BUREAU OF ANIMAL, INDUSTRY. 223 



Until recently acts of Congress appropriating money for the pur- 

 chase of horses for the army required that they should be purchased 

 by contract from the lowest responsible bidder after advertisement. 

 The specifications of the horse to be delivered under contract are those 

 of a perfect animal, which, of course, is seldom seen. The inspectors 

 and purchasing officers are required to reconcile these specifications 

 with existing conditions, keeping in mind fairness both to the con- 

 tractor and to the Government. This system led to the building up 

 of the class of middlemen who purchased animals from the breeders, 

 presented them for the action of the government inspectors, and sold 

 them at the contract price. Until recently this price ranged from 

 $100 to $150. Considering the large expense to which the contractor 

 would be put, it could not be expected that all of the Government's 

 money would be invested in horseflesh. The result was, considering 

 the profit by the contractor, his expenses, etc., that the price paid 

 by the Government secured for the cavalry a horse worth from $70 

 to $100. Nothing is known of the breeding of these animals further 

 than that they were " probably of such and such breeding." Often 

 the question of breeding was not raised, the principal requisite being 

 that they should give promise of performing the duties expected of 

 them. 



The contract system has tended to discourage the horse breeder of 

 the country, as the money paid him by the contractor, after much 

 haggling, was often very little more than the cost of raising the horse. 

 There has been no incentive for breeders, even in the best naturally 

 endowed sections, to breed the type of horse that the army needs. 



Again, in recent years the demands for heavy draft animals for 

 farming purposes, the high prices that these animals are bringing, 

 the fact that they cost no more to raise, and bring even a higher price 

 although blemished, has had a further bad effect upon the breeding 

 of the desired saddle type. Even before the present high prices of all 

 horses and the higher price of the draft horse existed, the breeding 

 of the type considered best for army purposes received another severe 

 setback by the adoption of electric and cable street railways and the 

 extension of the trolleys. "\Miile not generally appreciated, the best 

 " railroaders," as the horses used for street cars were called in the 

 market, were the verv kind that makes the best cavalrv mount. This 

 horse was desirable for street-car purposes because of his endurance 

 and his willingness to work. 



The contract system received its first serious setback, from the con- 

 tractor's standpoint, when the army, due to the clamor for better 

 mounts, insisted upon a closer compliance with the contract specifica- 

 tions and rejected more of the horses presented by the contractor. 

 The sudden rise in the price of horses further embarrassed the con- 

 tractor, and the added difficulty of obtaining horses to present for 

 inspection caused many of the contractors to fail in their deliveries, 

 made others reluctant to bid, later led to the impossibility of obtaining 

 horses under this system in certain sections, and finally led to au- 

 thority being given by Congress for open-market purchases. This 

 method, while apparently a little more expensive to the Government, 

 had the advantage of eliminating the middleman, giving the breeder 

 all the money which the Government was willing to pay for horses, 

 and giving the Government value received in horseflesh. 



