STATEMENT OF S. H. COWAN, ESQ.

Mr. COWAN. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, in behalf of the live-stock associations which I represent I thank the committee for the courtesies which they have shown heretofore in all matters we have had to present to you and at this time. My time likewise is short, though it has been longer.

We have come here for the purpose of presenting some arguments, statements of fact, which we believe will show that the present limitations placed by the statutes of the United States on the time in which live stock may remain in the cars should be extended from twent-eight hours to at least thirty-six hours.

Knowing the difficulty in the way of securing legislation in Congress-not the difficulty in securing members to do their duty, but in informing the committees and Congress of the facts upon which they are to act, and of the difficulty in meeting objections which are made by those opposed to the measure- -we have taken some pains in the matter and have undertaken to secure something to present to you that would furnish at once a larger volume of testimony on the subject and at the same time avoid the necessity of bringing before you a great number of witnesses to duplicate the statement of the same facts. To that end we have secured memorials which set forth, somewhat in detail, the grounds upon which the amendment to the law is sought, to be sent to the principal shippers throughout the entire western part of the country, west of the Mississippi River and to some extent east thereof, and they have signed those memorials, stating their post-offices, where they live, and the amount of business that they are doing. There are some 6,000 of those memorials, which I have here, to present at such time as the committee shall desire in evidence of the judgment and desire of the stock shippers of the country to have this law amended. Embraced within those memorials are the signatures and recommendations of members of livestock commission companies, who know as much about this subject as anybody can know."

We have taken occasion to make inquiry of the packing houses, who kill the animals, and see the meat and sell it and handle it, and who have ocular demonstration to prove the facts which we here assert.

Those memorials are from twenty-two or twenty-three different States. It will be unnecessary for me, of course, to name them, as they can be handed to the stenographer to be embodied in my remarks.

(The States referred to are as follows:

Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Indian Territory, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.)

Resolutions have been passed upon this subject by all of the livestock associations of the West at their annual meetings from year to year for several years; I believe entirely unanimously. These meetings have usually been meetings where everybody who saw fit to participate and come in did so, and at which thousands of persons engaged in the business were present, from various States, and in

which hundreds of smaller State organizations were represented. A number of gentlemen are here who will vouch for the statement which I make.

The sanitary boards of the various States held a meeting at St. Paul-a national meeting of the State sanitary boards, a year agoand they passed a resolution indorsing it.

My personal knowledge is that the inspectors for the United States Government located in our part of the country indorse the proposition to extend the time. The demand, I will say, is practically universal among the live-stock interests of the West. There are a few exceptions, undoubtedly, but I know of very few.

The demand is not for the purpose of compulsorily causing cattle, sheep, or hogs to he held upon the cars a certain length of time, but to leave it in the judgment of the shipper, who is present and sees the circumstances, in order that he may have the opportunity to go on when it is best to do so; or stop, as the common law gives him a right to do, when it is best to do that; or hold the company responsible for damages in case they shall refuse to stop. This committee considering the matter in the year 1900, I believe it was, or 1901, possibly a year later, made its report and the bill passed extending the limit to forty hours. The Secretary of Agriculture undertook, during the latter part of the year 1904 and during the year 1905, the strict enforcement of the twenty-eight-hour law. This resulted in such hardship that his attention was called to the matter frequently. Committees came to Washington to see him in regard to it. He went out to Chicago and met a committee of stockmen, and the matter was thoroughly considered. He made a careful investigation through the officers who were maintained by the Government in the West, and the result of it was that the Secretary states that the enforcement of the law, as a matter of fact, resulted in more inhumanity than did the nonen forcement of the law.

Previous to 1904 the law was not much enforced. During that time we had entirely as good a speed as we had during the time the law was enforced, if not better.

It is a regrettable fact I say regrettable because good people and honest people ought not to differ that the humane society differs with the live-stock shippers of the country with respect to this matter, believing, no doubt, that it is the disposition of the live-stock shipper to treat his animals inhumanely. I desire to assure this committee that a thorough investigation will determine that that is not a fact; and the way to ascertain it is to get the evidence of the persons who actually go with the trains, who actually see the stock, who actually see the circumstances under which they are handled, the circumstances under which they are loaded and unloaded, and know the injuries that that process brings about. Then you will have gotten the testimony upon which the stockmen of the country base their judgment, and it will be sufficient, I dare say, on which to base yours.

It is not the desire on the part of the stockmen to treat their animals inhumanely. It is positively to their disadvantage to do so. I lay it down as a proposition that is not capable of being controverted by anybody, or any witness who knows, that it is to the interest of the cattle shipper to treat his cattle in the most humane way, in their shipment to market, for it brings him the most money if he does it.

We are prepared to present to you witnesses, as long as this com mittee can hear them

The CHAIRMAN. Let me interrupt you for a moment, Judge Cowan. I have a telegram here from the president of one of the humane societies, requesting Mr. Sulzer to appear as the counsel for them in opposition to this change in the law. If there is no objection, the committee will be glad to have Mr. Sulzer appear. Do you appear as counsel, Mr. Sulzer?

Mr. SULZER. Not as counsel.

I have another meeting before the Committee on Military Affairs, and before I go down to attend that committee, where the Secretary of War is going to be present regarding the war appropriation, I would like to say to the committee just a word: That I have received this telegram this morning from the president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a personal friend of mine:

Have just been informed of hearing to-morrow, Tuesday, before House Committee, Interstate Commerce, on bill to increase hours during which cattle in transit can be tortured from twenty-eight to thirty-six or forty hours. Our society is opposed to it. Will you appear in opposition to its passage?

I do not appear here as the counsel for the American society, but I do appear here in response to this telegram as a member of Congress, and I want to say that ever since I have been a member of Congress I have been opposed to any legislation that will torture cattle in transit from one State to the other, as this bill proposes to do.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has always been opposed to this bill, and they have sent in to previous Congresses protests and petitions against. this bill.

Mr. RICHARDSON. There is a witness now on the stand addressing the committee, who has just stated that opposition.

Mr. MANN. Who is that telegram from?

Mr. SULZER. From the president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Mr. ADAMSON. We have a witness on the stand swearing pretty hard the other way, Mr. Sulzer. Had you not better cross-examine him?

Mr. SULZER. I have not time to do that.

The CHAIRMAN. I did not lay this telegram before the committee for the purpose of taking up any of Judge Cowan's time.

Mr. SULZER. I do not want to take up his time, but I trust the committee will give the people in opposition to this bill a chance to be heard.

Mr. MANN. If you had been here, you would have discovered that the committee has already done that.

Mr. SULZER. I can not be everywhere at once.

The CHAIRMAN. Proceed, Mr. Cowan.

Mr. COWAN. Gentlemen of the committee, you see that what I claim is true. I do not want to criticise anybody; we are not here for that purpose. We asked the president of the humane society, whose telegram has been read, to give us a hearing upon the facts with reference to this matter

Mr. SHERMAN. This is not the humane society.

Mr. CowAN. Isn't it? [Laughter.] It is a different organization,

then.

All we want to do is to have this committee ascertain the facts. If, in your judgment, after ascertaining the facts you are of the opinion that it produces more cruelty to animals to extend this time to thirtysix hours than it does to keep it where it is, do not report the bill. Can the other side be as fair?

I want to give a few illustrations which will be applicable to all of the shippers in a greater or less degree a statement as to what the facts are. If I do not misstate the facts, you will agree with my conclusion. If I do misstate the facts, let somebody prove that I have misstated them.

Our disagreement with the humane society, in my judgment, is due to a misapprehension of the facts by very good people-people who have the best of intentions, who have good hearts in them-but they have not taken the pains to ascertain whether or not we have just as good hearts as they have and intend to do the proper thing.

Take, for example, the location of the various shipping points in this country, and let us see the necessities of the business. The great cattle-producing country is southwest and west of the Missouri River. That is the great range country. That is the country from which live stock must be shipped long distances. This side of the Missouri River is the maturing, feeding country. True, they raise a great many cattle, but in a great part of that territory this twentyeight hour law never has any effect, for the reason that the animals always reach the market, in the absence of accident-and the law does not apply in case of accident-in less than twenty-eight hours. The result is that the main complaint comes, of course, from those who are injured by reason of the insistence upon this law.

Take Denver as an example. All of the cattle raised in that vast country west of the mountains-western Colorado, Utah, western Wyoming generally come through Denver. At Denver they have somewhat of a stock market, stock yards well equipped for feeding, feed always on hand, attendants for the purpose of attending to the cattle, and they are unloaded and fed there, if they have come 200 miles, if they have come 400 miles, or if they have come 500 miles. It is the necessity of the business. If they do not happen to go to Denver and drop off at Pueblo, the same thing occurs. If they come over the Union Pacific, the same thing is done at Cheyenne. That has grown up to be a business necessity. People want to try the market at Denver often. A great many cattle are bought and sold there and reshipped.

When the train reaches Denver the cattle are unloaded and not rested merely five hours, as provided in the law, but they spend a day there. The convenience of the shipper, the necessity of the shipper, the importance of reaching the market at a proper time induces him to load at 6 or 7 o'clock in the evening in order to reach the second morning's market at Kansas City, or Omaha, or St. Joseph, or, if any went to Sioux City, to that point. Those are the great markets on the Missouri River. It would do no good for these cattle to reach Kansas City at 12 o'clock at night. They are probably in better condition to reach there in the early morning. The object is to reach the second morning's market. He can not do any better than that. He can not possibly reach the next day's market. He can not get there earlier that 10 or 12 o'clock at night the second night. That is a most remarkable run. I believe that Mr. Cooper,

who understands the whole subject and has been in the business at Kansas City for many years, and who was an officer of the humane society, will bear me out that it is better for these cattle to get there at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning than it would be for them to get there at night.

Mr. JOHN H. STEVENS. Give us the distances between those places. Mr. COWAN. I will. The distance from Denver by the short line is 512 miles to Omaha. The distance increases to St. Joseph and Kansas City, so that it ranges, approximately, from 500 to a little over 600 miles. That distance can not be made in twenty-eight hours in more than 25 per cent of the cases. With a full train of cattlethat is to say, a train with nothing but cattle, no other freight, and a train not loaded to its capacity for speed-it might be possible; but it is impracticable to do it. It is impossible in probably 75 per cent of the cases.

Take the Union Pacific or the Rock Island Pacific, both running from Denver to Kansas City and coming together at Manhattan, 100 miles from Kansas City. Feed yards are provided there. If you enforce the twenty-eight hour law, what happens? Your animals are stopped at 8 or 10 o'clock at night at Manhattan, or 12 o'clock, more likely. They remain there until the next day. They do not reach Kansas City until in the afternoon, and the market is closed. You have lost a day in the market. You have lost the consequent shrinkage of the animals. The animals have been on a range, where they have been eating grass. They have been accustomed to that all their lives, and they eat very little in the yards when they are fed hay. They only give two bales of hay to the car, and sometimes the cattle do not eat that. These animals are accustomed-I speak advisedlyto going without water for two days. There are a number of gentlemen here who know that. They are accustomed to it.

The great injury to animals is shown by the carcasses in the packing houses, and is subject to demonstration, being shown by the bruises upon the ribs, particularly upon the hips and on the sides of the animals, where it is evident that that has been done by the getting in and out of the cars. It occurs nowhere else. The animals do not go and take their places in the cars like persons. These cattle are hard to handle, and you have to punch them in and out. I see Mr. Mulhall sitting over there, who has been in the business, I know, for thirty years, and he knows that every word of this is true.

The injury happens in the unloading and reloading. When these range cattle are in the cars, while the train is moving, they are satisfied. They generally have their heads up, and they are not apt to hook or injure each other; but when we unload them into the pen there are more or less unruly members among them, just as is the case with men, and they commence injuring each other in that way. They do not gain flesh; they do not take much rest.

Here is another thing that will happen. It has been very warm weather here for a few days. It was warm in Denver. Suddenly the thermometer went down 40°. You start your train of cattle out and unload them out of the car, where they are warm, into zero weather, and tell me that that is humane? It is simply out of the question to say so.

Four or five or six hours' more run will land them in Kansas City, and land them in the slaughterhouse twenty-four hours earlier.