The Cattleman's Pages of History

➤ The cartoon cover of The Cattleman shows a cowboy giving his livestock a charge to do their part in the war effort. The U.S. had entered World War 1 in April and James Callan (TSCRA president 1909-1911 and 1916-1919) realized the potential cost, to both the military and the nation, of an indiscriminate draft. He wrote to the governor, senators and representatives, making a successful case against the drafting of all the young, skilled cowhands.

➤ Readers were reminded: “If you are not a member of the Cattle Raisers Association of Texas, and a neighbor or anyone else ships one of your steers or a carload to market, who is there to protect you against loss?

The Cattleman cover featured Santa Gertrudis cattle in several photographs by Roger Letz.

➤ Researchers at Texas A&M were studying fire as a brush control method. “Fire probably played an important part in maintaining the grass lands before white man came,” said Dr. Jim Dodd, A&M plant ecologist, who headed up the project. “The reason for this,” he explained, “is the fire blackens the soil so that it absorbs the sun rays and heats up the soil faster, which speeds germination and regrowth. Of course, burning removes the canopy of foliage and allows the full amount of sunlight to come through.”

➤ Don C. King, secretary-general manager of TSCRA, 1966-1995, spoke to a meeting of cattlemen in Lubbock. He outlined problems facing cattlemen in regard to labor, financing, transportation and other costs of doing business, and emphasized that some way must be found to convince the American public that a healthy and profitable agriculture is essential to the continuation of the American standard of living as it is today.” To quote the writer of Ecclesiastes, “there is nothing new under the sun.”