TWELFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART IV 173 



wouldn't pay up what I owe it for what it has done for me." 

 He happened to be in Chicago with a shipment of cattle when 

 that water deal was on there, and I was there w'orking on the 

 change from the sewerage water to the lake water. He found 

 out the kind of shrinks he was getting, and it convinced him that 

 there was something to it. We have a few^ men scattered around 

 over the state who have given us $10 pledges, but of course 

 those are exceptional cases, and the bulk of our membership of 

 the stockmen who have been solicited have, without any hesita- 

 tion, pledged themselves to give $5 a year. I will say for your 

 encouragement that in every instance W'here we have gone out 

 and solicited the farmers and stockmen, we have not only gotten 

 our membership back into line, but I think I will be safe in say- 

 ing that we have practically always increased the membership 

 over what it was under the old system. 



Right in this connection 1 wish to say that the board passed 

 a resolution that if this organization is built up to a point where 

 this money is not all needed to meet the expenses of the associa^ 

 tion, they will collect only such percent of the total amount 

 ])ledged as is necessary to carry on the work. 



AVhoever is president of your association during the coming 

 year should get into a number of counties that you men represent 

 where these canvasses have not been made. As I said in my ad- 

 dress, this is tlie only plan that has saved your organization. 

 It is a serious ciuestion in my mind whether or not you would 

 have had an annual meeting in 1911 if this association had con- 

 tinued under the old system. The local men were discouraged 

 because the farmers were not paying their dues, and they didn't 

 have the heart to go after them. There was no money coming in, 

 and w^e couldn't pay Mr. Thorne for his work or enter a protest 

 in any rate advance, or anything of that kind, because we didn't 

 know w^hether w^e w'ould have money to employ men to tight those 

 cases. And so it was simply up to the board to change the sys- 

 tem or dissolve the organization. 



]\Ir. Arney : Do you know how^ many counties in the state are 

 unrepresented ? 



President Sykes : The secretary says we have over sixty rep- 

 resented. 



Mr. Arney: That would be about forty counties. Isn't some- 

 one getting those counties interested? 



