FIFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK PART I. 13 



Entirely regulated? No. Let us have a free and untrameled competition 

 at the yards. Let the Commission Men's Association be reorganized and 

 put on a more equitable basis. Let the buying orders come through the 

 natural and usual channels, and all packing plants be compelled to run on 

 an independent basis, and I believe we will see confidence again re- 

 stored to the feeding business of Iowa and peace an- prosperity once more 

 control this, the greatest industry of our State. 



The President: We have some time yet, and the paper is 

 open for discussion. 



C. W. Mills: I would hke to ask Mr. Ames if he considers 

 the quality of beef cattle in the State of Iowa deteriorating? 



Mr. Ames: I take it the gentleman asks with respect to 

 the cattle raised in the State of Iowa. I think it is harder work 

 today, for the feeder to go out through the different counties of 

 the State of Iowa and select well bred, perfect feeders than it 

 was fifteen years ago. I would also state along these lines that 

 a short time ago I received a report from the general manager 

 of the stock yards, giving the number of feeders that had gone 

 out from the different stock yards into the country to feed. I 

 was surprised to find there were about one hundred thirty-five 

 thousand to one hundred fifty thousand cattle less had gone out 

 this fall than had gone out the previous year— that means about 

 one week's run on the different markets of the west — but I will say 

 in opposition to that, that this year was the only year for the last 

 ten, when I, for instance, could go out and get cattle for my 

 feed yard from my neighbors. I think the same thing has 

 occurred in the different parts of the State. This means a great 

 many more than one hundred thirty-five thousand have been put 

 into the feed yard that have not gone into the distributing yards 

 to be counted. 



I will say, unhesitatingly, that the grade of beef cattle raised 

 in the State of Iowa is many per cent less than it was ten or 

 fifteen years ago. 



A Member : To what does Mr. Ames attribute this; what is 

 the cause that cattle of proper grade can not be selected now 

 equal to what they could be fifteen years ago? 



Mr. Ames : I can only express my opinion about these 

 things. One of the reasons, I think, is the high price of land. 

 Perhaps that sounds unreasonable; but I think so. It works in 

 this way : In the last ten years the owners of farms in the State 

 of Iowa have gone to town and they have rented their farms to 

 men who work them for them. Those people have gone into 



