Year: 1875

that the Texan steer suffers most
from his long journey, and The valua-
Bile grade steers from Ohio and Ken
lucky reach their destination in as
good condition as is possible from
the mos, careful handling.


OF 5000 Middle State, Illinois, and
Iowa cattle unloaded at the New
Jersey yards while your Committee
was present. not one lame or bruised
steer was observed. They had
stopped at Cincinnati on their way
from The Middle grazing States 10
New York, and at Chicago and Pitts
burg from the Northwest.


Careful inquiry whether stopping
of,ener would bring tie cattle TO
market IN still better condition elicit
ed divided opini n.


The law now in force requires
animals in transit to be unloaded
every twenty eight hours for rest,
feeding and watering. The practice
is 10 observe the l,w in most in.
stances, but quite often cattle are
shipped from Chicago to New York,
and only stopped once instead of
three times on the route; and it is a
question not Of easy solution which
is the best for the animals. a care.
ful observation of the transport alton
of cattle. sheep. and swine will show
that the bruises inflicted on them are
caused by loading and unloading, and
not while in transit, and also shows
that they principally suffer from fear,
excitement, ard want Of rest instead
Of want Of food. 1t is urged, conse-
quently, by shippers that they get
animals to market with the least
damage when they stop eeldomcst.
We will perhaps have TO look to in
.creased speed in transportation of
cattle from the West to seaboard
cities to lessen the inconvenience to
them and improve the quality of their
meat as an article Of food


1t is worse than useless for Con-
gress to enact laws unless the general
public endorse them. The law re-
quiring unloading every twenty
eight hours is not observed unless it
suits TIE convenience of the shippers.
TO shorten the time would require a
Federal officer specially appointed to
enforce it. Disinterested observers
of the transportation of live stock
assert that more cruelty results from
overlooking than from any other
source. When too many cattle are
crowded into car, they have not
room TO lie down without danger of
being strangled or seriously bruised.
When too many swine or sheep are
put into car there is danger that
the weakest may be smo'hered. The
dead animals sometimes seen at the
wards are killed. in most cases, from
overlooking. The railroad companies
have rules against this, but they
are not always observed.


1t is very evident that live stock
would reach the large cities of the
East in much better condition if bu
half the time was occupied between
The w est and The Eas'. About five
days continuous time is taken to
carry a train from Chicago to New
York.


When the present through lines
shall be able to run trains between
hose cities in one-half of this time,
of freight lines shall be built that
will not consume more than three
days running this distance, the cruel
tv to the animals and damage to
them will have been reduced to the
minimum, whether the animals are
unloaded more than once on the way
or not.


Perhaps the growing practice Of
slaugh'ering the cheap class OF cattle
near their pastures and in Chicago
will ultimately eliminate the most
prominent cause Of complaint from
the subject under consideration. The
profits arising from handling of this
class of cattle are SO small; the dan.
ger from thieves SO grea' the drought
in their winter feeding grounds in
Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, SO
frequent, that it is evident from the
best information obtainable that the
interest in Texas and Cherokee cattle
is declining in their native ranches.
They suffer most on railroads; if j,
were practicable to put them in the
proposed improved cattle car, its ad,
ditional weight, consequent upoE it.
additional length, would put such al
additional tax on their production as
to hasten its comparative discontinu.
ance.


1t may be said that Congress car
exercise the power vested in it by
the Constitution TO prevent a com,
pany owning patent car in genera
use by its authority from charging
exorbitant prices but Congress has
not taken decided action in that di
rection, and the passage Of this act
would be like erecting part of {
superstructure before the foundation
is laid. The results consequent upor
legislation on railways in some of tn,
Western States illustrate the ques


tion under consideration. The States


fixed maximum rates on local ship


ments. The railways observed thes,


rates, but increased the rate of trans


portation on shipments beyond Stat


jurisdiction.


| The result of the State law was, o.


the whole, considerable increase i


the cost of the movement of all stapl


products that find a market at tn


seaboard, while local hauls were, i


most cases, reduced. Had bot


branches Of Congress acted upon tn


question while the States were irwin
the experiment, the result woul