502 



niSTOKY OF HEREFORD CATTLE 



urging upon him that action should be taken 

 that woukl protect exhibitors in the future. 



"One manner suggested was by employing a 

 veterinary surgeon who understood the teeth 

 indications of age in animals, and associate 

 with him two good, practical cattlemen, to ex-, 

 amine all the entries that should be presented 

 to them in future shows. He replied to this 

 that such an examination as this would break 

 up the show. Again, we took these evidences 

 before the State Board ; we made our verbal 

 statements, and were asked to put them in writ- 

 ing, and the committee appointed by the Board 

 say that Mr. Scott did what the Board ought 

 to expect of their chief officer in refusing to 

 make these examinations. When afterward a 

 motion was made that such examinations 

 should be made in the future, the Board refused 

 to order such examinations. 



"The 'Breeders' Gazette,' 'not a trade circu- 

 lar,' says of T. L. Miller's charges before the 

 State Board, in reference to fraudulent entries 

 of cattle : 'The standing of parties accused is 

 such that their motives or veracity cannot be 

 impugned.' Mr. Sanders occupies, in this case, 

 a position somewhat analogous to that of the 

 Tombs lawyer, appearing for his client, and un- 

 dertaking to get a verdict in his favor by trying 

 to prove the previous good character of his 

 client. As to the report of the committee, Mr. 

 Sanders says: 'They were impartial men, who 

 have no prejudices against breeds or breeders, 

 and the fact that the report was unanimously 

 adopted relieves the Hon. J. W. Scott, the late 

 president, or the retiring members of the Board 

 of Agriculture from any want of a desire to 

 protect the exhibitor from imposition or 

 fraud.' " 



In the April (1883) number of the "Breed- 

 ers' Journal" we said: 



"We learn that at the meeting of the State 

 Board in February the question of determining 

 the ages of cattle that were to be exhibited at 

 the Fat Stock Show of 1883 was to be deter- 

 mined by examination. This was the re-opening 

 of what the Shorthorn interest supposed was 

 fixed at the January meeting. They, at that 

 time, determined that such examinations should 

 not be made, but they found in the month that 

 intervened between the two meetings that there 

 was a determination to press that issue. We 

 understand that it was decided to employ a 

 veterinarian and two competent and disinter- 

 ested cattlemen, not exhibitors at the show, to 

 examine all the cattle that should be placed on 

 exhibition at the next show. 



"How much our expose of the frauds perpe- 

 trated at the last show had to do with this we 



are not advised; in fact, it is immaterial. We 

 have had a severe and protracted fight before 

 the State Board to secure for the Herefords an 

 impartial hearing. There have been men in the 

 Board, from the commencement of this contro- 

 versy to the present time, who have desired to 

 see fair play, and if the inside and outside his- 

 tory of the Board could be written we think 

 that the lobby, or the outside influence, has 

 been the strongest. When Mr. Scott said to us 

 in Springfield in January that such a rule 

 would break up the show, we thought then, and 

 we think now, that he believed that the Short- 

 horn men would not show under such a rule, 

 and hence the conclusion that the show would 

 be broken up. We do not know that these con- 

 clusions are correct, but we believe they are, 

 and we believe that Mr. Scott at the last show, 

 had it not been for this fear of Shorthorn influ- 

 ence, would have undertaken then to have ex- 

 posed the frauds that were being perpetrated. 



"At the February meeting of the Board it 

 was decided that the State Fair for the next 

 two years should be held in Chicago. We be- 

 lieve that this is a wise move, and we under- 

 stand that the citizens of Chicago are making 

 liberal provisions to make the Fair a success. 

 And we hope and expect that the changes that 

 were made in the management of the Board at 

 its election in September, and the rules that are 

 likely to be adopted by that management, will 

 put the State Agricultural Society of Illinois 

 m the front rank of a reformatory movement 

 that the great cattle interests of the world re- 

 quire. We are not advised as to whether any 

 action has been taken in relation to the selec- 

 tion of judges. This is needed. One of the 

 movements a year ago in this direction was to 

 ask several State societies to send judges to act 

 at the Fat Stock Show of 1883. Among the 

 societies responding to this request were those 

 of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and 

 Ohio, each of which have made discriminations 

 against Herefords in favor of Shorthorns for 

 years. It seems strange to a large proportion 

 of fair-minded men, and men well posted in 

 public matters, that these states should run 

 their fairs and shows in the interest of any 

 breed or for partisan purposes. We are not 

 surprised that such men should think we are 

 actuated by partisan interests in making these 

 charges and entering upon this contest. We are 

 not surprised that they should charge it to the 

 fact that we did not get all the premiums we 

 thought we were entitled to. 



"So soon as the Hereford breeders came for- 

 ward to make the exhibits at the State fairs in 

 force we withdrew as an exhibitor. We should 



