22 
ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN’S ASSOCIATION. 
commission man made a profit from bo* without risking 
his own capital. But the organization of the board of B ade 
Ivinnilv changed, in a great measure, this state of affairs , 
still 1 not as effectually as some of us had hoped, and still do 
hope for. , , . . 
Such statements as those referred to could have been 
made by scores of men who attended that meeting, for they 
had felt the sting in a greater or less degree and were 
therefore, competent to serve as witnesses in the matter 
But where was the remedy, and how was it to be applict . 
These dairymen were scattered about the country, some 
distance from Chicago, our then almost only market for 
Western butter and cheese, with their farms to look after, or 
their factories to superintend ; so they could not atteni 
personally to the selling of their products. They well 
knew that they were at the mercy of the commission men, 
and vet they had relief in their own hands, if they on y 
knew it. There were some wise heads in that convention, 
and among them none more so than the late Robert Stewar , 
of McHenry county—a man ever ready to give his time, 
experience or money to aid in developing the dairy interest, 
or to assist in bettering the condition of his neighbors ; and 
although I am not positive, yet I am inclined to the opinion 
that he made the motion for the appointment of a commit¬ 
tee to adopt measures for the organization of a boai o 
trade at Elgin, then, as now, the dairy center of the North¬ 
west. But a board of trade-asked one of another until 
the inquiry became general,—what good will that do . 
They of course, had all heard of a board of trade, for there 
was one in Chicago, where wheat and corn, oats and rye, 
barley and flour, bacon and lard, and even money, weic 
bought and sold, but a board of trade for the sale of dairy 
products was then beyond their comprehension They had 
heard of “ puts ” and “ calls,” “ bfinds ” and straddles 
“shorts” and “longs,” “profits” and “ margins and 
“bulls” and “bears,” but just what meaning these terms 
would have, when applied to a butter and cheese board of 
trade, they could not understand; for they had been accus¬ 
tomed for years to doing business on an entirely different 
plan, and were suspicious that they might not succeed as 
well with the new mode as with the old one, yet, like 
drowning men, they were willing to catch at any thing tha 
would afford them relief. 
