Arizona republican., 1915-04-05
STATE OF LIVE STOCK INDUSTRY
 ITS CONDITION AND PROBLEMS

craze prlce.
 There have been so many state ments published about decrease in , meat food animals in this country that the general public is obsessed with the idea that calamitouS shortage exists. This is not true, for we still export more meot- food products than we import, and shall probably continue to do so for many years unless prices drop to an un- profitable level. The marked shrin- kage in value of beef cattle and hogs during the past six months shows that our production is at least Keep- iEg pace with, if indeed it is net ahead of, our home consumption.
 As I view it,. the most important question confronting the stockmen, 1 the public and the government is not so much how to increase the production of live stock, as it is to eliminate any present unnecessary expenses in raising and marketing live stock and distributing it's prod ucts, so that both the producer and consumer will be substantially oene- fitted. Federal supervision of the open range is one economy I have in mind which would lessen the ccs. {, of raising live stock.
 In December, 1913, Hon. David F. Houston, secretary of agriculture, ap- pointed special committee of five to study the economies of the meat situation. including methods for im- provement in live stock conditions and increasing production in order to prevent a shortage. This committo e 1 outlined a comprehensive plan of work, appointed several sub- commit tees, and delegated to the various bureaus of the government the col lection of data regarding the cost of producing live stock >on the range, in the forest reserves, and in feed lots, it's marketing and slaughterinG, the distribution of the meat proc ucts. and all other phases of tie business. These committees report ed to the honorable secretary of agri- culture and in his very admirable re- port for 1914, Secretary Houston dis cusses at some length the live stock and meat problem, pointing out the possible avenues through which prod uction can be enlarged to offset the decrease in the west on account of unsatisfactory range conditions. l, i IS quite evident from Secretary Houston's analysis of the question
 that he believes live stock could be more economically raised in the ,t federal control of the public domain His conclusions coincide exactly with the statements made by this associa- tion for many years.
 ! In previous annual addresses rhave referred in detail to the cpen- range problem, and have many times asserted that the decreased produc-
 tion of live stock in the west vas directly attributable to the unsatis- factory range conditions, and the in- liability to establish a permanency ol breeding thereon; and that the cos
 of the production of live stock in thu west could be lessened if some sys. tenn of range control were estah llished This has been a vital ques
 ton with stockmen almost since tl' Inception of this association A
 first there was a wide difference o lopinion among the stock -raiseIs O the west, but in recent years tn
 great majority are favoring fedora
 control of the open range. In 190
 this association formulated bill pro
 viding for federal supervision of th'
 open range along lines substantial,
 similar to those controlling the ad
 ministration of grazing on the na
 tioal forests. That bill, with som
 notifications, has been reintroducec
 at succeeding sessions of congress
 There have been many hearings oI
 the various bills, and we have dili Igently endeavored to secure favorabl
 action, so far without success. Nov
 that the department of agricultur
 definitely attributes the reduction il
 live stock in the west to unsatisfac
 tory grazing conditions, I hope tha
 congress will soon awaken to a re lalization of the great importance o
 this legislation.
 In March of last year the publi
 lands committee of the house of rep
 resentatives held lengthy hearing
 on House Bill No. 10539, introduce
 in congress by Hon. William Kent of California, and indorsed by thi assOcia ton at our last meeting. 4
 these hearings your association wa
 represented by MT. Heard, the frs
 vice president, five other members O our executive committee, and twelv
 stockmen from different sections c
 the west.
 Our evidence before the commit : tee was intended to prove, and it believed that we were successful i . convincing some of it's members. q .. that some form of federal regulatio
 of the so-called semi-arid ope
 range, along the lines of the Ker
 bill. was indorsed by the great ma jority of stockmen in the grazin . states in the west; CD that tn small stockmen were in favor of tn
 legislation. and particularly those
 the irrigated sections where lher
 were large tracts of range adjacer to irrigated lands; (0 that it woul enable stockmen to conduct lte
 business on more stable basis an
 lat less expense; and 4) that settle ment would be promoted in tt ! semi -arid west, instead of being rt , ; tarded, because of the fact ths !, stockmen, if afforded reasonable orc ]. tection, would develop water on tt semi-arid range. and this togetht with the protection afforded by tt government, would result Gas it hs in the forest reserves) in attractin 7 new settlers and smaller stockmen { use the range.