8 BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. 



to impress it upon people that that Bureau must have au- 

 thority put into its hands to stamp out the disease, and funds 

 large enough to do it. He asked for a much larger sum than 

 was granted. There were men at the meeting who thought 

 that a great many million dollars would be required, and 

 there were others who believed that, if it was taken hold of 

 immediately, the whole country could be cleared in a com- 

 paratively small time and at a comparatively small cost com- 

 pared with the expense which has been incurred in Europe, 

 where they have had the disease for a great many years. 

 Doctors, however, differ in opinion in regard to the proba- 

 bilities of the future of that disease. Some think it is 

 already too widely disseminated, others think it is not. 

 That is to be learned by experience. 



Mr. Ware. I would like to inquire if the cause of the 

 stock-yards people wishing the abolishment of the Bureau of 

 Animal Industry was because they had taken action upon 

 the matter? That is what I infer. 



Mr. Cheever. My feeling is, that as they had fought 

 them last winter, they did not want to recognize them this 

 winter. Last year the cattle-yards people did not believe 

 there was any pleuro-pneumonia in the country. They 

 believed, or said that they did, that the veterinarians of the 

 country are pretty much all quacks, and all they cared for 

 was to get up an excitement, have commissions established 

 to inspect cattle, and get a chance to spend a good many 

 millions of dollars, part of which would go into their 

 pockets. They denounced all legislation in favor of any 

 cattle bureau, or anything of the kind, last year. Now they 

 do not want to say that they were wrong, but they acknowl- 

 edge that the disease exists, and that it ought to be stamped 

 out. The meeting accepted that lecture or paper by Mr. 

 Washburn, and was very thankful to see that he was con- 

 verted. 



Mr. Damon. It seems to me that when the question is put, 

 it had better be divided. That this is a very serious danger 

 to the cattle interest there can be no doubt ; and on the two 

 first resolutions, I do not think anybody can be in doubt 

 how they shall act. As to the third resolution, I ipfer from 

 Mr. Cheever's remarks and from the tone of the paper which 



