The New York herald., 1879-03-06
Professional Slop Feeders in
the West.
FATTENING CATTLE FOR THE EAST
Kept in Filthy Pens and Fed on
Distillery Refuse.
THE EAST ST. LOUIS SUPPLY

1t has been known for some time that slop-fed ana
diseased cattle shipped from this point to the
Eastern markets and there disposed of good con-
ditioned Texas stock. This evil has been steadily
growing until it has assumed startling magni-
tude that only prompt and strong measures will
enable the authorities to put stop to it. Your
correspondent visited the stock yards at East st.
Louis with the view of ascertainng, il pos
sible. the extent of this evil and the num-
Der of cattle that had been held over at
this point tofatten for the Eastern market but owing
to the shrewdness of buyers the feeding of slops is
not carried in the yards. the owners having
found from experience that it materially affects
their sales; consequently class has sprung up
called professional feeders. who. to carry their
work successfully and elude detection, ship the
cattle OFF to out of the way places. reship them to
livestock yards after putting them through the fat
tening process and send them East in mixed lots
with through shipments. thus preventing even fair
estimate OF the number of slop-fed stock that is in
this way thrown the Eastern markets. Beer slops
and what is called 'chop feeding carried on to
large extent right in the stock yards until owners
found that it damaged their sales.
DONE.
As soon as lot OF Texan cattle are brought into
the yards the best appearing and most salable
quickly disposed of and shipped off within twenty
four fortyeight hours but the healthy cattle that
what follows After the yard is pretty we'll cleared
then the professional feeder and buys up all
the poor and diseased cstte and the odds and ends
of unstable stock, getting great bargains, the
owners glad to get them of their hands at any
price.
DONE.
At an expense of much time and labor your cor
respondent last ferreted out the location of these
feeding quarters and discovered that the business is
carried on to large extent at Greenville Worden.
vincennes and even up far Peoria. Wishing to
satisfy himself to the condition of the cattle and
the extent to which it carried on. he took an
early train yesterday and visited the sheds of one
A. H. Mcneil, located ut Greenville Bond county,
some forty miles north OF st. Louis. The con-
ditton and surroundings of the cattle there found
enough to breed disease. even if they fed
on wholesome hay and corn In three long, narrow
sheds there was an average of l50 head of cattle
crowded into stalls with space to move
about n breathing the air and again.
means for ventilation provided, and I'll tn
reigned supreme Long troughs run the full length
of the sheds and present almost as filthy ap
pearance the floors and sides Of the wall
Shiny steaming aud actually rotting; these troughs
are filled twice day with beer slops and chop feed
which the cattle learn after q time to devour
ously. as no corn or hay is given them during the
whole fattening process, which generally lasts from
two to three months.
FRESH ARRIVALS
While your correspondent was looking through
the sheds small herd arrived that easily recOg
nzed as Texas cattle They were thin and poor and
and unable carry without tottering the weight
| their enormous horns. They were separated and
stall. after which the feeding process commenced.
quantity of beer slops and bran mixed was enpted
| into tho common trough from barrels Although
they had not undoubtedly been fed for forty eight
hours, and from insufficient food while in transit
presented a half starved appearance. they merely
shifted at the vile mixture and utterly refused to
| touch it, some Of them lying down
| they driven into the stalls to be quickly
e up with rha the hsa 11s Ssa Ssa m the cha4se
They penned up in this way several days before
they will touch food at all. but as soon as they do
commence to feed on it it is surprising how rapidly
| they fatten up and the healthy appearance they
present. They are kept in these close sheds where
kept in filthy and diseasebreeding condition and
fed on nothing but distcry refuse and beer slops
they are reshipped to East ST. Louis and there sold
from the stock yards fresh and healthy Texan cat
tie, mixed up with bond dde shipments from Texas
and Colorado.
UNDOUBTEDLY DISEASED
In this way there daily showed on the Eastern
market from eight hundred to thousand head of
cattle that undoubtedly diseased. intermixed
with good condition stock that it is impossible to
separate them after they reach the East This is
very easy this end there being no veterinary
surgeon ut the yards, and effort Is made before
shipping to separate and examine even what are
known to be mixed lots. and. q consequence it is
safe to say that all less diseased by the
time they reach New York.
country buyers but is also practsed by the original
owners. They come here daily with q miserable
looking lot OF ch<tle Win OF nOlulng
them in the East st. Louis yards for the pur
pose of slop fattenng. but when they find that buy
becoming too sharp to be imposed In this
manner they assign them to the out OF town feeders
and make amicable arrangement whereby it
will be covered up when the cattle returned to
the yards that they have been still fed.
SUPPLY.
There to-day in the stock yards about eight
hundred head of stock that from all appearance
half starved and in all probability would outlive
Journey to New York in their present condition.
but in q day they will be bought mp and
shipped of to some unwholesome feeding pen and
couple OF months will be returned in fattened
condition. but with disease in every pore from the
close quarters filthy surroundings aud utter lack
of care while under treatment by this economical
plan the actual cost not exceeding s3 per head. and
fully three hundred pounds added 10 their
weight. There were shipped yesterday yT0 head
large percentage of which undoubtedly
handled here and have been penncd up for weeks
and fed on distillery refuse. This thing going
every day, but matter of course is kept very
quiet, and all operations undcrhandcd that 1t
is impossible to get at reliable figures TO the
tual shipments. the number OF rchandled cattle
that shipped inthe midst of through lots.
MORE CATTLE All BLIssvILIE TO BE KILLED
ENGLISH STOCK GUARANTEED.
When General Patrick returned TO the Office of the