OF THE SADDLE AND SIRLOIN CLUB 53 



law his contestant was not seated until the last hour of Congress. 

 In 1890 he was appointed Director of the Agricultural Experiment 

 Station and Professor of Agriculture at the Iowa Agricultural 

 College at Ames, a position he retained until called upon March 

 5, 1897, by President McKinley to take his place as spokesman 

 for agriculture in the newly formed cabinet. 



"Tama Jim" as he was fondly called by his loyal Iowa sup- 

 porters, recognized the need for a strong organization to unify 

 and catalyze rural interests. Improved market conditions result- 

 ing from the financial prosperity of the country furnished the 

 farmer a degree of independence he had hitherto not known; 

 hence. Secretary Wilson found willing material to support him 

 in his efforts in placing agriculture on the permanent construc- 

 tive basis it now enjoys. It was during this period of service 

 that the multitudinous activities of the Bureau of Animal Industry 

 developed. He sponsored particularly legislation and propa- 

 ganda that would build up the agricultural export trade, and at 

 the same time encouraged the search for new plants and animals 

 suitable to the arid conditions that had to be met in the unorgan- 

 ized land areas of the continent. President Roosevelt's con- 

 servation policies received able support under his constructive 

 genius and the national forest policy of America was firmly 

 established. 



Rich in years, he retired from public duty with the change of 

 administration in 1913. His headquarters were established at his 

 early home at Traer, Iowa, where he participated in a number 

 of notable movements aiming towards the dissemination of agri- 

 cultural knowledge. So prominent were his services that numerous 

 institutions conferred honorary degrees upon him. Both the 

 University of Wisconsin and Cornell College, Iowa, gave him an 

 LL. D. in 1904, while McGill University at Montreal, Canada, 

 honored him with a similar title in 1909. His death occurred 

 August 26, 1920. 



