538 



HISTORY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



good of the Hereford breed, for in the main no 

 one can gainsay the fact that the Hereford As- 

 sociation has done a great deal of good, but ii 

 might have done and can do more, for this 

 power unwittingly invested in the Secretary, 

 who is the employee of the Executive Commit- 

 tee, has also been abused, to the detriment of 

 the Association's best interests. Note the case 

 which we have introduced, viz., that of ex-Presi- 

 dent Smith, for the death of Mr. Henry left 

 Mr. Smith to work out these desirable results 

 alone. Neither Mr. Smith nor Mr. Henry de- 

 sired to make public the condition of the As- 

 sociation's office, preferring that the necessary 

 changes be made without the knowledge of the 

 general public, or even of any large number 

 of members of the Association, .and they were 

 so made. Much that was thus secretly sug- 

 gested by Messrs. Henry and Smith was as se- 

 cretly adopted in the Hereford office. But nev- 

 ertheless those who made the suggestions in- 

 curred the bitterest enmity of those who adopted 

 those suggestions, and here lies the point that 

 we wish to make, and we trust that it will not 

 be lost in the coming and yet more prosperous 

 years of the society. Let no one deceive him- 

 self; the open, boldly honest way may be the 

 unpleasant way, but it is the only sensible, safe 

 and enduring way. 



Ex-President Smith and Mr. Henry made 

 their suggestions, as we have said, quietly and 

 in good faith as true friends of the Association's 

 officers, and not in the slightest sense as their 

 enemies. They made their suggestions in the 

 truest interest of those officers of the Hereford 

 breeders and the Hereford breed. They partic- 

 ularly wanted the officers, to whom the sugges- 

 tions were made, continued in office; because 

 they had always had faith in the honesty of 

 those officers and because they wanted no hint 

 of fraud or irregularity to get before the public 

 or even before the Association itself, and thus 

 important changes were made in the system and 

 finances of the American Hereford Cattle 

 Breeders' Association, diplomatically and with- 

 out those who so thoroughly deserved it being 

 publicly criticized. Mr. Henry, unfortunately 

 for the Hereford breed, died at Kansas City, 

 where he went to attend and put life (as none 

 but he could) into a public sale of Herefords, 

 and the resentment of the Treasurer and Sec- 

 retary and their associates did not affect him. 

 Ex- President Smith, therefore, came in for the 

 brunt of their hatred. How they have been 

 wreaking their spite upon Mr. Smith can best 

 be judged by others. We have been too far 

 from the scene of leading Hereford operations 

 to discuss this, but we have been creditably in- 



formed that the spite has been exhibited in 

 every possible way, and with most virulent 

 venom. 



The American Hereford Cattle Breeders' As- 

 sociation has never had a thorough or proper 

 investigation and auditing of its accounts by 

 an expert accountant since its organization, 

 though we are advised that the Shorthorn As- 

 sociation has of late years had an expert ac- 

 countant, appointed by an outside and 

 unquestioned authority, namely, the First Na- 

 tional Bank of Chicago, which duly appointed 

 expert having at his first investigation gone to 

 the very beginning of the Association's accounts 

 has, to this sound foundation, annually there- 

 after added each succeeding year's accounts. 

 Here is the one lone instance which we can copy 

 with profit from our friends of the Shorthorn 

 camp. 



In discussing this matter we have referred to 

 a point which we wish to illustrate, and this 

 point is illustrated throughout the entire his- 

 tory of our work, as well as throughout the 

 history of our predecessor, the Hereford cham- 

 pion, W. H. Sotham. This point is the fact 

 that open war in the end produces greater, 

 more lasting, and more beneficent results than 

 any subtle scheme of diplomacy. Messrs. Smith 

 and Henry accomplished great good quietly by 

 diplomacy, but the result of that diplomacy, 

 while beneficial to the Hereford Association, 

 has been pointed to as the beneficent work of 

 officers who would not inaugurate reforms of 

 their own motion, but who were actually com- 

 pelled by the force of circumstances to bring 

 about this result; while at the same time, those 

 officers have used their offices and their personal 

 influence as far as possible to harm the diplo- 

 mat. Verily, diplomacy will react, for there is 

 no enemy like the one that poses as your friend ; 

 we ever preferred an open foe. 



Here at last let me make the main point, 

 which this entire matter is intended to bring 

 out: Let the Association create wider and 

 freer councils and broaden the scope of its 

 work; let the annual meetings of the Hereford 

 Association be of such interest as will bring 

 out the largest attendance. Let the program be 

 filled with discussions that will benefit every 

 participant in the meeting. Let it be assumed 

 that more than one, or three members, have wis- 

 dom and brains. Let these meetings discuss 

 openly, frankly and with spirit every matter of 

 interest appertaining to the good of the Here- 

 ford breed and the beef interest. Change the 

 constitution and by-laws at once, that sugges- 

 tions may be made and publicly discussed, that 

 no individual need suffer for doing a good to 



