HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



CHAPTER XVII. 



OPPOSITION ENCOUNTERED BY HEREFORD EXHIBITORS, 1877-8-9 



It must be remembered that during the years 

 immediately preceding the first strictly beef 

 show that was inaugurated by the Chicago Fat 

 Stock Show in 1879, the Hereford cattle were 

 handicapped at -the different State and district 

 fairs, by having no class provided for them, 

 or, if there was, small and insignificant pre- 

 miums were offered for them in comparison 

 with those offered for the Shorthorns; and at 

 the best it was a one-sided affair and it was 

 intended to be so. Shorthorn breeders or their 

 friends were made judges in each competition 

 and the programme was made up for them to 

 win. 



We are aware that the charges of manipulat- 

 ing judges for the purpose of carrying any in- 

 terest is quite a serious charge. We would not 

 make it did we not believe it to be true; and 

 with the fullest evidence to support the charge ; 

 or if we believed the practice would be discon- 

 tinued without it. We will not be tedious in 

 bringing up a large number of cases, but will 

 touch on a few of the prominent ones. 



First, we will name what occurred at Ottawa 

 in 1877. The Hereford exhibitors asked for an 

 impartial and able committee when they should 

 come in competition with the Shorthorns. This 

 appeal was made to the president and several 

 of the vice-presidents. It was granted that 

 the Hereford breeders had a right to an impar- 

 tial committee. And it is possible that the su- 

 perintendent had instructions on this point; 

 at any rate, he gave the Hereford exhibitors the 

 assurance that they should have his best en- 

 deavor to get an impartial committee or judges. 

 He advised the Hereford exhibitors that he had 

 finally selected a referee to complete the com- 

 mittee, who he believed would be impartial and 

 competent. That referee was Mr. J. H. Spear, 

 one of the leading Shorthorn men of the State. 

 It is well, however, to state that both the super- 

 intendent and the marshal of the ring who offi- 

 ciously assisted him were and had been promi- 

 nent Shorthorn breeders for years; and the 

 marshal had been the salesman for the Short- 

 horn herds of the entire West. 



Again, at Freeport in 1878, the Hereford ex- 

 hibitors asked of the board that they would take 

 special pains to see that fair and impartial 

 judges should be selected for herd and sweep- 

 stakes premiums, and proposed that President 

 Gilham and ex-President Reynolds should select 

 these judges. This was -agreed to. They were 

 so selected and the Herefords-in the first contest 

 took the first premium. The Shorthorn breed- 

 ers made a row and would not submit their 

 claims to this committee for further contest, 

 whereupon the aforesaid Chief Marshal was 

 delegated to form and select the committee, and 

 did select them in the interest of the Short- 

 horns, when the Hereford exhibitors withdrew 

 from competition. 



Again, at the fat stock show in 1879, when 

 the Herefords and Shorthorns came into com- 

 petition, the Hereford four-year-old steer, be- 

 longing to T. L. Miller, took the first premium 

 over all the breeds. This was the signal for 

 another row, the result of which was a partisan 

 contest. 



We have before called attention to this ex- 

 hibit, and we now repeat some of the figures to 

 show the character of the animals in compe- 

 tition, and the challenge given to dress the bul- 

 locks and cows from the Hereford exhibits 

 against the winning Shorthorn steers. 



Our State Board had for many years, perhaps 

 always, brought all the beef breeds into com- 

 petition at the State Fair until this year they 

 followed the practice of the Northern Ohio, 

 Michigan and other State- societies in excluding 

 competition between breeds. This and other 

 instances positively indicate that when Short- 

 horn breeders cannot control the decisions they 

 use their influence to prevent competition. It 

 is perhaps only another evidence that the Short- 

 horn men had influence enough to say what 

 should be and what should not be at fairs and 

 fat stock shows. 



In the first class of steers in the Chicago Fat 

 Stock Show in 1879, four years old and over, 

 the winning steers were a grade Hereford first 

 and a grade Shorthorn second, the former be- 



