NINETEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VII 421 



ADDRESS BY THE HON. CLIFFORD THORNE. 



You must pardon such remarks as those of Mr. Sykes; you know folks 

 are generally proud of their babies. 



This is a day of revolutionary changes in government and in industry. 

 We have been applying the acid test to matters of all kinds. That man who 

 has failed to ask whether this is worth while in his life, and whether that 

 method is the most efficient to accomplish results that he has tried to get, 

 has failed to be in harmony with the spirit of the times. 



Various industries have been trying to rid themselves of those things 

 that were superfluous, and get down to the very best in their lines. In 

 the live stock industry, you are concerned with three great tasks: First, 

 the improvement in the efficiency of production; second, the transporta- 

 tion of your products to market; third, the sale of these products. 



Each one of these departments of your work demands great thought 

 to suggest anything to you in regard to the improvement in efficiency of 

 and careful scrutiny by the very ablest of you men, and I can not pretend 

 to suggest anything to you in regard to the improvement in efficiency of 

 production. That is entirely outside of my sphere of action. 



In regard to the sale of your products, it seems to me that we as a 

 group have been exceedingly inefficient. Generally people know what 

 they are going to get for an article before they lose control over it. 

 Theoretically, you may still have control of your live stock when it gets 

 to Chicago; but actually, with the high cost of transportation involved, 

 you are practically helpless, and you do not know in advance what you 

 are going to get. Some method, somehow, must be devised to change that 

 situation. I have not the answer to the conundrum, but believe that is 

 the central issue — how you can effectively get a price on your product 

 before you lose control over it. 



At the present time, we have an investigation before some congres- 

 sional committees, as to the Chicago packers. The Federal Trade Com- 

 mission has made an extended investigation. The methods of operation 

 of these companies illustrates in a magnificent manner what the big in- 

 dustries of the country are doing. They have the closest sort of co-opera- 

 tion among themselves. They employ the very ablest and most efficient 

 help they can secure along all lines. You cannot blame them that far. 

 When they go a step farther and impose burdens on the live stock in- 

 dustry, then they must be subject to punishment. I don't know what the 

 proper legislation should be. I am in favor of throwing the broad search- 

 light of publicity on all their acts, and then find out if there isn't some 

 practical manner in which the producer can protect himself and his inter- 

 ests, just as the Chicago packer protects his interests. 



Two years ago I went to Chicago. The particular occasion for my 

 going there was the National Live Stock Shippers' League, the Corn Belt 

 Meat Producers' Association, and other live stock interests had an inves- 

 tigation before the Interstate Commerce Commission in regard to rules 

 and regulations and rates on transportation of live stock throughout the 

 United States. At that time I had this vision in my mind: I was in 

 hopes that I could gather around me a force of traffic experts and assist- 



