sr 11/1 Special Report of the Pedigree Committee ; TO THE: BOARD OF DIRECTORS ;OF THE: Percneron Society of America Regarding Published Charges Concerning the Society ISSUED OCTOBER 3rd, 1911. CHICAGO. ILLINOIS BY ORDER OF THE BOARD \ \<\\\ To the Board of Directors of the Percheron Society of Amer- ica, Chicago, Illinois. Gentlemen : Your Pedigree Committee reports as follows : For the past seven months, systematic attacks have been made on the Percheron Society of America and its officers. These attacks have been made public through cer- tain papers, edited by parties who are avowedly hostile to the policies of the Percheron Society of America. Your Pedigree Committee, in the discharge of its duty, under the By-laws of the Society, has made a thorough in- vestigation of these attacks and the reasons for the same. The results of the investigation of your Committee show that the attacks or charges made are either based upon typographical errors and technical mistakes, or are false and untrue. The investigations made by your Committee also show that the parties responsible for these attacks do not have the welfare of the Percheron Society and the breeders of America at heart, but that the underlying motive is the desire to gain control of the management of the Percheron Society of America. The men responsible for the attacks are G. W. Patterson, William Danforth, G. L. Carlson and F. B. Graham, and the avowed purpose of these men is to break down and destro;y the present Percheron organization. PURPOSE OF THE ATTACKS. The investigation made by your Committee, shows that it is the purpose of these men to continue the attacks they are now making, until they succeed in entirely overthrowing the present organization of the Percheron Society of America. The public attacks so far have been largely confined to the President and members of the Ped- igree Committee, but the attacking parties have stated re- peatedly that they propose to overthrow the entire man- agement for wrongs they allege said management have permitted to exist; and have stated that every member of the Board of Directors is equally to blame with the President and members of the Pedigree Committee. PAST DIFFICULTIES. Your Committee would respectfully call attention to the fact that all members of the Percheron Society who are familiar with the history of our Organization well under- stand that the officers and Board of Directors have had many serious difficulties to contend with and overcome dur- ing the past few years, on account of rival organizations that have existed heretofore. Because of the previous ex- istence of various stud books, and the long period of de- pression in the horse business, during which there were no published records either in France or America, it has been most difficult to harmonize these various records since their union and consolidation with the Percheron Society of America. In some cases pedigrees were issued years ago, and while the official records clearly show their issuance they were not published because of the expense of such publica- tion and the belief of the authorities in charge at that time, that said publication was not essential. It is also known that in a number of cases in the records that we fell heir to, we found errors and mistakes of various kinds. These things are well understood by our older members and mention of same is made here only because of the fact that some of our new members are not familiar with the matters above set forth. CONCLUSIONS REACHED BY BOARD LAST YEAR. Your Committee would also call attention to the fact that the Board of Directors, after the most careful consid- eration and after making a thorough examination of all the original records, applications and other data that could be obtained, reached the conclusion that in most cases these pedigrees were genuine and issued in good faith, having the signature of the proper officers and the seal of the Society, in all cases where it was possible to obtain the original certificates. The Board deemed it wise and in fact absolutely nec- essary that all of these original records should be confirmed and left undisturbed; and after the hearing at Washington a year ago last June, the Department of Agriculture ac- cepted the recommendations made by this Society, and soon thereafter the only other Society of recognized standing, competing with the Percheron Society of America, joined hands with our Society and for the first time in the recent history of Percheron registrations, we have a united and practically unanimous body of Percheron breeders in the United States. Your Committee would also call attention to the fact that for the past three years or more, we have had as rigid registration rules as any breed Society in the United States. The Secretary and the members of this Committee have been most thorough in their investigations on all doubtful applications in order that the records of the Percheron So- ciety of America might be free from doubtful registra- tions. We have had faith that the policy that has been pursued by the present management was approved and be- lieved in by a very large majority of the members of the Society. As evidence that the breeders of the country believe in this Association, we cite the fact that since our last annual meeting, more than 1,150 breeders have become mem- bers of the Percheron Society of America, bringing our total membership to more than 4,000 individual breeders, who are actively engaged in breeding and distributing America's greatest draft horse. It is therefore to be regretted that a very few jealous and dissatisfied members, in an attempt to gain some per- sonal advantages, should endeavor to destroy and break down what has been built up during the past nine years by the Percheron Society. AN ATTEMPT TO DISCREDIT THE RECORDS. The evident purpose of this attack is not only to dis- credit the oflflcers and Pedigree Committee of this Society, but also to discredit the records and pedigrees that the breeders of this country have relied upon in the past and must necessarily rely upon in their breeding operations in the future. It would be impracticable for this Committee in the space of this report, to go over, in detail, all of the various charges that have been made and to enter into detailed ex- planations of the various matters that attention is called to in the records of the Society. As heretofore stated, the parties responsible for the published attacks upon the Society, in order to accomplish their purpose, have relied upon calling attention to typo- graphical errors and technicalities in the published volumes and have endeavored to make much capital out of same, when the most casual examination of the original records in the office of the Society would show their inferences and conclusions to be false. They have also resorted to the use of apparently false and fraudulent testimony. As an illustration of their methods and the extent to which they are going in order to make their point, we call particular attention to cases as follows : TECHNICAL ATTACKS, BASED ON ERRORS APPEAR- ING IN THE PRINTED STUD BOOKS. Attention has been called to the publication of Touraine 40953 and Mona 43465, as foaled in the same year (1903) out of Nina 20921. This is simply a typographical error, the actual foaling date being May 9th, 1902 for Touraine 40953. A similar case which hostile parties have tried to make much of, is the publication of Bonheur 58175 and Timide 58168, as both foaled in 1906, out of Minta 53932. Reference to the original applications and records shows foaling date of Timide 58168 as May 21st, 1905. The error in the stud book is due to the mistake of the typist, which was over- looked by the proof readers. Attention has also been called to the fact that many animals have been sold with certificates which showed the name of the owner only, name and address of the breeder being omitted and an attempt is made to discredit men who sold animals with such certificates. The facts are that for many years this Society and others, issued certificates without giving the breeder's name, if the owner, who paid for the transfer, so desired it. This rule was well known and a great many men, who had purchased recorded animals, had their certificates so written. The breeder's name and address was, in all cases, on the original records. The rule permitting the omission of the breeder's name on rewritten certificates, was revoked last winter. All certificates now issued bear name and address of breeder, as well as name of owner. Errors in the publication of the pedigree of Nellie G. 48094 and Glendora 48097, have furnished the parties named with an excuse for much agitation. Both are shown as foaled in 1906 (a month apart) out of Daisy Dell 30927, and Nellie G's number is erroneously shown as 48049. The facts are that Nellie G^s number is 48094 and her dam is Docia Dell 30928, a full sister of Daisy Dell, but three years younger. The similarity in the names and the fact that the mares were full sisters, led to an error in the original is- suance of the pedigree which found its way into print. The original applications and the mare cards and official books of register, show conclusively the nature of the mis- take. The very character of the mistake is in itself proof that it is an error. An attempt has been made to make capital out of the fact that a certain stallion has nine colts recorded to his credit, all of which were foaled on May 1, 1905 ; and by in- ference it is implied that these must be wrong, as no stal- lion could be expected to cover and get safely in foal, nine mares in one day. The absurdity of the implied charges will be readily perceived when it is recognized that mares vary greatly in the length of time they carry colts, ranging from ten to twelve months in well authenticated cases. A variation of ten days or two weeks, either under or over eleven months, is so common as to arouse no comment. In the light of these facts, the attempt to by inference claim something wrong because nine colts are recorded as foaled on one day, all sired by one horse, is ridiculous. Question has been raised regarding the publication of Imogene 22827, in Vol. VII. as foaled May 1st, 1902, when the stud books show that she produced foals in 1897 and 1900. The original application and entries on the official books of record show that the mare Imogene 22827 was foaled May 1st, 1892, and recorded June 12th, 1899, five years before the Percheron Society of America took over the original records. The error is again a typographical one, which occurred long before the Society secured the original records, and the only charge that can be placed against our organization is that a proof reader's slip permitted such an error to appear in the printed books. Considering the fact that the Society was, at the time Vol. VII. was printed, laboring under adverse financial conditions, was being bit- terly opposed by rival organizations, and was working with an insufficient office force, such criticisms are childish. Your Committee must again emphasize the fact that the long years of depression following 1892 had left the horse breeding industry in very bad shape; that thousands of pure bred animals had been left unrecorded because val- ues were so low and demand so slight that it did not pay to record them; and that hundreds of our farmer breeders were so hard up, when conditions did change for the better, that they at first recorded their animals only as they had sale for them, and that as a consequence many animals were not recorded until after some younger animals from the same dam had been recorded. It also resulted in some cases that old mares which had been left unrecorded for many years, were recorded with all their direct progeny and descendants, at practically one time. These conditions were recognized by our stockholders and by all breeders, and the rules in force, for the first few years after the organization of the Percheron Society, were liberal, to permit the farmers and breeders of America, who had this unrecorded stock, to have the same properly recorded. All registrations were made under these rules and in ac- cordance therewith ; and your Committee believe that the rules were wise, were just, and were for the best interests of the horse breeding industry in America. It is the judg- ment of your Committee that the attacks upon our Stud Books, are, when fully analyzed, attacks upon the policies pursued by the Percheron Society of America since its or- ganization ; and that any other man as President would have been subject to the same bitter attacks which are now being centered on President McMillan. FRAUDULENT TESTIMONY. Besides attempting to create prejudice against the So- ciety and its officers by calling attention to technical errors, the men responsible for the attacks have, to the best of our knowledge, resorted to securing false and fraudulent state- ments, and the publication of the same, in their attempts to arouse hostile public sentiment toward the Society and its officers. A specific case, which shows an attempt to falsely attach blame to a member of our Beard, follows: G. W. Patterson and his attorney went to Sylvester Egan of Humboldt, South Dakota, about June 6, 1911, and secured his signature to two statements which they drew. Said statements appear to have been secured from Egan by their promise to protect him from prosecution. These signed statements were apparently furnished to one of the two pa- pers in which attacks have been published, and were pub- lished on September 1st, 1911, as follows: COPY. Humboldt, S. D. I, Sylvester Egan of Buffalo Township, Minnehaha County, South Dakota, do hereby, on June 6, 1911, make the following statement of facts, and to which I am willing to make oath. That on October 25, 1910, I bought a mare colt, color black, with white star in its forehead, foaled in the spring of 1910, of and from G. A. Aldrich of Grand Meadow Township, in said county, at a public sale, paying therefor |87. That I removed said colt to my farm in Buffalo Township, where I kept it until about April 4, 1911, when I sold it to H. G. McMillan of Rock Rapids, la., and consigned it by rail to him at Doon, la., for Lakewood, la. That I know that said colt was not a full or pure blood, or registered Percheron. That all talks and negotiations regarding said sales were conducted with H. G. McMillan in person; I did not represent it to be full blood. Afterwards, at McMillan's request, I signed an application for registering said colt as a full blood Percheron. (Signed) Sylvester Egan. Humboldt, S. D. I, Sylvester Egan of Buffalo Township, Minnehaha County, South Dakota, do hereby make and sign the fol- lowing statement which I do affirm to be true. That on and for some time prior to April 4, 1911, I was the owner of a 1-year old colt, color black, with a little white on its left hind foot. It was a grade colt, not a full blood, and having no known pedigree. That I raised said colt on my farm in said township. Its sire was '^'Conde" owned by me and its dam was a Perch- eron mare named "Bird" having no pedigree. I sold said colt to H. G. McMillan and delivered it to him on April 4, 1911. He asked me if I could not "Put papers on the colt, as you have full blood mares." I did not represent the colt to be a full blood, but I hastily and on his suggestion, signed an application for register- ing said colt as a full blood and gave it to McMillan. Had I more time to think about it, I would have re- fused to have done so. I regret what I did. {Signed) Sylvester Egan. June 6, 1911. Your Committee has investigated the above statements and finds that they are apparently false. The facts are set forth in an affidavit made September 23rd, 1911, by Sylvester Egan. COPY. State of South Dakota, Minnehaha County, ss : I, Sylvester Egan, on oath, state that I live in Buffalo Township, Minnehaha County, South Dakota. My attention being called to a statement signed by me dated June 6, 1911, and published in the Stallion and Jack News under date of September 1, 1911. I desire to say with reference to said published statement that the latter part thereof is in- correct and untrue, in which I am made to say that H. G. McMillan asked me if I could not "put papers on the colt, as you have full blood mares." And wherein I was made to say that "I did not represent the colt to be full blood, but I hastily, and on his (Mr. McMillan's) suggestion, signed an application for registering said colt as a full blood." The truth is, I went to Lakewood Farm, to buy a stallion of Mr. McMillan on March 30, 1911, and bought a stallion of him on that day, and as part payment therefor traded in two yearling Percheron colts, one a stallion and the other a filly. At the time this trade was made, Mr. McMil- lan asked me if these colts were registered colts, and I told him they were. The fact is, I secured the blank forms of application for the registration of these colts and filled them out myself more than two weeks before I went to Mr. Mc- Millan's farm to buy a horse, and I sent these applications to the Secretary of the Percheron Society of America at Chicago myself, on or about the 13th day of March, 1911. That I had not seen Mr. McMillan or had any communica- tion with him for a year or more prior to the time I was at his farm March 30th, 1911. That he made no suggestion to me whatever concerning the registration of these colts, as the applications had been sent in more than two weeks before I was at his farm. He asked me at the time I made the trade if the colts were registered and what horse they were sired by and I told him they were sired by Mr. P. W. Moir's stallion, of Orange City, Iowa, and I stated that I would send him the pedigrees for the colts when I shipped them to him and that on or about April 4, 1911, I shipped him the two colts and sent him the pedigrees by mail. That the statement in the Stallion and Jack News that I made out an application at his (McMillan's) suggestion and sent it to him is incorrect and untrue. I did not understand that the statement which I signed contained a statement to this effect. I further state that I was induced to sign this statement by Mr. G. W. Patterson of Worthington, Minn., and his Attorney, E. H. Canfield, of Luverne, Minn. They came to my farm and asked me concerning these colts that I had sold to Mr. McMillan and I told them that they were grade colts, but that I had made out applications for them myself and furnished Mr. McMillan with pedigrees for these colts. They induced me to sign the statement published in the Stallion and Jack News by representing to me that I was liable to a serious prosecution for what I had done and that if I would sign the statement that they wanted me to sign, that they would protect me from any prosecution or harm that might come to me by reason of my selling Mr. McMillan the two grade colts as pure breds and furnish ing him with pedigrees. That they stated to me that they did not want to do me any harm, but that they were after McMillan. (Signed) Sylvester Eg an. Subscribed and sworn to before me by Sylvester Egan this 23rd day of September, 1911. (Signed) C. H. Peterson, [seal] Notary Public in and for Minnehaha County, South Dakota. The statements set forth in Mr. Egan's Affidavit are cor- roborated by the Records of the Office, as shown by the fol- lowing Affidavit from the Secretary : I, Wayne Dinsmore, Secretary of the Percheron So- ciety of America, hereby swear that three applications for registration of colts foaled in 1910, were received at the of- fice of the Percheron Society of America, March 15th, 1911, from Sylvester Egan of Humboldt, South Dakota; that the date when such applications were received is shown fully by the "receiving date" stamp and by the entries in the cash book; that said applications were properly made out, were signed by Sylvester Egan and were accompanied by trans- 8 fers of the dams of said colts. These transfers were prop- erly signed by P. W. Moir, who sold Egan the Percheron mares, represented to be the dams of said colts and con- tained certificates of service to his stallion. As transfers and applications were in proper form, and foaling dates tallied correctly with service dates, the applications were accepted, certificates issued on same for Comet 76216, Topel 76217 and Opel 76218, and mailed to Sylvester Egan at Humboldt, South Dakota. (Signed) Wayne Dinsmorb, Secretary. Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 25th day of September, 1911. (Signed) Belle Blue. (Seal.) Notary Public. The preceding statements, written by G. W. Patterson, or by his Attorney, signatures to which were secured from Egan, when compared with the actual facts in the cas^ shown in Egan's afifldavit and by the official records, speak for themselves; and the publications of these statements in publications having postal privileges, together with the wide distribution of free copies of the same shows a deliberate attempt to discredit the Society and its officers. Your Committee finds that there is no doubt but that Egan did record two grade colts as pure breds, and proper attention will be given to his case; but the evidence shows conclusively that McMillan did not have any knowledge of this. Egan also states that he has led to record these colts as pure breds, by reason of the fact that two pure bred mares he bought of Moir, supposed to be in foal, did not prove to be, and he felt aggrieved and recorded these grade colts, as out of the pure bred mares, with a view to working them off on Moir, but before going there went to Lakewood farms with results as stated above. The evidence just recited goes to show that there was a plan to discredit the Society through one of its officers. ERRONEOUS REPRESENTATIONS. Among the representations made is one in which it is claimed that a certain suit was filed against the President of the Society, by the Department of Agriculture, a year ago last June, and that the President improperly persuaded the Society to furnish all the money necessary to defend the case. The truth is that a complaint was filed by the Depart- ment of Agriculture at Washington, alleging irregular reg- istrations of some 283 horses, a number of which were im- ported horses. In the entire list that was involved, Presi- dent McMillan was only interested in three and these were horses he had not bred or recorded himself. By direction of the Board, a Committee was appointed to go to Washington and take charge of this case. The Committee being composed of the following Directors: H. G. McMillan, C. O. Keiser, J. C. Robison, C .M. Jones, J. L. Delancey and A. P. Nave. By a resolution of the Board, the expenses of the Committee were paid by the Society. At the hearing at Washington, McMillan was simply paid ac- tual expenses the same as the other Directors on the Com- mittee. The hearing resulted in a complete vindication of the position taken by the Society, and as heretofore stated, the recommendation made at the hearing by the Percheron Society was adopted by the Agricultural Department. THE PATTERSON INJUNCTION. Wide publicity has recently been given to an injunction which was served on the Directors of the Percheron Society of America, September 16th, 1911, by Attorneys acting for G. W. Patterson and to a suit in equity filed by him. The facts are that an affidavit charging Mr. Patterson with fraud in exhibiting his horses at the Iowa State Fair in 1907 has been in the possession of your Committee for some time. This Committee has investigated all charges that have been filed against members and referred same to the Board for Action and all cases of this kind have been disposed of, save the Patterson case. In view of this fact, it seemed desirable that this case should also be disposed of and your Committee accordingly made an investigation for the purpose of arriving at the truth in the case. As a re- sult of said inquiries the following affidavits were filed : COPY. We, the undersigned members of the firm of Finch Bros., hereby swear that at the Iowa State Fair, held in 1907, G. W. Patterson of the Patterson-Erickson Co., borrowed two yearling Percheron fillies from us, and exhibited them as his own. The fillies in question were Gracieuse 51269 (71308) and Giosa 51268 (71624), and could not be shown by our firm because they had not been entered. G. W. Pat- terson borrowed them and exhibited them under the names of Sybil 46789 and Devilla 46787, and left his own fillies, which were entered under these names, in the barn. The animals were loaned to G. W. Patterson him- sslf. We, the undersigned, were both in the ring when 10 the fillies were shown and know that Mr. Patterson was present, and that the exhibition of the animals under false pretenses was done with his full knowledge and active participation in said exhibition. One of these fillies won second place. We, the undersigned members of the firm of Finch Bros., knew that this transaction was irregular and fraudulent, but on account of the fact that said G. W. Patterson was superintendent of the Draft Horse show at the Minnesota State Fair, where we were to show the following week, did not feel disposed to refuse his re- quest for temporary use of the fillies as his own. (Signed) Chas. A. Finch. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 31st day of July, 1911. (Signed) Belle Blub, Notary Public. [seal] (Signed) J. P. Finch. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 3d day of August, 1911. [seal] (Signed) Wm. W. Corris, Notary Public. I, J. F. Pallister of Verona, 111,, hereby swear that I was employed by the Patterson-Erickson Co. of Worth- ington, Minn., for a time during the summer of 1907 to help fit their Percheron horses for exhibition. I left their employ three or four weeks before the opening of the Iowa State Fair, and entered the employ of H. G. McMillan & Sons of Rock Rapids, Iowa, whom I had agreed to help during the State Fair season. At the Iowa State Fair, 1907, I exhibited the yearling filly Adelaide 50646 for McMillan & Sons, and noticed, when the Patterson-Erickson Co. lead their yearling fillies into the ring, that they were not the yearlings they had been fitting for the show when I was in their employ, but were much better fillies. I asked Erickson then where he secured the fillies, and he answered curtly that they had been out on the other farm. One of the animals won second, and as soon as I conveniently could (on the same day) I made inquiries and ascertained that the fillies which Patterson-Erickson Co. had exhibited were in fact the property of Finch Bros, and that the fillies actually entered at the Iowa State Fair by Pat- terson-Erickson Co. had been left in the barn while the showing was in progress. I furthermore swear that G. W. Patterson was in the ring while these fillies were being shown. 11 (Signed) J. F. Pallister. Signed and sworn to before me this 3rd day of August, 1911. (Signed) Wm. W. Corris, Notary Public. [seal] By the action recited Mr. Patterson won money from the Iowa State Fair, and from the Percheron Society; and it appears that he thereby also caused his filly, Sybil 46789, to be published to Percheron breeders as a winner in the Percheron Society specials at the Iowa State Fair, when it seems that she did not leave the barn. Inasmuch as it was by virtue of Mr. Patterson's membership in the Perch- eron Society that his entries in the Percheron Society spe- cials were allowed, the case clearly comes within the juris- diction of the Society and the inquiry was made. Other information received by your Committee cor- roborated the statements made in the affidavits. The matter was accordingly referred to the Board and G. W. Patterson was given proper notice to appear and show cause why he should not be dealt with as our By-laws provide. PATTERSON RESORTS TO COURTS IN ATTEMPT TO OVER-RULE THE BY-LAWS AND PRE- VENT TRIAL OF HIS CASE. Instead of appearing he served an injunction on the Members of the Board, restraining them from taking any action or hearing said case. CLAIMS SOCIETY HAS NO JURISDICTION OVER HIS CASE. He further sets forth that the charges against him, even if true, do not render him liable to action on the part of the Percheron Society, thus attempting to interpose a technical defense. The question at issue, therefore, appears to be whether a member has the right to win, by misrepresenta- tion, money prizes ofifered by the Percheron Society and at the same time successfully deny the jurisdiction of the So- ciety to try such a case. CHARGES CANNOT BE HEARD OR ACTED UPON. Your Committee, therefore, reports that although direct charges affecting Mr. Patterson's standing as a member are on file, no action can be taken until the temporary writ of injunction is dissolved. Inasmuch as wide publicity has been given to the injunction, your Committee deems it wise to incorporate the above review of the case, in this report, in order that there may be an official record of the same. 12 WORK OF PEDIGREE COMMITTEE. The members of the Board of Directors, and our mem- bers, may draw their own conclusion as to Mr. Patterson's reasons for charging Mr. McMillan and members of this Committee with fraud. Inasmuch as the other members of the Board may not realize how persistently and steadily the Pedigree Committee has worked, attention is respectfully called to the fact, that, during the last two years no less than twenty meetings of the Committee have been held, over 300 doubtful applications rejected, and four extended field investigations made. As a result of our work one firm has been debarred from recording any American bred stock and restrictions laid upon its other business. Another firm detected in attempted irregularities, has been fined $200.00 and placed under strict restrictions on all future business, said restrictions requiring the firm in question to report all future colts before four months old (before they are weaned) and to pay the expenses of having same inspected at side of dam, by an authorized representative of the Society. Still another case, where the evidence indicated to the Committee that a certain party's statements were unworthy of credence, was handled in the same way. Every specific case on which charges have been filed, has been given proper attention. Not a single charge has ever heen filed against any of the present members of Boards and since the publication of these statements, Messrs. Patterson, Graham, Danforth and Carlson have all been called upon for specific charges, backed by proper evidence, by investigators employed by the Pedigree Committee, and all have refused, or been un- able, to submit a single specific case. Attempts to discredit our Records unwarranted, inequitable and injurious to public interests. In conclusion your Pedigree Committee would respect- fully call attention to the following facts : The present management of this Society has believed and still believes in the policy of building up, rather than tearing down. For several years past, we have been pro- viding additional rules governing the registration of animals with a view of placing every safeguard possible around the registration of animals and the issuance of pedigrees. We now require that animals be recorded at a young age, we require transfers of mares, and in many other ways is every effort possible made to verify applications before pedigrees are issued. In accordance with the policy of the present manage- ment of the Society, we are making this report of the con- ditions that prevail and recommend putting same in print, in order that every stockholder may be fully informed con- 13 cerning all matters in which he may be interested. This Society is composed of over four thousand stock- holders, who are farmers and breeders throughout the United States and Canada. The records of the Society belong to these stockholders and they are the men who are interested in maintaining them. It is for that reason that your Com- mittee has deemed it wise to place these facts so fully before the stockholders in order that they may have full opportunity to know the truth and act intelligently at the next Annual Meeting and future meetings that they attend. In conclusion, this committee has worked conscien- tiously to enforce the rules laid doAvn in our By-laws, and has enforced same without fear or favor, treating all mem- bers alike. Kespectfully submitted. Members of the Pedigree Committee. /^^.<^^^ (xA-&M^ Secretary. U