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Show iTi W Livestoclc I f jjjA NA"""fe ' Los Angcl.'S, August 21, I !.'!.'!. Western agriculture, livestock and affiliated interests, are facing a very serious condition with respect to a continuation of production and distribution dis-tribution of livestock and meat food products, and a thing that may greatly upset the whole economic structure of the west and particularly particular-ly the coast section. This condition arises on account of applications now before the interstate commerce commission com-mission and the railroads seeking substantially sub-stantially reduced rates on livestock products from middle western packing pack-ing centers to the Pacific coast. These applications embrace different methods but are all to one end and are largely the result of the constant demand made by eastern packers and processors to get cheaper transportation transporta-tion costs on livestock from the middle-west, principally hogs. Tho reduction made from time to time on livestock are now used as a basis by middle-western packers de-nuinding de-nuinding a reasonable equality between be-tween the rates on livestock and products front the range and corn belt section to the Atlantic seaboard packing centers, finally resulting in certain readjustment, bringing the two classes of traffic closer together. All of these proposals represent a combined attack on the Pacific coast and intcrmountan livestock and agricultural ag-ricultural interests, adversely affecting affect-ing our industrial activities; and every business in the west is interested inter-ested in this question because of the buying power of agriculture and livestock, live-stock, which runs into many millions of dollars per year. It seems appropriate ap-propriate also to note that during all of this time of reductions in livestock live-stock rates from the east, similar re-j re-j ductions have neither been sought i nor made in the western states, so as to encourage the growth of livestock and the marketing of some without too heavy a transportation cost, with the final result that '.shipments of livestock between points in the western west-ern states are paying a much higher high-er cost of transportation, mile for j mile, than is applied to the movement. I from territory east of the Rocky j I mountains. i It is well worth while for ourj ! Pacific coa.st livestock interests and1 ' associates to work towards the com- mon end of good for all and against t preferential grants of any kind to ! eastern interests. If the lowered rates o n packing house products ' sought by eastern packing houses are I granted, there is an immediate dis-j dis-j count in the value of western livestock, live-stock, western forage crops, and agriculture ag-riculture in general. Not so many years ago, with the advent of the refrigerator car (now greatly improved), began a tremendous tremend-ous movement of livestock products from .Chicago and middle-western packing centers to that populous territory lying east of the Illinois-Indiana Illinois-Indiana state line and all that section sec-tion represents a vast industrial development, de-velopment, with very little agricultural agricul-tural production. The millions of people along the Atlantic seaboard depending upon the packing centers in Chicago and middle west for their daily supplies an entirely different setup than we have west of the Rocky mountains, where our whole structure and the very life-blood of that great empire depends upon agriculture ag-riculture and livestock. Nevertheless, unless we protect our rights by organizing and working in a concentrated way, we may see the very thing happen in the western states that happened in the ea.stern states. The large cities on the Pacific Paci-fic coast and many interior cities are tempting eastern packers .because of the big consmer demand, just as did cities along the Atlantic coast. Agriculture Ag-riculture and livestock interests of the west should work, through their state railroad commission and other organized bodied taking an active part in such hearings before the interstate in-terstate commerce commission that may take place from- time to time. o |