75 Years Ago
Late Autumn/Early Winter 1929
by Maurice Telleen
published in The Draft Horse Journal, Winter 2003 - 2004

(From the Breeder’s Gazette, the Percheron News, Belgian Review and general news sources of the period.)

October 1 was a very significant day for agriculture. It marked the beginning of Stalin’s first Five Year Plan. One of the goals of this five year plan was to completely industrialize Russian agriculture. This experiment is still ongoing, as some of you have no doubt noticed. And not just in Russia.

Early October and the crack of bats in places like Yankee Stadium tell us that it is World Series time. The New York Yankees make it look easy by defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in four straight. There was no big bay hitch at the ceremonies in St. Louis. Anheuser-Busch was making pop, I guess, and the country was still pretending that prohibition worked. So, no big Clyde hitch to spur on the boys from St. Louis.

Our fascination with air travel that had been triggered by Lindbergh’s great solo flight across the Atlantic, was in full flower. In October of ‘28, the giant dirigible, Graf Zeppelin, became the first commercial aircraft to provide regular passenger service between Europe and North America. But it was not an airplane in the usual sense. It was a huge blimp that raised the airship with a lighter than air gas called helium. That is how this contraption gained its elevation–with lighter than air gas. The thrust, on the other hand, was by means of an engine and propellers not unlike those used on a conventional airplane. The crew and passengers were located in gondolas suspended from the hull.

It had been designed by a man named Ferdinand von Zeppelin who was a German army officer. During World War I smaller zeppelins had made more than fifty bombing raids on England. They were slow, vulnerable, ponderous and somewhat clumsy–but they were also useful. So were blimps used by our own Navy as submarine hunters in World War II. They had also been used for aerial surveillance in World War I. Fifty miles per hour was considered about par.

Following the war, the defeated Germans were limited by the Allies where conventional aircraft were concerned, so they worked on these blimps. The Graf Zeppelin, completed in 1928, was the pride of their fleet. It was 800 feet long and 100 feet in diameter. It could fly 70 miles an hour and its luxurious cabin could carry fifty passengers and their luggage. From 1933 to 1937, this thing was used for regular commercial service between Germany and South America.

Meanwhile they built a bigger, fancier one. It was called the Hindenburg and was put into regular commercial service in 1936. Slightly larger than the Graf Zeppelin, it made 54 flights, 36 of them across the Atlantic. On May 6, 1937, while approaching Lakehurst, New Jersey, it burst into flame, killing 36 persons. That ended blimp service from Germany. By that time the Germans were doing whatever they pleased with more conventional aircraft such as fighters, dive bombers, transports, and high altitude bombers. Lindbergh pointed this out, hinting that they had probably the best air force in Europe–but more on that another time.

Getting back to blimps, our Navy got quite interested in them and built and put quite a few into service in the 1920s. They destroyed a lot of Nazi subs in WW II. In 1961, the U.S. Navy finally gave up on its lighter than air, aircraft programs. Now blimps are useful primarily for hovering over a packed stadium towing a sign that says—“Subscribe to Breeder’s Gazette” or some such message. Enough on that subject.

The free-for-all in China seemed to be working toward a resolution of sorts. It appeared that Chiang Kai-Shek was likely to be the last man standing. I suspect that suited us fine–his wife being a graduate of Wellesley and all.

There were three dates in November when something important happened:

On November 7 the country finally went to the polls and I’m sure Sam Guard really enjoyed listening to the returns on the radio. Hoover won in a landslide; 444 electoral votes to Smith’s 87. He also polled over 21,000,000 votes to Smith’s 15,000,000. It wasn’t even close. Hoover vowed to carry out the ideals of the American people and Smith vowed to never run for office again, stating “I have had all I can stand of it.”

Three days later, on November 10, 1928, a skinny, nearsighted, 27 year old named Hirohito ascended the throne of Japan upon the death of his father. He was crowned in a ceremony in Kyoto, a fantastically beautiful city that had served as the capital of Japan from 794 to 1868, when it was moved to Tokyo. Filled with ancient important and beautiful temples, shrines and pavilions, it was the only major Japanese city that escaped our bombers in WW II. In other words, we made an exception for Kyoto.

I had the privilege of seeing that place very briefly when I was 19 years old but, at this point, I could tell you more about Topeka, Indiana, than I could about Kyoto, Japan. It was very pretty. Much better looking than Hiroshima, where some of the buildings were still leaning and others vaporized. That is about all I remember of those two places. The experience was obviously wasted on me.

One more good thing about that new emperor in 1928, this Hirohito. He vowed to work for world peace. Obviously, he fell in with the wrong crowd.

And finally, before we switch to the horses and such, on November 23, (just 16 days after the election) that nervous stock market had another one of its “spells.” It was the most turbulent buying demonstration ever seen on Wall Street. Once more, trading had to be suspended after the volume reached almost seven million shares. It topped the record that had been set just seven days prior! If any person behaved like that market, they would have been put into a straight jacket to protect themselves–and everybody else.

Now to the October, November and December 1928 Gazettes, the International Show Album for 1928 and the breed papers.

I had become kind of hooked on the Listerine full page ads in this livestock magazine. Every month they found a new way of saying how awful everybody’s breath was UNLESS they used Listerine regularly. So that was the first thing I looked for in the October 1928 issue. Turns out that halitosis wasn’t the only thing this wonder product was good for. It was also great on your face as an after-shave lotion. It was (is) a versatile product, useful for slurping around in your mouth to kill bad breath or patted onto your freshly-shaven face. We still keep two bottles on hand, one in each bathroom. A few things never change.

Since I ran one of their halitosis ads in the last issue, I’ll run a couple very different-type ads in this issue. Ads that are far more to the point for their readership.

A COUPLE OF ADS FROM THOSE 1928 GAZETTES The meanings of words change. When these two ads appeared in the October 1928 Breeder’s Gazette, it meant water for your home and your stock. Now, as we approach (however reluctantly) the end of the age of petroleum, WINDPOWER has taken on a much broader meaning. Windpower was essential to every single farm in 1928. Windpower will continue to be essential in one form or another. In 1928 windpower related to pumping water mostly. In Iowa in 2003 it relates equally to generating electricity.

The big annual catalogues from Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward were the shopping malls for rural America. It was like Ward’s catalogue ad says–they could sell you anything from a box of tacks to a nine-room house. There were several models of homes and it was possible to have every stick of lumber (numbered) sent to your address along with detailed instructions. What a deal!

The winning “Best Five Stallions” in the Belgian Show at Chicago in 1928 shown by the Holbert Horse Importing Co., Greeley, Iowa. That is Fred Holbert, the eldest of four sons, with the trophy. He had purchased about 120 horses in Belgium that year and maybe 25 in France. At Chicago, their entries stood 2, 4 and 5 in the aged class. 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the 4 year olds (their favorite age) and 1, 4, 5, and 6 in the 3 year olds. All five of these horses at Chicago were recent imports. They did considerably less well with the Percherons.

Speaking of their readers, the election probably came as a relief to most of them. Sam Guard’s over-the-wall, unrestrained and excessive cheerleading for Herbert Hoover stopped just short of canonization at times. It wore itself pretty thin. The Gazette had always taken a keen interest in economic and political questions as they related to livestock farming and rural life, but never so blatantly one-sided before. This extreme politicalization no doubt pleased some, made others furious, and led more than a few to cancel their subscriptions. They wanted a livestock paper, not a monthly message from the Republican National Committee.

In light of the sorry course of events over the next four years (which were not Hoover’s fault), it probably gave the Gazette a bit of a shove downhill. It was no doubt great fun (for Sam) but not the smartest thing he ever did.

Before the end of 1928, Jim Poole, the market editor, was asking, “How Long Can These Markets Last?” That was more to the point than all the hero worship lavished on Hoover. The price of hogs, lambs, cattle, and butter meant more to the readers of that journal than how many electoral votes anybody got. That is what they were trying to out-guess–not the election. As Poole pointed out, hogs had advanced $5 cwt. from late winter to the height of the 1928 crest in September. The biggest reason was a poor 1927 corn crop, which led to lighter weight marketing and fewer sows retained for spring farrowing. On the other hand, 1928 looked like a bumper crop–which spurred farrowings the following spring, as it dropped the price of corn.

Time to get to the horse business. There were three interesting public auctions in the draft horse trade, all within about a three week period and quite close together geographically–in southeast Iowa and western Illinois.

On October 16, Mrs. R.W. Hoit, Beacon, Iowa, dispersed her late husband’s well known stable of registered Percherons at the fairgrounds in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Twelve buyers took the eighteen mares and colts at an average of better than $270. A son, Lester Hoit, was going to carry on. I would not be surprised if a few animals were withheld from the auction with him in mind. Charles Oldham, Eddyville, Iowa, was the largest single buyer with five head. One pair of mares went to Ohio and another to H.C. Muddox, Sacramento, California. I have to think that this sale benefitted from the Singmaster dispersal on the next day.

The following day, October 17, at nearby Keota, the J.O. Singmaster dispersal was held. Mr. Muddox from California took the top stallion (Bronze, pictured here) at $2,650 and the top mare, Maple Grove Helen at $1,050. Purchasers from eight states and Canada paid a total of $22,075 for the 58 head listed in the catalog. Eighteen stallions brought an average of $496 and the forty mares and colts, an average of $329. Buyers included some very “big names” in the trade. Here again, a son, Charles Omar Singmaster, was planning to carry on.

It was rainy at both those Iowa sales and they attracted a crowd of about 1,500 people. They were only about 35 miles apart so it had close to the same effect as a two-day sale. And the rainy weather didn’t hurt. It kept them out of the cornfields and it was harvest time.

A couple of weeks later, on November 1, just across the river and a few miles south, was the annual Carnot Sale at the home of W.S. Corsa. The day’s weather was not good. Nonetheless, 25 head were sold for right at $200 apiece. A lot of them were young horses. In fact, the top-selling stallion was a foal selling at $380. The top mare, also a youngster, went to Bill Murray, Rochester, Ohio, at $305. Ed Jones from Fairbury, Nebraska, consigned the three top selling stud colts. Out of state buyers included the Connecticut Agricultural College at Storrs and Ira Rusk, Wellington, Kansas. This was a “bloodline sale”–sort of Mr. Corsa and his friends celebrating the blood of Carnot, annually.

Archie Pedden, well known stallioner from Strathroy, Ontario, attended these three sales and was a good buyer. He had also bought three stallions privately in Delaware County, Ohio, from George Dix, Marion Westbrook and Russell Eversole. You Buckeyes know any of those guys? If you did, you are pretty old!

I think I’ll do the rest of 1928 with photographs and old ads.

The 1st prize “Best Five Stallions” at the 1928 International, all bred, developed and exhibited by Ernest Humbert, Corning, Iowa. All were sons of Egotist. They included the grand champions at the Ak-Sar-Ben in Omaha, the American Royal in Kansas City and the Iowa State Fair. They also won the “Get” class for their sire at all three shows and stood second to the Get of Laet at Chicago. A great group of homebred stallions.	At the other extreme, standing in third place was this group shown by Truman’s Pioneer Stud Farm, Bushnell, Illinois, all recent imports from France. Trumans also showed a few Shires (their first love) including the grand champion stallion and reserve junior champion stallion in that breed. They are also listed as having a few stallion entries in the Belgian lineup.	Bronze, top of the Singmaster dispersal selling to H.C. Muddox, Sacramento, California at $2,650.

Happy New Year. Let’s hope we get luckier than our dads and granddads did in 1929. They got the great stock market crash followed by ten years of world-wide depression, followed by World War II.