200 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



stockman, and no benefit to the railroads, and the packer gets all 

 the benefit. 



Mr. Whitenton: It would be very easy, so far as we are con- 

 cerned, to tell our agents, say on Friday, that the orders were about 

 ;.'o many for ]\Ionday morning's market; and I know of no reason 

 why other lines couldn't do the same thing. 



Mr. Drury : There would have to be an understanding between 

 i.'-ie railroads to send in the reports to one headquarters. Fifty-one 

 per cent of the stock that goes into Chicago originates in Iowa, 

 and if the Iowa shipper had a tab on that, it wouldn't hurt the con- 

 sumer any, or the railroads, and it would help the shipper. 



Mr. Whitenton: I will be very glad to take that up with the 

 other lines and see what we can work out of it. 



The President: I hope you w^ill be perfectly free to follow the 

 suggestions that have been made, and that you will take these mat- 

 ters up with your local men; and if you can't reach a satisfactory 

 conclusion, refer them to the officers of your association, and let 

 them take them up with men like Mr. Whitenton and Mr. Hammill, 

 v\iio are men in authority on these railroads, and who can do some- 

 thing for you. 



There was just one suggestion that came to my mind in connec- 

 tion with that complaint that Mr. Oliva presented here, and that 

 was that where Mr. Oliva and his friend made the mistake, in my 

 judgment, was that after those cattle were loaded and billed, they 

 didn't turn them over to the Rock Island Railroad Company. The 

 agent had signed the billing, and if they had simply said to him: 

 ** These cattle are in the hands of the Rock Island, and it is up to 

 you to get them out of here or care for them," that would have 

 been all there was to it; the agent would have got busy and done 

 something. Two hours' work there would have put that car in 

 condition to go on that same train, and if the responsibility had 

 been thrown on that agent, he would have recognized it and those 

 cattle would have been gotten out of there. 



IMr. Oliva: We considered that point also, but my neighbor 

 wanted to go when I went, and there was no possible show appar- 

 ently that he could go that day ; and so he decided to take the cat- 

 tle home and feed them a little longer, because the market didn't 

 «iuit him any too well, anyway. 



The President : Our old friend, Clifford Thorne, is going to give 

 us a talk at this time. As you know, he has been very close to this 



