The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1882-05-11
TIE WHEAT IUKK MERCHANT.
An Interview with Phil. Armour, the Ta-
nous Packer.

Boston Herald
In all Phil. Armour is facile princepa
among the makers of pork. Over ], OOU,
QUO hogs were killed at his Chicago packing
house last year. over SOC, 600 more at L is
packing house in Kansas City, several
hundred thousand moro at his establish
ment at Milwaukee. De Killed ,uore
po1kers-50O,O0 900 more-within the last
twelve months than both Cincinnati anil
st. Louis put together. Twenty five mill
lion. dollars of his money were distributed
in the corn belt of this country for live
hogs last year. He sits in his office OH
Washington street. in Chicago, and every
day talks over the wires with his own
employees in London, Liverpool, Antwerp,
Copenhagen, HarVe, Hamburg, and With
hundreds of others distributed through
ont the Southern States, with his part
R Milwaukee, at When Ne" he York believes and i'd
pork he buys, not only such as is within
easy reach, but every barrel and pound of
meat that is for sale in the world. Having
bought it, he sells it, not to the great spec
ulators in this country and abroad, but
himself distributes every pound Of it with
his own distributing machinery--the most
elaborate in the world-to the pork eaters
in the southern cotton states, in the manu.
featuring districts of England and France,
the agricultural section of Germany. and
he lumber regions of the north. In 1879
Mr.. Armour was the owner of practically
every barrel of pork in the world. Within
the next year he had sold it all over for con-
sumption. His speculation netted him, it
is said, $7,00O,G00.
"The hostile action OF the French gov
ernment," said Mr.. Armour, "was ostensi-
bly, taken for sanitary reasons. It was real
~ urged, however, by French protectionists
and sprung by wild minister of commerce
who was seeking popularity"
Are American meats as good yet as the
foreign2"
"No, for corn.fed hogs can never make
as palatable food as hogs fed on barley and
tnrnip; but one is good deal cheaper than
the other. Barley costs nearly twice as
much as corn: The Westp lalia hams cost
in London 100 to 125 shillings per 100
cost only little over half these figures"
els canned beef likely to.take the place of
cured pork; and, as the canning trade in
creases. is the killing and curing of hogs
likely TO grow less?"
mo. The two styles of meats do not per-
form the same Office, and do not, conse-
quently, conflict. The poor people buy
pork to work or. They buy canned beef
as luxury, and it takes the place of the
fresh meat that they are not able to buy.
American packers can sell the English mill
operatives and the other poor people of
Europe two pounds of canned corned beef,
boneless, and every part of which is edible,
for Just one-half what two pounds of
fresh meat, bone and all, would
cost them. About the only thing that sf-
fects the demand for pork, aside from the
general prosperity, is the pea crop in Eu-
rope, big crop making tAe demand lively,
and failure creating serious falling off.
The peasant woman makes soup out OF
peas and fat back Of which they are all
very fond"
l asked Mr.. Armour whether the pack
ing industry was on the move westward,
and whether Chicago was destined ere long
to lose its supremacy as Cincinnati had al
ready lost hers2 He said:
"The hogs are certainly moving west.
Whereas Cincinnati was once in the center
of the American hog raising region, it Is
now almost outside of it. Kansas City is
certainly nearer the hogs now than Chicago
is, but the latter city is likely to remain for
some time the great packing center. The
railroads havO made expensive arrange
ments for delivering live stock at the Chi.
cago yards; transfer stations have been es-
tablished, and the Union Stock Yards have
an enormous property here. All these
interests will oppose change"