The Coconino sun., 1919-03-07
LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION
 NOT KEEPING PACE WITH
 POPULATION SAYSHOUSTON

, in the department of the interior. Or even, the latter department might keep title and apply to the public lands grazing regulations similar to those enforced by the department of agriculture in the forests. The reason assigned is not pertinent and can not be controlling. All the reasons are against the proposal The control of grazing should not follow the location of land title. It should follow the To- cation of expert agricultural knowl- edge and successful experience. Graz ing is an agricultural problem and should be handled by agricultural ex- perts. Land lawyers can handle and should continue to handle land titles, but do not believe that they can or should handle livestock problems. Would it not be little singular to transfer regulated grazing from the depa tment which has favored it from the beginning, made a success of it, and demonstrated it's value to one which has had no experience with it and no facilities for controlling it?
 Departments Work in Forests.
 Grazing is not the only agricultu- ral activity in the national forests. There are others. There, are problems of reforestation and of insect, game, and predatory animal control. The services of a number of bureaus of the department of agriculture are con- stantly and increasingly required, such as forestry, animal industry, entomol- ogy, biology, and markets. Forestry problems are mainly agricultural problems. Why, this meeting has seemed to me to be sort of a con- ference of the department of agricul- ture. A considerable part of the speech, of your president dealt with the department of agriculture. Most of your speakers yesterday and today have been drawn from its staff. l have no personal interest in this ma ter. It would save me a great deal of troble if l had nothing to do with it; and, after few years, at most, l shall not have anything to do with it; but l am interested in the merits of this question and in seeing it properly handled. l repeat that grazing, the handling of livestock, the control of predatory animals, of poisonous weeds, of reforestation, of marketing, are all agricultural problems and the de- partment of the interior could not properly deal with them unless it took over the department of agriculture or buft up duplicate of it.
 Should Regulate StOckyards.
 There are parts of our marketing arrangement in which you are and have been deeply interested. I refer to the stockyards and the packing houses. Two years ago l expressed my views before this body on the necessity of controlling these agen- cies. l have been convinced for many years that the government should reg ulate them. l have really got beyond the point of seeing the necessity for further argument. Not only you, but all the people of the nation, are in tensely interested in what happens in the stock yards and the great pack ing houses. Their operations affect every man, woman and child in this nation. These establishments, as the lawyer would say, are largely affect ed with public interest. do not know what percentage would express the public interest, but it would not fall very short of 100 per cent. The people of this nation are not willing to let a few men have an absolute determina- ton of what happens to the livestock of the nation from the time plans are made for its production on the farm until it reaches the consumer. There is too much at stake. The fortunes of too many people are involved. Of course, those in control of the packing houses and the stock yards say that everything is just right. As Senator Kendrick says, they admit it. They have admitted it to me. They even spend great sums of money in the newspapers making admission of it. One of the chief representatives of the packers told me several years ago the whole business was as clean as a hounds tooth and that there was nothing to be apprehensive about. I replied that, unfortunately, the people