Pueblo chieftain., 1921-02-03
THE WORRIED CATTlEMEN

business with a bank COOK and a good
mcmcory. In fact on the big ranches
the accounting system Is as thoro as
in any other business. To add 10 the
present problems, cattle cannot hH
transferred from one section OF tho
cattle country TO another when feed is
short, as in the old days. The present
type OF grade cattle cannot be sent
over the long drives ot several hun
drcd miles, and the advance in rail-
road rates. makes shipping the grow
ing cattle n poor Investment. So the
stockmau buys feed and oil cake TO
keep his stock alive during tho
drouEhts and bad weather. fills their
hides as tight as he can and hopes for
the best. For this Is the business OF
hope. There is no other Just like it.
A Guarantee Fund
Tho California cattlcmcn have an.
association which aims TO stabiliz"
prices so far as tho producer is con-
ccrnod. They have created \ guar
auteo fund OF a quarter OF a million
dollars and have ~ committee to mako
a classification or livestock, instruct
tho marketing OF certain grades at spc-
Ciued times, and fix n minimum price
to be received for them. II tho sctuall
sale is made Tor less, the difference Is
paid to the producer from the guar
antec fund. II hc receives more than
the guarantee. he pays onc-half OF tho
excess into tho fund and retains tho
other half. Tho main object is to-
keep the stock moving i'm a regulated
way so as 10 avoid sluttcd markets.
and TO get reasonable price for the
grower. Meanwhile there is con-
stant campaign within the association
for growing only the very best grades
and bringing thcm to market in tho
most salahlc condition This seems 10
be about what tho organized fruit
growers have been doing 30 success.
fully FOR years.
Claim oil DispIaces Meat
The cattlomcn ask urgently for the
protection OF a tariff against foreign
meat cattle and dressed meats. Tho
claim Is made that the people OF Eu-
rope havO become consumers ok veg
otablc oils in the place Of meats, and
that they are therefore not In the mar
kc' FOR meats TO any extent. nor VIII
rfTTy be in the future. That leaves the
United States the largest consumer
market now open, and brings to this
country tho surplus cattle and meats
ot all other producing countries. Tho
cattlcman wants this competition head
cd off by suff tariff There are moro
cattle in tho Argentine than in tho
United States, and the cost of raising
there and in Mexico is trihc com
pared with the same operation in this
country. The rich lands OF Canada
sent us nearly half "a million head last
year that should normally have gone
TO Europe. Perhaps lack OF money in
Europe had moro to do with it than
vegetable oils
The cattlemcn want tho government
TO regulate tho packers tho stockyards.
tho commission men and tho traders.
They want the railroads to be regu-
lated and tho rates substantially re-
duccd And to these are added a SER
les OF requests for the government 10
function In way that will make the
production and distribution OF tho meat
products go forward with considerably
less rakc-off on the route to the con-
sumer than al present
Like all other Americans, the cattle
man believes that almost anything
short OF tho miraculous can be brought
To pass by law and government. But
laws have not helped him much in tho
past and perhaps he has "A faint sus-
ptcion that the law helps those who
help themselves. Hence, while root
ing for "a tariff law, he considers also
the adviSahility of establishing n meat
market and selling the meat he raises
TO tho fellow who is going to cat 1t.