The daily gazette., 1882-10-17
CHEAP BEEF.
How 1t is Proposed to Have 1t in Baiti
more.
Baltimore Day. J

A reporter called at the Chicago beef es
tablishment, on the southwest corner o
Eutaw and Camden streets this morning
the proprietors of which are Messrs. Swift
Bros, the great Chicago butchers. The
reporter was received by Mr.. s. A. Living
ston, the resident manager Of the enterprise
who in answer to questions made the fol-
lowing statement "The Swift Bros, one
of whom is resident of Chicago and the
other of Boston, recognizing the superior
advantages of Baltimore, her complete rail
! road system and terminal facilities, her fast
all-rail line and cheap transportation from
the great West, availed themselves of those
opportunities and established in Baltimore
this great and important enterprise. When
we first opened here early In August our
sales amounted to but four car loads per
| week, or 14S cattle, and have
steadily increased until now we
week, equal to $50 head of cattle. AT
our headquarters In Chicago we are now
slaughtering 1000 cattle per day, which are
shipped in our large refrigerator cars to all
the large cities of the East where we have
an established agency At each of these
agencies a patent refrigerator storehouse is
specially fitted up with all conyeniences and
modern appliances for the preservation OF
the meat, which can be kept fresh and sweet
for an almost indefinite length of time, as
1t is kept at temperature at about freezing
point from the time the beef is shipped until
it is sold to the numerous butchers, green
groceries and others who are getting it daily
in large quantities from the establishment.
The beef that you see here now was killed
in Chicago three days ago, and is far
superior to any cattle killed here yes
terday and offered for sale to-day. BY our
process the meat can be kept a week,
where the home beef will smell in 48 hours
after it is killed. During the summer
months we used $500 pounds of ice per day
to keep up the required temperature, but
now, as the weather is getting cooler, we
only use 800. In cold weather 300 pounds
is sufficient. The beef slaughtered here in
your city is sold by only a few of the
butchers in fact, could not mention the
names of % of them who don't purchase
their beef from us in preference to killing
and dressing their own meat as they have
been doing heretofore, and are now offering
it at much less rates for a superior quality
of meat. While but Is or 16 live cattle can
be brought here in one car the same car will
hold from 80 to 40 dressed cattle, saving the
shrinkage in weight incident to long trip
by rail. 1t is claimed that our meat is
better than If brought from Chicago
alive, as the cattle are in perfect
house there, while the fatigue of a long
railway journey always deteriorates the
quality of the beef" At this point the
scribe was introduced to Mr.. j. A. Flack,
prominent beef butcher of Lexington
market. That gentleman, when asked as to
the quality and prices of Chicago beef, re-
piled that he has been selling II from the
start. He says.: "Why, l buy this beef
from Il to two cents pound less than can
l. l., e Il
meat is the best In the market, and has the
preference over our home beef My custo-
mers don't want any other but the Chicago
beef. Where used to make profit of $15
or $40 on market days on my own killed
beef, l now make on this beef just three
times the amount of profit, and can afford
to sell at much lower figure. Poor
people formerly had to do with one
pound of beef for family of
eight because the price was too high for
them, but now they can get two pounds for
the same amount of money, and have a finer
and fresher piece of meat. The beef sold by
Messrs Swift Brothers here, which is dressed
in Chicago, is in a splendid condition and
of the finest quality; it is cleaner and at less
price than that brought here on the hoof.
As their arrangements are so perfect for
keeping it any length of time there is no
loss, SO their facilities are such that they can
place the most choice beef within the reach
of every one, in fact, at a trifie above the
actual cost. The butchers are all awakened
to the merits of the house and are purchas-
ing daily large quantities of the beef"
During the stay of the reporter there
were at least fifty butchers in
waiting with their wagons, each buying
several hundred dollars worth of beef.
Retail prices will soon go down and unless
all signs fail the slaughtering of Western
cattle In our Eastern cities will soon be
thing of the past. The sales of beef per day
at this establishment amount to 50 800. At
present there are one hundred stores estab-
lshed in various parts of the city where the
sale of Chicago beef is made a speciality.
The reporter stopped in one of these, stu
ated on Camden street near Hanover, and
was surprised to see the great number Of
customers going in and out, and purchasing
large quantities of the meat The sales at
this particular store, which are all by retail,
amount to $3.50 per day, and on Saturdays
between 5000 and 81 900. This store alone
sells forty seven head of cattle per week