ELEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART IV. 163 



as is known at the present time, it is only a question of a short 

 time until by modern methods they will have acheived practical 

 control of the market of Buenos Ayres. But so far as their shipping 

 into this country is concerned, I have not seen anything from any- 

 one in a position to know that would lead me to believe that they 

 will be a dangerous factor for some years to come. Iowa espe- 

 cially has a little advantage. It is a big story, and I don't want 

 to take up your time ; but suffice to say that the corn-fed beef — 

 the good stuff of today — must be raised in the future in three 

 states in the Mississippi valley: Illinois, Missouri and Iowa; and 

 I think it is the very greatest opportunity to put on the market 

 the best beef that goes on. It is Iowa's opportunity to feed every 

 bushel of corn that you raise at home, and not ship it out of the 

 country. It is Iowa's opportunity to make a bargain with old 

 Mother Fertility to keep house for the farmers of Iowa from now 

 on, and I think the corn belt people are the ones now to take ad- 

 vantage of that opportunity. There is no relief in the east; there 

 is none in the south ; there is none in the west. We must go to 

 those three states in the Mississippi valley for our good meat in 

 the future. 



Mr. Ryan: Isn't it a fact that those cattle in Argentina get just 

 about as fat on grass as ours? 



Mr. Downing : They get fat on alfalfa — they are putting more 

 of their land in alfalfa — but the grade is not quite as good as the 

 corn-fed. They can probably grow and fatten a grass-fed animal 

 a little cheaper than we can, but they can't get the quality into it. 



Mr. Ryan : Would it be practicable to ship to Fort Dodge, to 

 the packing plant there, so as to compete with the Iowa people? 



Mr. Downing : I don 't think so. 



Mr. Thorne : I understand it has been proposed by some people 

 to take the tariff off of meats and cattle and livestock, and there 

 is no corresponding proposition to take the tariff off of other manu- 

 factured commodities, and we are in the business of manufactur- 

 ing beef. I know that the consumer has great rights that must 

 be considered, but we consume shoes and clothing and other things. 

 I want to ask, not for the purpose of argument, but for informa- 

 tion, what in our judgment would be the effect on the livestock 

 industry if the tariff were taken off of livestock and dressed meats ? 



Mr. Downing : I think the industry would be placed in a rather 

 precarious position, for this reason: If you take the present pro- 

 tection away from it, with the rapid advancement that the pack- 



