180 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



tried to do our duty toward your great industry. I have left 

 these matters largely to Mr. Newman, who is the Assistant Food 

 Commissioner, and under the law has to be a practical dairy- 

 man, but I am heartily in sympathy with your work and with 

 the results of your work, because I consider milk the most eco- 

 nomical and best food that is produced. That is what we try 

 to get before the people, and we have found you people always 

 assisting, rather than criticising. 



There is one question I want to dwell on. I don't know 

 that I have a remedy, but we are troubled a great deal with the 

 oleomargarine lawbreakers. I was about to say "thieves," but I 

 won't. I suspect if you knew as much about them as I do, you 

 would use such language. About the best way I can explain my 

 experience with them is to relate a little story I once heard about 

 a young fellow going to school in an eastern state. He did not 

 pay much attention to his lessons, but running was a mania with 

 him. He did not know anything about anything else, and ap- 

 parently did not care for anything else. The time came when 

 he had to support himself, and not knowing anything about of- 

 fice work, and having such a desire to be out in the open air, he 

 could not think of trying to find employment inside, so he just 

 started to run out over the country and see what he could find, 

 although he did not know one animal from another. He got out 

 into Wyoming, and one day happened around where an old 

 farmer was herding his sheep. He had lost his help and was 

 looking after the herd himself. The fellow wanted a job and 

 the old man hired him and told him to look after the flock until 

 night, and showed him where he lived, and told him to bring 

 the herd up to the house. He came in about sundown and the 

 farmer started out to look over the sheep. The old man noticed 

 a jackrabbit sitting in a corner of the corral and found the fel- 

 low nearly dead. He asked him how he got along. He said, 

 pointing to the jackrabbit, "That little humpbacked devil over 

 there gave me more trouble than all the rest of the herd." I feel 

 that way about the oleomargarine people. 



I think from what I see and learn that you gentlemen have 

 been talked to better than I can talk to you. I think there is 



