NINETEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VII 383 



tended by the Food Administration. However, the mistakes of the past 

 have been largely overcome. The farmers have accepted their losses 

 with a fairly good grace. The thirteen-to-one plan has been abandoned, 

 and we hope that during the balance of the year you may receive re- 

 munerative prices for your hogs. 



I wish here to give you some information in regard to the live stock 

 claim situation which I have been working on since last July. While in 

 Washington in August, I took up this matter with the Railroad Adminis- 

 tration and Senator Cummins. Senator Cummins advised us that in his 

 opinion the liability of the carriers had in no way been changed or dimin- 

 ished on account of government operation and control; and advised bring- 

 ing suit on a number of these claims at the same time, and testing them 

 out in the courts, as he felt sure the courts would sustain the claims as 

 they have in the past. 



At the Railroad Administration we were informed that a special 

 claims department had- been established, and J. H. Howard appointed 

 chief of that department. So we proceeded to take up the matter with 

 Mr. Howard, and was informed that he was just organizing his depart- 

 ment, and that he was going to appoint a committee consisting of six 

 claim agents of the railroads and six representatives of the live stock in- 

 terests, to sit together and work out a set of rules as nearly uniform as 

 possible for the submission and payment of these claims. I have had the 

 matter up with Mr. Howard both thru correspondence and by personal 

 calls at different times since the August meeting, and so far as I am in- 

 formed little progress has been made in the working out of any rules 

 or the consideration of any live stock claims. As I understand it, there 

 was a tacit arrangement between your attorney, Mr. Thorne, and Mr. 

 Howard, to the effect that Mr. J. H. Mercer, president of the National Live 

 Stock Shippers' League, should appoint the committee representing the 

 live stock interests, and Mr. Mercer was informed of this arrangement, 

 and, acting on this information, appointed the committee, one member 

 of which was the president of your association. This appointment was 

 made early in December, and Mr. Howard was appraised of the same, but 

 up to the present, so far as I am informed, the committee has never been 

 called together. And I feel that during your present session here, some 

 very pointed resolutions covering this whole matter should be passed. In 

 the meantime, we have been advising our members everywhere to file 

 their claims for damages the same as they did prior to government opera- 

 tion, as we feel that eventually these claims must be settled. 



Another important matter which has demanded the attention of your 

 association for some time is an attempt to try to improve the live stock 

 train service to Chicago. During the summer and fall most Iowa points 

 only had two days each week on which they could ship stock to Chicago 

 without having it unloaded at the Mississippi river, for rest and feed. It 

 is needless to say that this condition was very unsatisfactory to the farm- 

 ers, and necessitated the shipping of a lot of stock to the river markets, 

 which was mostly sold to speculators and re-shipped to Chicago. The 

 bulk of stock so handled usually meant a big loss to the farmers, besides 



