REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE, 37 



I plan to attach the editorial and distribution work direct to the 

 Secretary's office, and have asked Congress in this year's Budget to 

 provide for a new position of an assistant in charge of the editorial 

 office, with a salar}' sufficiently large to attract a capable man for 

 this important work. It is the plan to place him in charge of all 

 the editorial work. During the past year we have given particular 

 attention to the statistical accuracy of the Department Bulletins. 

 The duties of the assistant in charge of editorial office would include 

 this supervision. 



PACKERS AND STOCKYARDS ACT. 



The packers and stockyards act, which provides for Government 

 supervision, through the Secretary of Agriculture, of meat packers,, 

 of stockyards, and of stockyards agencies, such as live-stock commis- 

 sion merchants, was enacted in August, 1921. The constitutionality 

 of the act was attacked in the courts and the setting up of the 

 organization necessary to carry out the provisions of the act was 

 therefore delayed. Its constitutionality was fully upheld by the 

 Supreme Court of the United States in May, 1922. 



The packers were subject to the act immediately upon its passage,, 

 and no registration or other special formality was necessary. A 

 survey of the stockyards resulted in finding 78 of such yards in 70 

 cities in 35 States to be subject to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of 

 Agriculture, and these stockyards have been formally posted as 

 required by law; 1,075 market agencies and 3,436 dealers at these 

 markets are registered under the law, and the schedules of rates and 

 charges of the stockyard companies and commission men have been 

 published and filed. Resident market supervisors have been assigned 

 to 19 of the stockyard markets, and these supervisors have been given 

 jurisdiction over the remaining markets which were not considered 

 sufficiently large to justify resident supervisors. General rules and 

 regulations governing stockyards and market agencies and dealers 

 have been adopted and put into effect. 



The various agencies which come under the provisions of the act 

 have shown a disposition to cooperate in its enforcement, and this 

 has made it possible to correct many practices through conference 

 and without formal proceedings. Through such conference the use 

 of butter packages containing less than pounds and even fractions of 

 pounds has been discontinued and the principle of standardization 



