NINTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART III 93 
I have thus briefly tried to point out the road a bill must travel before 
it can become a law. To some it may appear there is a great deal of 
red tape about this process, yet to prevent hasty action, to avoid snap 
judgment in legislation, I believe it is best that bills become laws only 
after careful consideration and this due process of procedure has been 
followed. 
I do not want to be understood to say that meritorious measures are 
often defeated from ulterior motives. They are seldom defeated from such 
motives. A legislator is usually as honest and earnest in doing right as 
other men, but I have been led to believe that some of our members are 
from Missouri and that it is difficult to show them the importance of 
some measures to the stockmen and farmers. 
A large part of the meat producers' troubles are connected with the 
transportation questions. We soon find when we attempt to get legisla- 
tion on transportation that we are likely o come in contact with a clause 
of Section S, Article 1 of the constitution of the United States, by which 
the states delegated to the federal government the power "to regulate 
commerce with foreign nations, among the several states, and with the 
Indian tribes." 
For this reason our association through its officers has been compelled 
to employ an attorney to prepare our case and present it before the Inter- 
state Commerce Commission. For this same reason our association with 
the cattle growers and other associations sent committees to "Washing- 
ton to urge the passage of the rate law as recommended by the President 
three years ago. 
Had it not been for these powerful western organizations it would 
hardly have been possible to pass this rate law which put to death all 
forms of rebate, whether through private car lines, independent sidings. 
or otherwise. 
In the Thirty-third General Assembly there will be eight farmers in the 
Senate and forty-eight classed as farmers in the House. A total of fifty- 
six, or over one-third of the members of the next assembly of Iowa are 
farmers. The question which naturally arises is, with this large number 
of farmers will the commercial and other business interests of Iowa re- 
ceive due consideration? I do not hesitate to answer in the affirmative. 
My. experience has taught me that there are no members of the legisla- 
ture who more earnestly, intelligently and faithfully guard the educa- 
tional, commercial and business interests of the state than the farmer 
members. They have as broad and intelligent views on schools, transpor- 
tation, commission form of city government and other measures and are 
experts on agricultural questions besides. 
The interests and welfare of all classes in Iowa are so closely inter- 
woven that neither can rise nor fall without injury to all other classes. 
We are all thoroughly interested in doing what we can to improve the 
conditions of life in our state. We are all working for better schools, 
better roads, better transportation facilities, better markets, better wages. 
To build up our towns and cities and to improve our homes. 
A speaker at the Dairy Convention at Waterloo, a few days ago, made a 
strong plea for smaller farms, and more intensive farming. 
