for weighing hogs and sheep, these amounts being assessed against the owner and collected from the owner through his agent. Based upon the receipts at South St. Paul in 1923, and upon the assumption that the business in 1924 will not be less and may be more, the income of the State for 1923 for providing weighing service with our facilities is shown in the following tabulation:

10. The cost of scale tickets under State weighing must be borne by the State and under stockyards weighing must be borne by the stockyards company. A fair approsimation of the cost of tickets to take care of weighing shown in this tabulation is $5,000.

11. The stockyards companies have always and do now consider that one of their proper functions is to provide weighing service within the stockyards without additional expense to the producer, and all stockyards companies are now holding themselves out to provide such service without an additional or specific charge therefor. This is and has been true of the St. Paul Union Stockyards Co., and this stockyards company would spend in 1924 in providing such weighing service free the sum of $21,050 for employees and supervision and $5,000 for scale tickets. It can readily be seen that the producer patronizing the South St. Paul market is paying not only a sum of money ample to provide efficient weighing service, but an amount exceeding that sum by $38,850.02. A greater number of weighers will be required under State or Federal operation than under stockyards company operation.

12. The United States Bureau of Standards has assigned to the packers and stockyards administration a scale expert who has been and is now engaged in putting together an organization, to not only supervise scales and weighing. but to enforce stringent rules and regulations covering the conduct of weighers. It is a fact that under the regulation of the Secretary of Agriculture, through the supervision of an organization headed by the United States Bureau of Standards, that scale service may be provided fully as efficient as by actual operation by either state or Federal employees and at considerable less expense. 13. It has been and may be further contended that the charge against the producer for weighing service is or will be offset by a corresponding reduction in the general level of stockyards company charges. This is a mistaken idea. As a matter of equity, no reduction to offset weighing expense could be made in the charges of the stockyards company exceeding the amount of which the stockyards company is relieved by the performance of this service by another agency. There is no possibility that a State or Federal agency can or will perform this service as economically as the stockyards company, and there is slight possibility that any reduction in the stockyards company rates and charges can be had to an extent sufficient to reimburse an extravagant State or Federal organization to the end that the livestock producer may be made whole on the change.

14. There is in Minnesota conflict between the packers and stockyards administration of the Federal Government and the railroad and warehouse commission of the State government as to jurisdiction over stockyards. Ample opportunity should be provided for the adjudication of this question of conflict without further complicating the situation by the passage of any amendments to the packers and stockyards act.

15. It was not the intention of Congress in approving the packers and stockyards act to in any way authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to operate any of the physical facilities of any stockyards. It was clearly the intention of Congress to provide protection through supervision, and it is a serious legal question whether or not either the Secretary of Agriculture or an authority in the State may take possession of any part of the physical facilities of the stockyards for the purpose of operating them.

16. The St. Paul Union Stockyards Co. contends that the present packers and stockyards act, 1921, provides ample authority for the Secretary to so supervise supervise the conduct of stockyards that proper conditions will prevail, and that no amendments to the act are required at this time.

17. The St. Paul Union Stockyards Co. contends that any demand for State or Federal weighing has been intentionally created by the dissemination of misinformation regarding conditions, and the fact that such demand does not exist in other territories tends to prove the contention.

STATEMENT OF J. O. BARKLEY, VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF THE ST. JOSEPH STOCK YARDS Co., ST. JOSEPH, Mo.

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, taking up H. R. 6424, I desire to concur in what Mr. Eaton, of Sioux City, has just said regarding this bill, and request that the amendment submitted by him better defining "stockyard owner in packers and stockyards act of 1921 under section 301, paragraph (a), be adopted, as we are informed by our attorneys that paragraph (c) of section 301 might also include "stockyards owners, " and we feel we are entitled to be defined in such a way that there will be no question regarding this statute applying to or affecting a stockyards. If this suggested amendment is adopted, we are not interested in any other portion of this bill, except section 5. An amendment has been suggested to this section, line 3, adding new matter, "Rates or stockyards charges" after words "payment of money.' With this second correction to this bill, we have no further objections or comments to make. Inasmuch as Mr. Chester Morrill, assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture, has just stated to your committee that there is no objection on the part of his department to these amendments, I presume they will be adopted by your committee.

H. R. 7110 proposes to clothe the Secretary of Agriculture with authority to either employ or approve employment of dockers and weighmasters in stockyards. As docking of livestock is entirely with the buyers and sellers of livestock, and not a part of the service of stockyards owners, we have no comments or criticism to enter covering this activity.

The weighing, however, is one of the important functions of stockyards owners, and we feel that we should not be deprived by the Government or any other agency of any portion of our physical property or the handling or control of such property unless there be some special reason for so doing, as it would materially interfere with our operations, which of necessity should function without delay or hindrance, so that satisfactory and efficient service can be rendered our patrons. The hours of service vary, it being necessary under some conditions to continue scale operations in excess of eight hours a day, operating through the noon hour without any interruptions, such as stopping for lunch.

Livestock purchased on our market in the early hours of trading by order buyers must be reloaded and forwarded the same afternoon in order to reach other markets or consignees with as little delay as possible. Any interruptions or delays in handling would in many instances prevent the shipment of orderbuyer purchases on the same day stock was purchased. The loss from shrinkage on account of this delay would ultimately result in driving order buyers from our market, thereby materially reducing the competitive feature, which is most attractive to all producers marketing their livestock at a public market. Further, we have not had a complaint from buyer or seller in regard to past or present service furnished by us in the weighing of livestock bought and sold on this market. We therefore urge the rejection of this bill, as we feel it would be of absolutely no benefit to anyone and would work to the disadvantage of all, materially increasing operating cost without compensating results.

I have here a letter from the St. Joseph Live Stock Exchange, who also object to provisions of this bill, H. R. 7110, and request that their letter be filed with this committee, which I now tender in order that their letter may be incorporated in record.

Mr. J. O. BARKLEY,

SOUTH ST. JOSEPH, Mo., March 4, 1924.

Vice President and General Manager

St. Joseph Stock Yards Co.

DEAR SIR: We understand you expect to appear before the Agricultural Committee of the House of Representatives in Washington in opposition to H. R. bill 7110. As we will be unable to have a representative at this hearing, we respectfully request that you file this letter with the committee considering this bill as a protest on our part against the passage of the bill.

1. There has been no complaint made at these yards against the past and present manner of operating our scales. Both sellers and buyers are entirely satisfied with the weights obtained under past and existing conditions.

2. To put these scales under Government control and operation would slow down weighing, especially during the noon hour, which would materially interfere with order buying and shipment of livestock purchased on this market for

--eastern markets, as eastbound trains leave in the early afternoon, and it is only by expediting the handling of outbound livestock that it is possible to have it ready for shipment under the most favorable conditions, and any interruption at our scales, or in other yard movements, would curtail purchases of order buyers, thereby affecting competitive buying at this market, which we consider most essential.

We, therefore, respectfully request that you use your best efforts to get this, our protest, in the records of the hearing on this bill, as to the best of our knowledge and belief there is no occasion whatever for such a radical change as is proposed, and no benefits would be accomplished if such a change was made. The highly perishable nature of livestock necessitates prompt handling and the avoidance of all possible interruptions and delays.

Yours truly,

THE SOUTH ST. JOSEPH LIVE STOCK EXCHANGE, By R. L. AUSTIN, President.

(The following is a draft of a bill submitted by the Department of Agriculture as a substitute for H. R. 6424:)

A BILL To amend the packers and stockyards act, 1921, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the packers and stockyards act, 1921, be, and it is hereby, amended in Title III by inserting new matter following the first sentence and changing the last sentence of section 303, as follows:

act.

"Whenever the Secretary, after due notice and opportunity for a hearing, finds that any market agency or dealer is insolvent or has knowingly violated any provision of this act or order or regulation of the Secretary thereunder, he may issue an order suspending the registration of such market agency or dealer for a period not exceeding five years. The order of the Secretary under this section suspending such registration shall take effect within such reasonable time, not less than fifteen days, as is prescribed in the order, and shall continue in force for the specified period of time according as is prescribed in the order, unless such order is suspended or modified or set aside by the Secretary or is suspended or set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction, as is provided in section 316 of this The Secretary shall by order in such proceeding permit the market agency or dealer or the trustee or surety on his bond to make such provision for conducting his business during such suspension as in the opinion of the Secretary will tend properly to protect the interest of shippers and other persons to whom obligations may be incurred. Every market agency and dealer shall maintain or cause to be maintained such suitable bond or guaranty, with such surety and upon such terms and conditions and covering such obligations, as the Secretary may prescribe from time to time in his rules and regulations, to secure the performance of the obligations incurred by or through such market agency or dealer in carrying on his business. Whoever violates the provisions of this section, or an order of the Secretary thereunder, shall be liable to a penalty of not more than $1,000 for each such offense and not more than $100 for each day it continues, which shall accrue to the United States and may be recovered in a civil action brought by the United States."

SEC. 2. That the packers and stockyards act, 1921, be, and it is hereby, amended in Title III as follows: At the end of subdivision (a) of section 306, insert a new sentence as follows:

"The schedules mentioned in this subdivision shall be subject to the same conditions as to notice and effective date as changes thereof under the provisions of subdivision (c) and (d) of this section."

In subdivision (b) of section 310, strike out the word " ‘operator" and substitute therefor the words "market agency.'

SEC. 3. That the packers and stockyards act, 1921, be, and it is hereby, amended in Title III as follows: At the end of section 307 insert the following new matter: "In order to insure compliance with the provisions of this title the Secretary may prescribe, or may require the establishment, observance, and enforcement of such special or uniform rules and regulations governing the rendition of stockyard services or the conduct of business under this title by stockyard owners, market agencies, and dealers as he may find justified by circumstances or conditions in particular markets. For the improvement of market conditions and practices in matters covered by this act the Secretary may provide

93853-24-SER N- -12

for the establishment or recognition of representatives committees created by persons subject to this act to represent their interests in such matters to such extent as the Secretary may approve."

SEC. 4. That the packers and stockyards act, 1921, be, and it is hereby, amended in Title III by inserting at the end of section 312 the following matter: "Wherever there shall be an organization of market agencies or dealers, or both, through which they provide stockyard services or make rules or regulations governing the conduct of their business, it shall be deemed a violation of the provisions of this title by the market agencies or dealers composing such organization who knowingly, directly or indirectly, authorize or cause such action, if such organization shall fail or refuse, upon request by any other market agency or dealer holding an unsuspended registration under this act, to furnish it or him such stockyard services on terms and conditions the same as or substantially equivalent to those then lawfully in force, subject to the approval of the Secretary, as to members in respect to such stockyard services. or if such rules or regulations shall forbid or be construed to forbid the making of refunds by cooperative associations of producers on a patronage basis in accordance with this act."

SEC. 5. That the packers and stockyards act, 1921, be, and it is hereby, amended in Title III by inserting at the end of section 313 the following new matter:

"Every stockyard owner, market agency, and dealer upon whom a copy of any such order (including a copy of the notice or complaint and findings on which such order is based), other than orders for the payment of money or fixing rates and charges, shall have been served in person or by registered mail, shall, to the extent specified in such order, conform to and observe the requirements thereof as for as they may be applicable to any of his business under this act with respect to violations, enforcement, suspensions, or restraint of such order in the same manner as the party originally specified therein."

(The following is a draft of a section which may be substituted for section 1 of the substitute bill printed above:)

Whenever the Secretary has reason to believe that any market agency or dealer is insolvent or has violated or is violating this act or an order or regulation of the Secretary thereunder, so that the interests of shippers or others to whom obligations have been or may be incurred by or through such market agency or dealer in carrying on his business may be imperiled thereby, the Secretary may, directly or through the United States attorney for the district in which such market agency or dealer has his principal place of business, institute a proceeding, in the nature of a proceeding in equity, in the district court of the United States for such district, making appropriate allegations of such insolvency or violation by such market agency or dealer.

If the Secretary has reason to believe that such insolvency or violation was due to an act, omission, or failure knowingly committed or participated in by any specified director, officer, partner, agent, or employee of such market agency or dealer, such specified person may be made an additional party in such proceeding. If it appear, by affidavit or other evidence under oath to the satisfaction of the court, or a judge thereof in vacation, that the interests of shippers or other persons to whom obligations have been or may be incurred by or through such market agency or dealer in carrying on his business are in immediate and continuous peril by reason of the continuance in business of such market agency or dealer, a temporary writ of injunction shall forthwith issue, restraining the defendant or defendants from further carrying on business as a market agency or dealer until the conclusion of the proceeding. Such writ of injunction may contain such further provisions as to the court, or a judge thereof in vacation, may seem just and equitable for the protection of all parties concerned in the premises. No bond shall be required of the Secretary as a condition for instituting a proceeding or making any order or issuing any writ of injunction under this section. The proceedings in such cases in the district court shall be made a preferred cause and shall be expedited in every way. For the purposes of such proceeding any party thereto shall be entitled to the production and examination and cross-examination of witnesses, and the court, or a judge thereof in vacation, may require the production of the accounts, records, and memoranda of the defendant or defendants pertinent to the issue.

At any time prior to the close of the proceedings the Secretary may amend his allegations, but in case of any amendment adding new charges the hearing shall, on the request of the defendant or defendants, be adjourned for such period,

not exceeding 15 days, as the court or a judge thereof in vacation may find to be reasonable. If the court sustains the allegations, an injunction shall forthwith issue restraining and enjoining the defendant or defendants found guilty of such allegations from carrying on business as a market agency or dealer or as a director, officer, partner, agent, or employee or any other market agency or dealer, or from acting in any such capacity for any stockyard owner in respect to the conduct or operation of a stockyard, for a period of not more than five years from the date upon which such injunction was issued. Such injunction may contain such further provisions as to the court may seem just and equitable for the protection of all parties concerned in the premises.

The court shall retain jurisdiction of the cause and, upon due notice to the Secretary or to the United States attorney for the district in which the proceeding is pending, may make such modification of such injunction as may seem to the court to be just and equitable in the premises.

In case of the violation of any injunction granted pursuant to the provisions of this section, the court or a judge thereof in vacation may summarily try and punish the defendant or defendants as in proceedings for contempt. Any person found guilty of contempt under the provisons of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by imprisonment of not more than one year, or by both fine and imprisonment.

The following is submitted by Mr. Browne:

Amend section 306 by striking out the clause within the parenthesis in subdivision (f), and substitute for said clause the following:

"But this shall not prohibit a cooperative association, composed of producers or of other cooperative associations of producers, or both, from bona fide returning to them, on a patronage basis, its excess earnings on the livestock of its or their members as the case may be, subject to such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe: Provided, That the amount of livestock handled in any one month for persons who are not such members shall not exceed 25 per cent of the total amount of livestock handled by it in such month.'

The following is submitted by Mr. Boyd:

To the COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,

WASHINGTON, D. C., March 27, 1924.

House of Representatives.

GENTLEMEN: In accordance with permission granted by your committee to present a statement covering the views of the National Live Stock Exchange and its component members, in their behalf I wish to present the following in connection with the proposed amendments to the packers and stockyards act, 1921, under consideration by your committee. You will find appended a list of the measures under consideration to which we are favorable, and another containing the measures to which we are opposed.

At the outset I wish to say that the good to be accomplished by the packers and stockyards act, 1921, must inevitably come from a proper administration of the law. The difficulties which have arisen in the enforcement of the act, except in rare instances, have not been due to a lack of power conferred by the act, but from the lack of experience and knowledge of the livestock business necessary to its efficient administration. The objections which I shall recite are the result of a lack of confidence in the ability of the present personnel of the Packers and Stockyards Administration to properly and fairly administer the packers and stockyards act. Our past experience leads us to the belief that the Packers and Stockyards Administration, as at present constituted, will continue to devote much of its time in the pursuit and investigation of trivial or inconsequential matters or conditions, and that the real issues involved and the real evils to be eradicated will be allowed to flourish.

While we do not entirely concede that under Title III of the act a dishonest man may not be severely dealt with, at the same time, in view of the attitude which has been assumed by the Packers and Stockyards Administration, we urge the enactment of section 303 as set forth in full in the attached memoranda of amendments which we advocate. With reference to the proposal, I am confident that this will give to the Secretary in specific terms all of the authority necessary to a proper enforcement of the act. It specifies particular offenses for which persons engaged, or in the direct employment of, market agencies or dealers, may be punished by direct action by the United States district attorney, or by suspension for a period of not to exceed five years. We believe that, while the measure