ELEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VII 373 



would have to have an office maintained here and this secretary would 

 tabulate all the information necessary. The township organizations would 

 have their meetings at stated intervals and report to the local secretary, 

 say the number of pigs farrowed. Later on they would report the number 

 of pigs saved; then the number raised. This would all be sent in to 

 the state secretary. He would tabulate it for the wiiole state. The result 

 would be that instead of going and asking our buyer what we should 

 take for our hogs, or how the production was, etc., we would have that 

 knowledge ourselves and it would be accurate. The state secretary would 

 notify every township that there were so many hogs this year and so 

 many hogs last year; the price last year was so much on the number of 

 hogs raised in Iowa — according to the demand and supply the price 

 should be so much this year. That would give us an intelligent idea of 

 our business. We would know about what we should have, and we could 

 go to our buyer and say, when you pay us so much you get our hogs 

 and when you don't you don't, instead of taking just what they give us. 

 We are entirely at the mercy of the packer. The packer tells us always 

 what he will give us. We never say w r hat we shall have. 



This was my idea. Of course some will say it is carrying it a little 

 far, yet I want to tell you that we have to come to a more concerted 

 and united interest in our business and if w r e don't make the effort 

 we will never realize the results. I merely mention this matter, as all 

 things have to start somewhere. We have started things here with no 

 larger attendance than we have tonight and by active work and con- 

 certed action we have brought them to a successful climax. We would 

 have to maintain this state secretary here on salary. That is true, but 

 what would that amount to to all the swine breeders in Iowa? It 

 wouldn't amount to fifty cents a year. The grain men maintain just 

 such an organization on just such principles. They have their state 

 secretary on a salary and they gather this information together and send 

 it in to him and he sends back to them just what the conditions are. 

 They know exactly what they are doing but the farmer is in the dark. 

 My idea is for the farmer to put himself in a position so that he can 

 manage his own business." 



Dr. Hammer, Des Moines: If there is anything that the farm- 

 ers and stock raisers need in this country it is organization. The 

 threshing machine mien get together once a year to decide different 

 questions, and almost everybody else except the farmer and if the 

 farmers had a solid organization like the other men have they could 

 have just whatever they want because they are the first men next 

 to the soil. I hope what Mr. McTavish has said will be the start 

 of an organization. The time is ripe for it. I would like to see a 

 committee appointed tonight of men who have the push to inves- 

 tigate this thing and get it organized and write to some man in 

 each county to get it started. You have to do it. Just as long as 

 you don't they will rub your nose in the dirt, because everybody 



