The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1914-06-06

The causes for these conditions are MANY: the
principal one, however, is the demands from the
carrying districts which require milk for butter
ana cheese, as well as for daily consumption, and
the farmer must naturally get rid of the young
calf asl soon as possible If he expects to obtain
the mothers milk for these purposes. Therefore,
as soon as the calf is old enough it is sold to
the butcher.
poundgJ which If permitted to live and attain its
full growth at, say two years, would weigh 1000
pounds, a gain of $50 pounds, and if we we're to
save half of the calves that are now killed it
would be a saving of 1000, 900, 900 pounds per
annum, and after figuring the loss in by-products
this would produce about 1000, 500, 900 pounds of
beef, or about twenty-eight pounds to each per-
son in the United States, to say nothing of the
natural gain in money value.
Therefore the economic question involved, and
1t is one that affects our whole population. The
pathetic side does not appeal to many, but also
has its adherents. There are thousands of calves
killed weekly in this city, all under one year old.
After that they are classed as cattle.
The usual age of a calf Is about four to six
weeks, and the little four-week-old white calf in
the picture was taken away from it's mother, ex-
pressed to the commission man and was sold to
the killers.
A national law which should prevent the kill
ing of calves in order that they may grow up
into beef animals, thereby increasing the supply
of beef, was advocated recently by DR.. L. H.
Bailey, formerly director of the New York State
College Of Agriculture, In the course of an ad-
dress on the subject which he delivered at Ithaca,
N. Y.
1T is the common assumption that we are
now suffering under a shortage of beef" said DR..
Bailey. There have been many suggestions
looking toward the increasing of the supply. To
a certain type Of mind, the simplest way of regu-
lating or overcoming an economic law is by an
act of the legislature. Therefore 1t is proposed
that congress shall make 1t a misdemeanor for
- ,nA. - Ill IL An1woa HA.OI nDrutn n
to mature into beef animals. 1t becomes a most
interesting problem as to whether congress would
be successful in compelling a man to keep an
animal when 1t is Improbable for him to do so,
or when the keeping of it would not combine
with his plan of farming. l think that there
ought also to be a law compelling farmers to
have their hens lay eggs in November and De
cember.
THE reason why farmers kill their veals is
wholly economic. 1t does not pay them to raise
the animals to maturity. Feed is too high-priced
in the main dairy regions. The feeding season
is long. 1t may pay a man better to put his feed
into milk in such regions. Sometimes It pays
better to kill the calves at birth than to try to
feed them even to the vealing age. No legisla-
ture can compel a man to conduct his personal
business operations at a sacrifice or a loss. 1t
is possible in some cases that a reorganization
of a farming business might enable a farmer to
raise more animals to maturity, but this is a mat
ter that lies without the province of law.
For myself / wish that there was less eating
Of veal and that the people would regulate their
desires In this regard. Years ago there was a
season when we ate veal. This season was per-