SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VIII 473 



the authorities discovered a consignment of cattle suffering from an ail- 

 ment presenting marked symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease. 



Consternation prevailed in stock circles. Quarantine rules and regula- 

 tions were dragged forth and furbished in readiness for instant use. 

 Orders went forth to hold all shipments of stock for the show pending 

 further investigation. 



For a week or more calamity hovered over the land, threatening a rep- 

 etition of the disaster that wiped out the shows of 1914 and 1915. To 

 the unspeakable relief of the country it proved to be a false alarm. 

 Restraining orders were countermanded, stock shipments went forward 

 and once more the International Stock Show bloomed in all its old-time 

 glory and grandeur. 



The Iowa draft horse attended the show in a body, so to speak, and 

 he mowed a swath that was the talk of the town. In times past it has 

 been customary for Iowa horse breeders to exhibit on the every-man-for- 

 himself plan. Nothing in the way of organized effort and team work 

 had ever been attempted. But this year a new idea was worked out, 

 a very admirable idea that served to center public interest upon Iowa 

 and Iowa affairs. 



One entire barn was reserved and filled from front to rear with Iowa 

 horses, making of it a distinctly Iowa exhibit, separate and apart from 

 all others. It eliminated the necessity of chasing up and down and 

 back and forth from Dan to Beersheba to locate exhibits from the Hawk- 

 eye state, and it impressed the visitor to the International more than 

 ever before of Iowa's prominence in stock-breeding circles. Iowa claims 

 to lead all other states in the production of choice draft horses, and this 

 effective bit of team work in the fora? of a com'Dined exhibit was con- 

 vincing evidence of the truth and accuracy of the claim. The idea found 

 birth in the brain of Mr. G. E. O'Brien, secretary of the Iowa Draft 

 Horse Breeders' Association, and a very large share of the successful 

 working out of the plan and the favora'ole impression created by the 

 exhibit is due to his earnest work in connection with it. 



A very tasty decorative scheme in blue and white was carried out 

 through the entire stable. A huge banner stretched across the front 

 of the barn proclaimed the headquarters of the Iowa draft horse and 

 listed the names of the breeders whose animals made up the exhibit. 

 The impression created on the thousands of visitors from all parts of 

 the country was marked, and from early in the day till long after the 

 electrics had been turned on, the Iowa barn was the center of an ad- 

 miring throng. It was a distinct innovation and doubtless presages the 

 dawn of a new era in stock showing at fairs and expositions. 



The showing is the final arbiter. Men may differ concerning the good 

 points and qualities of an animal, but after the judges have considered 

 the merits and sifted the claims of the various aspirants, and distributed 

 the favors that betoken the highest excellence, the public ratifies the de- 

 cision by cheerful acquiescence. And in the world of fairs and exposi- 

 tions the International, coming as it does at the close of the year, is con- 

 sidered by stockmen as the last high court of appeals. Consequently Its 



