664 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



shipments in transit. The first hog that comes in a dirty car in a heated 

 condition, when water is thrown on it, produces pneumonia and the hog 

 dies. So all of our regional directors were advised that in order to pre- 

 vent losses of live stock due to being shipped in cars that were unclean, 

 that instructions be issued to roads in each region to clean stock cars 

 by or before March 1st of the refuse that has accumulated during the 

 winter months. This instruction was sent generally to the various re- 

 gional directors. 



I want to give you a few figures showing what the decrease was last 

 year in receipts of cars at eleven of the principal primary markets. The 

 decrease was 28,556 cars of stock. Most all of them showed a decrease 

 except on a very few lines, as compared to the years 1918 and 1919. Jan- 

 uary of 1920, in comparison with January, 1919, shows a decrease on nine 

 of the principal markets, of 11,855 cars. All of them showed a decrease 

 except one market, which showed an increase of 473 cars. For the year 

 1919, in comparison with 1918, the receipts of sixty-three markets in the 

 United States totaled 98,066,048 head of live stock. Total shipments were 

 40,756,050 head from the same markets; the stockers and feeders were 

 13,146,228 head; the slaughter were 56,938,681 head. All of the species 

 of live stock showed a decrease except sheep, and they showed a sub- 

 stantial increase of 4,771,423 head, or 21.2 per cent increase. 



Mr. Ames : With reference to double-tracking roads across 

 the state and thereby moving traffic to our markets more readily 

 — I live on the North-Western road, thirty miles from a double- 

 track road. We have at the present time, and for the past num- 

 ber of months, to load our stock at two o'clock in the morning 

 in order to get it on the market the next day. We used to load 

 at eleven o'clock the same morning. Twelve miles west from 

 me on the Great Western, a single-track road, they are iit the 

 present time loading, and have been all through the administra- 

 tion's control, at about ten o'clock in the morning — it's a single- 

 track road. Now, I was wondering if we double-tracked the 

 Great Western road, would that make those fellows load at two 

 o'clock in the morning, just the same as we have to? 



Mr. Harris : I don't know that I know enough about the time 

 tables to intelligently answer your question. Offhand, I would 

 say that during government control a great deal of traffic has 

 been diverted from its usual channel, and, as I stated a while 

 ago, the roads have handled more business and have had less 

 jurisdiction over and less efficiency from labor. I think when 

 we get back to private control and. get started again, you may 

 expect to find better service, but don't expect too much improve- 

 ment for at least two months. 



