496 



HISTOKY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



nizing the difficulty surrounding the appoint- 

 ment of awarding committees, and prescribing 

 rules to govern their action while serving as 

 such, he respectfully referred the subject to the 

 careful consideration of the Board, when revis- 

 ing their list of premiums in the live stock de- 

 partment. 



The published premium list shows that the 

 Board increased the premiums on Shorthorn 

 heifers and cows 27 per cent, leaving the Here- 

 ford classification as before. The awarding 

 committees on herd and sweepstakes premiums 

 were so composed that Herefords had no con- 

 sideration at their hands. A member of one of 

 these committees said that a majority of the 

 committee would not consider the Herefords. 



In 1874, Shorthorns and Herefords, in class 

 premiums, exhibited on an even classification 

 as to premiums. 



At the organization of the Board in January, 

 1875, Mr. D. B. Gillham, president, in his in- 

 augural address, on assuming the duties of the 

 office, says: "It is a noteworthy fact that from 

 the magnitude of the exhibitions of the Short- 

 horn element in class A, Cattle Department, 

 and the peculiar circumstances surrounding it, 

 the general participation by the people in it, 

 and the interest manifested by all, that our 

 present system of selecting awarding commit- 

 tees fails to render the satisfaction so desirable 

 by the Board, to either their exhibitors or the 

 public. It may be well to effect some change 

 in regard to that department. In calling your 

 attention to the matter, gentlemen, I will leave 

 you to suggest the plan and to act in the prem- 

 ises as your better judgment may direct/' The 

 records show that at this fair the Board had ad- 

 vanced the class premiums on Shorthorns about 

 70 per cent, and reduced the Herefords some- 

 thing like 15 per cent. 



For the fair of 1876, the Board reduced the 

 class premiums for Shorthorns to the same 

 amount as in 1874, taking off the increase of 

 70 per cent made in 1875, still leaving the 

 Herefords with their reduction of 15 per cent, 

 or 50 per cent less than the Shorthorns. Hav- 

 ing been subject up to this time to the decisions 

 of Shorthorn judges in the herd and sweep- 

 stakes competition, we made a special effort to 

 have this feature of the awarding committees 

 corrected and to this end we made a special 

 application to President Gillham, that the 

 awarding committees for this competition 

 should be selected from impartial and intelli- 

 gent men. We also made a special request of 

 President Scott to the same end. Our right 

 to such committees was freely conceded. Mr. 

 W. J. Neely, who was the superintendent of the 



cattle department, was also appealed to, and 

 his first committee was five Shorthorn men, 

 composed of James Mix, H. M. Winslow, of 

 Ixankakee; J. E. Shaver, of Ottawa; John 

 Brown, of Galena, and J. L. Moore, of Polo. 

 Protesting informally, Mr. Neely undertook 

 (according to his statement) to get an im- 

 partial committee and professed to find a good 

 deal of difficulty in doing so, and was obliged 

 to get the assistance of Col. Judy to aid in 

 selecting and completing the committee, and 

 J. H. Spear, of Tallula, the townsman of Col. 

 Judy, and one of the prominent and winning 

 Shorthorn breeders at previous fairs, was se- 

 lected to hold the balance of power in this new 

 committee. 



In coming to the fair of 1877, the Herefords 

 came on an even classification, the Shorthorn 

 premiums in classes having been reduced about 

 15 per cent, and the Hereford increased some- 

 thing over 20 per cent. The Hon. Samuel 

 Dysart had been chosen superintendent of the 

 cattle department, and for the first time in the 

 herd and sweepstakes competition the awarding 

 committee were selected with a view to make 

 the awards upon the merits of the cattle ex- 

 hibited. 



In 1878 the two breeds in class premiums 

 stood upon an even basis. When approaching 

 the competition between Herefords and Short- 

 horns, for herd and sweepstakes premiums 

 (Mr. Dysart then being absent in Europe), we 

 said to Mr. Cobb, of Kankakee, that Herefords 

 were entitled to fair and impartial committees, 

 which he admitted. We proposed to him that 

 President Gillham and ex-President Keynolds 

 be requested to choose the awarding committees 

 for this competition. He said, "That was right, 

 and he would see that such an arrangement was 

 carried out." The committee was selected by 

 these gentlemen, and the Herefords won the 

 first premium for the best five cattle, male or 

 female, in the show, the get of one bull, the sire 

 to be shown with the herd. Officers of the 

 society attached to the Shorthorn cattle interest 

 of the country, then took charge of the selection 

 of the judges, and selected them in the interest 

 of the Shorthorn exhibitors. So clear and un- 

 mistakable was the partisan character of this 

 work that the Board changed the manner of 

 selecting judges for the fair of 1879, when the 

 Board was organized, with Col. J. W. Scott, 

 as president. 



In his inaugural address President Scott 

 said: "It is needless for me to call attention 

 to the magnitude of the interest involved in an 

 effort to promote the advancement of agricul- 

 ture, horticulture, manufactures, and the do- 



