TWENTIETH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART Vll 647 



In the several other cases involving this question of overcharges in 

 feed accounts, hearings have been held and the evidence is being clas- 

 sified with a view to their disposition when the way has been made clear. 



It is only fair to the large number of commission men who have not 

 followed this practice to say that the number who have is comparatively 

 very small, and we believe that the ultimate purpose of our efforts in this 

 connection has been accomplished and that no substantial profits are 

 being made from this source at the present time. 



We are investigating some cases wherein it appears that there has 

 been some creep in the feed inventory of stock yard companies. That is, 

 it appears that they have sold more bushels of corn and more pounds of 

 hay than they bought. We hope to reach the final completion of those 

 cases before our authority expires. 



The department in all its activities in connection with these cases 

 has conscientiously endeavored to avoid doing anything which might 

 result in an unjust injury to any licensee or any other person, but our 

 line of duty was clear and we have endeavored to follow it without fear 

 or favor. 



Because of the interest which has been manifest, and because some 

 misunderstanding has seemed apparent, I have gone a little more into 

 detail in explaining the procedure which has been followed in these 

 cases than time will permit me to do in cases involving the various 

 other features of our work. Many of these are of no little importance, 

 however, and I will refer briefly to only a few of the most representative 

 ones. Inadequate facilities for handling live stock has been a subject of 

 complaint at numerous stock yards, but the necessary equipment has been 

 provided with reasonable haste wherever and whenever our supervisors 

 found the complaints justified and brought them to the attention of the 

 stock yards officials. New scales, additional pens, sorting alleys, loading 

 and unloading docks, train chutes, and viaducts have been built and the 

 movement of stock within the yards has been expedited thru improved 

 arrangements. A better quality of feed has been furnished, dirty pens 

 have been cleaned and necessary additional men have been employed. 

 Closer check on feed has been made, faster service on terminal railroads 

 has been furnished and numerous other features of stock yard service 

 have been improved. 



At one of the important markets unreasonable delays which were 

 occurring daily in the movement of live stock from the terminal to the 

 stock yards were resulting in great losses to shippers from shrinkage 

 and other obvious results of such delays. Thru the activities of our local 

 supervisor, this difficulty was promptly adjusted and a representative 

 of the Washington oflice of the Bureau of Markets was advised a few 

 weeks later by offi.cials of the live stock exchange that this relief for 

 which they had sought in vain for twenty-five yeras had already resulted 

 in a saving to the live stock industry sufficient to pay the cost of con- 

 ducting this supervision service for a period of one year. 



At another market, a disagreement between the stock yards com- 

 pany and the live stock traders relative to the prices of feed recently re- 

 sulted in serious congestion of feeder stock in the yards, due to a re- 



