TWELFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART IV 127 



Now, just in this connection I wish to call special attention to our ship- 

 per's report blanks, which are gotten out for the purpose of ascertaining 

 what kind of service you get, how fast or how slow they haul you, how 

 many men they crowd into a way-car or caboose, and many other things 

 that you should keep a record of. The officers of your association receive 

 many complaints during the year in regard to poor service and crowded 

 conditions of way-cars, and all such things, and yet only a very small per 

 cent of our members fill out one of these shippers' report blanks when they 

 ship, and mail it to the secretary. It is very difficult for the officers of 

 your association to correct these abuses unless they have something tang- 

 ible to work on. I verily believe that if every member, when he ships live 

 stock to market, would fill out one of these blanks and mail it to Secretary 

 Wallace, so that your officers could go before the railroad people and pre- 

 sent these facts as they exist, that they could be corrected. But if you fail 

 to co-operate in this work, it will be impossible to secure for you the ser- 

 vice and treatment you should have. 



If you forget to take the blank with you, make a note of these things 

 in your little day book, and when you get back home, fill out your report 

 from this diary, and send it in. Keep a supply of these report blanks on 

 hand. You can get them at any time from the secretary. Now, let me 

 urge upon you to send in these reports on every shipment. It is for your 

 benefit, and you will be doing yourself a favor and helping the association 

 by doing this. 



Now, just a word about your troubles when shipping. I often meet 

 members and they tell me about being overcharged in the rate, or they 

 have had trouble with their shipment, in some way. To all such I want to' 

 say, do not wait until you see one of the officers in person, as it may be a 

 long time; but write at once, either to the secretary or president, and 

 state your case, and it will receive prompt attention. The officers are al- 

 ways glad to help you out; but they don't know anything about your 

 troubles unless you write them, so I trust you will feel perfectly free at 

 any time to send in your complaints. 



Now, for the next few minutes let us take a look into the future of the 

 live stock industry of the corn belt : 



In my last two addresses I called your attention to some of the devel 

 opments that were going on in the South American republic in the live 

 stock business. And I believe the time has come when we should view 

 with alarm these developments. Some of our big American packers have 

 already established themselves permanently in the Argentine. They have 

 procured large tracts of grazing lands, and are stocking up their ranches 

 with an improved type of beef cattle, and by the use of thoroughbred sires 

 they will soon produce as good quality beef cattle as are produced here; 

 then they will slaughter these cattle in their own packing houses and ship 

 the dressed meat into this country to compete with our corn-fed beef, for 

 it must be remembered that with their cheap land and cheap labor and 

 feedstuffs, that they can produce beef in that country for a little more 

 than half what it costs here. 



The most alarming move, and I think the one that should especially 

 impress us with the approaching danger, is the Morgan-Rockefeller com- 



