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 PRresipenT McKin.ey 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. PresipENT 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. 
