The Osceola times., 1882-11-25
THE BEEF TRADE.
Beef to be Shipped Hereafter
in Refrigerator Cars.
Phil Armour Thinks that Chicago VIII be
the Center of the Trade.

ili NHlNh btNh NoE
ing in the newspapers for some time re-
garding the shipment of dressed beef "a
the eastern seabord has directed general
attention to the subject and given it Il
peculiar interest for nearly ali classes OF
the community. A reporter called on
Mr.. Philip Armour, the well known mer-
chant and the head of the greatest pack
ing concern in the world, and inter
viewed him ON the subject. Mr.. Armour
said:
"This business has got to be done
through the west. They have large
percentage over killing cattle in the east
because they are no rings in the trade
here, whereas, they have nothing
but rings there. They have rings in
hides, rings in tallow, rings in beef, and
rings in everything in the cattle depart
ment. The future course of business is
all in this direction, and instead of cat
tie being shipped east alive il will only
be done in a very small way. 1t issimply
a law of nature that the bullock, like
the hog, will be handled near the corn
belt 1t is just as natural for the uade
to be done here as it is for the Mississ-
ippi to find an outlet"
what will be the eilest on the wess ?''
at will have very beneficial effect
in helping to develop the west, and in
largely increasing its volume of trade"
"Will it not have tendency to raise
the price of meat 20 the consumer"
"Not at all. 1t will not have the
slightest effect on the price to the con-
sumer here one way or the other"
"The supply will not be lessened here
at all. There will be just a. much meat
here as there ever was, and Chicago
butchers will have no more difficulty in
getting their loins and joints than be-
before. The butchers here do not buy
whole carcasses They only buy those
cuts for which there is demand here.
and the packers of canned meats can
supply them with all of them they want.
There will always be more of these
meats to be had here than are wanted"
Have any recent improvements been
mad in the facilities for shipping dressed
meats east ?"
"The facilities have been increased
greatly. We have now got refrigerator
cars that make this trade practicable.
The cars used in the past for the most
part are worthless. You might as well
have shipped the meat in "A clothes
basket, but two or three lirms have now
got cars that are absolutely perfect. We
have just effected an improvement on
ours that cost 5000 per car, and we can
now land meat in the eastern cities as
fresh and firm as when it left the west"
"ls there anything in the outcry that
has been raised in the east against meat
shipped from here"
Absolutely nothing. Colorado bull
locks killed and put on ice here, and then
put on ice on there, will bring more
money by two cents a pound than the
meat killed. on the spot by wholesale
eastern butchers. They have not the
facilities for killing it there that we
have here. That is one advantage which
the west has over the east. Another is
that q very large saving is effected here
in the offal. We can get better prices
for all the ofial-for hides and tallow-
and the whole saving amounts to sever
al dollars bullock. So that 1t is inn
possible for the east to compete with
the west in this trader"
"Will Chicago be able to keep the
trader"
81 do not know any place that has the
same facilities for doing the business and
it must increase largely. | have no
doubt it will increase 500 per cent. The
trade is only in its infancy, and will
eventually assume gigantic proportions"
"As the west fills up, will the trade not
| follow the course of emigration"
"No. Chicago is Just about the right
distance from the seabord We occupy
a central position here. Kansas City is
too far away. | do not see any reason
for supposing that we cannot keep the
trade against all competitors"
"How do you shi the meat-in whole
carcasses or pieces p"
"Our trade has up to the present been
in joints and loins-in pieces weighing
from so to 500 pounds, but We are now
getting cars in which we can ship whole
carcasses. We had ten of such cars de
iivered yesterday, and will soon have
many more, and in future we will do q
large carcass business, and intend to g
in to itextensively."
with whom is your trade ?"
with small butchers and hotel keep
ers in Baltimore, Philadelphia, New
York, Boston and Washington, and the
wholesale butchers in those places who
kill cattle see that IL is no use to try anC
compete with us, and are sending out
men all over the west to try and form
connections here, so that they can hav,
the dressed beef shipped to them from
the west. We send small pieces daily
by express and our fast freight line,
amounting in the aggregate to Thousands
and thousands of pounds, to hotel-keep
ers and small butchers Just as they wan
it all over the country, from st. Paul t.
Augusta, and we have way of dispos
ing of the coarser parts, that the butch
er has not, that gives us a great advan
tage."
"Do you do any trade with the south
or is there any probability of such {
trade being opened up in that direc
| tion 2"