Thirteenth annual year book— part iv 191 



Will Drury, Early : Now that you are out in this state, perma- 

 nently I hope, I would like, for the benefit of the stockmen out of 

 Sioux City, to have the weights of the stock changed from Sioux 

 City out. There is no man who buys cattle in the stock yards of 

 the west who doesn't get anywhere from 50 to 100 pounds fill. At 

 the stockyards at Sioux City, the railroad company takes the buy- 

 ing w^eight of stock cattle and subtracts 300 or 500 pounds, and 

 charges freight to the shipper on that weight — when, as a matter 

 of fact, it is anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds more than he 

 should pay for. I bought a load there in November. I thought I 

 knew my business pretty well, but the fellow that billed them knew 

 more than I did. I weighed them about noon, and they were not 

 shipped out until that night. When I got my bill, I think there 

 was 300 or 500 pounds subtracted, and just to see what I had been 

 paying for, I reweighed the cattle, and I can make an affidavit — 

 I have the figures with me — that the shrink on those cattle was 

 seventy-seven pounds to the head. There were twenty-six cattle in 

 the car, and the excess of freight was right around 1,500 pounds. 



Mr. Hammill : As I understand it, that stock came in from some 

 northern point to the market. You bought the stock and wanted to 

 ship it to Sac City. You are billed out w^ith the receiving weight 

 minus so many hundred pounds, and your theory is that the stock 

 should be weighed before it is shipped out ? 



Mr. Drury : Yes, or take the sworn statement as to the weights 

 at destination. 



Mr. Hammill : That is a matter that I would not care to reply 

 to offhand; but I will give it proper consideration with the traffic 

 department. 



The President: We will now hear from Mr. W. M. Whitenton, 

 general manager of the Rock Island. 



Mr. President and Gentlemen: I have not come prepared for any 

 particular discussion. I didn't know that I would be called on. In 

 fact, Mr. Wallace only yesterday invited me to come over to listen to 

 Mr. Hammill's talk, and I was very glad to do so. However, I am 

 very much pleased to be here, and to meet you gentlemen, representing 

 one of the greatest industries in this state; and as a representative of 

 one of the state's transportation lines, I want to say to you that I am 

 very much interested in the transportation of live stock. The interests 

 of the railroads, the stockmen and the farmers are mutual; there are no 

 insurmountable barriers between us. The trouble is, as I view it, that 

 we don't know each other. The railroad man assumes that he knows 

 all about your business, and just how you ought to conduct it, and he 



