as favorable to a commission OF ex-
perts whose duty it should be to look
after the trade relations with other
countries.
AS Colonel Harris was introduced by
E. w. Melville who occupied the chair.
hearty applause followed showing the
immense popularity of the speaker and
his efforts towards promoting the live
stock interests of the state
81 have been wonderfully impressed,
said Colonel Harris as he was just
warming UP to his subject, with some
of the tremendous mistakes which have
been made in this country. When I
was a boy lived in the tidewater part
of Virginia and was familiar with that
country. There the farmed making
tobacco the leading crop, and IN some
cases it was the only. crop. There was
never any live stock industry back there
In those days. You can go into Virgin
Ia and other southern states today and
there you will see the worn SCARED hill
sides produced as a result of bending
all their energies to the one crop of
tobacco in Virginia and cotton in the
other states. This is indeed sad spec
tacle. 1t will take a generation at least
to restore Virginia to her virgin and
fruitful state.'
In 1892 Colonel Harris Travelled
through Great Britain. There the con-
ditions as he found them were different.
The soil OF that country which had been
cultivated for thousand years was
found to be very productive and had
seemed to lose scarcely an iota of it's
fertility. The reason, as Colonel Harris
saw it, was the live stock on every hill
side grazing upon the grass. The pres
ence of live stock and grass, asserted
Colonel Harris, is a very potent factor
in conserving the agricultural attri-
butes of the soil For the sake of
agriculture" said Colonel Harris,
which is the basis of all prosperity
In the country I want to say that it is
particularly desirable to put land in
grass. Grass can be grown as far west
as the central part of the state at least
and the subject Of grass ought to be
discussed all over the state.''
The speaker also dwelt at length
upon the trade relations with other
countries regarding the supply of meat.
The European countries he found were
largely dependent upon American meat
for their supply.
Colonel Harris thought the trade with
foreign countries should be improved
by bettering the trade relations. He
stated that in some cases conditions
were such that the doors of trade
were to be closed upon American mer-
chants A maximum and minimum
tariff schedule was advocated, and also
the trade relations with foreign coun-
tries.
Regarding the packing house Colonel
Harris did not take as decided a stand
In favor of curbing their powers as did
some of the other speakers. He seemed
to be of the opinion that the packing
houses were in a large measure respor-
sible for the advancement of the live
stock interests to their present high
plane
W. F. Rightmire of Topeka, opened
the meeting with an address on "Stock
on the Hoof and on the Block In
connection with his subject Mr.. Right
mire dealt almost entirely with the
packing houses and their products. He
thought the breeders of Kansas had
suffered from the evils of the pack
ing house and advocated as d remedy
complete government control with a
limit fixed by law for the margin of
profit to be realized by the packers.
He also introduced a set of resolutions
asking that a committee be appointed
to gather evidence of the violations
of the antitrust law by the packing
companies and to submit that evi-
dence to the United States district at
torney and to the attorney general of
the state. The committee was also
to make a compilation of the national
and state laws bearing this ques-
ton the same to be furnished to the
press of the state for the benefit of
the live stock men and the public.
DR.. c. w. Burkett of the state ex-
perimental station, spoke on the sub
tect. Selection, a Primary Breeding
Problem Mr.. Burkett was opposed
to the popular fancy of trying to Sc
cure new strains and breeds of stock
and advocated a strict adherence to
the old and esta ablished breeds.
The only other number of the even
ing programme was a short address
by, DR.. Burton Rogers of the Agricul-
Plan to Eradicate tuberculosis
in One or Two Years Without
Loss or Cost" The remarks
of DR.. Rogers were replete with use
full and suggestive pointers for the
checking of this dreaded disease.
George Plumb of Emporia. a mem
Der of the legislature from Lyon coun-
ty, was the principal speaker at the
morning session. On the question of
"Sheep. Past and Present. Mr.. Plumb
told of the sheep raising industry in
Kansas and advocated this branch of
the live stock business as the most
profitable.
a. C. Burton. prominent dairyman