THIRTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART IV 173 



of American railroads, since they were first constructed down to the 

 present time, all put together, is not of so great importance — measured 

 by the standard of dollars and cents — as the little problem of whether 

 you shall allow two per cent or ten per cent, for contingencies in estimat- 

 ing the value of a property. The questions of watered stock and high 

 finance are exciting and sensational, but when it comes down to bedrock, 

 the great questions which you have to deal with are not steals and grafts 

 so much as these business questions. I think we are learning that fact 

 more and more as we get further into the discussion of these subjects. 



Last summer there was an advance proposed in the freight rates on 

 butter, poultry and eggs. Ordinarily that would have gone through with- 

 out any trouble. Now you people are interested in that proposition. I 

 have told it to a number of people before, but I have not described it to 

 the organization, and I think that you would be vitally concerned. I 

 asked the dairy and food department about what was the volume of the 

 movement from Iowa to the Atlantic coast, and they told me. I confirmed 

 that by reference to the State Poultry Association, and I found that that 

 one little advance on butter, poultry and eggs, if allowed to go into ef- 

 fect, would cost this state over $360,000 a year. The matter was pre- 

 sented to the official classification committee in New York City by your 

 commerce counsel Judge Henderson, and myself, and the advance was 

 ,not put into effect. I am saying these two things right in the same 

 breath, so as to give the proper impression. I don't want to make the 

 claim that we caused it, that we prevented it going into effect, and yet as 

 a matter of fact, it did not go into effect. That is merely an example of 

 hundreds and hundreds of items that concern us. These questions, these 

 problems that we are dealing with, are subjects that we must approach 

 from a business standpoint, without heat, and at the same time fairly and 

 honestly. I believe that you men out here on these broad western prai- 

 ries, far from the mad mobs and frenzied financiers of the cities — I be- 

 lieve that you men will be the arbiters of the destinies of this nation, and 

 when it comes to the solution of these great questions that are challenging 

 the attention of thinking men of today, that you people will do more than 

 any other body of people towards reaching a fair and just conclusion and 

 determination of those questions to the best interests of our country. I 

 thank you. (Applause.) 



The Toastmaster: The members of this association have always 

 shown a very lively interest in it, and a great many of our friends have 

 shown an interest in it — a great many of the citizens generally who 

 are not especially allied with the agricultural interests have neverthe- 

 less watched our course with considerable interest. And there is an- 

 other class of gentlemen who have apparently kept interested. I refer 

 to cur railroad friends. We have found them whenever we appeared be- 

 fore the state commission or before the Interstate Commerce Commission. 

 If we have gone before a legislative committee, we have found them 

 there. And tonight, for the first time, I think, although that is not our 

 fault, we have some of them with us. And I want to say for the gentle- 

 man whom I am going to introduce now. that while we havp> been on 



