Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-01-11
COUGHING THE CHANGERS.
The Way A Chicago Tribune Man Says 1t IL Done
At the Stock Yards.

The arbitrary practices of the class
Of men employed at the Union Stock
Yards known as .'shrinkers'' have re-
Gently become so outrageous that some
of the larger dealers are beginning to
see the necessity of taking some action
toward abating the nuisance. Numer-
Gus bitter complaints have recently been
received by Stock-Yard firms from hog
shippers all i've the western country
concerning the manner in which their
stock is ''docked'' by the buyers and
s.shrinkers" of the packing-houses.
But verdant drovers and farmers are
the worst sufferers. Complaints from
this source have become so general oil
late that a Tribune reporter yesterday
made a tour of inspection through the
yards. Each of the packing-houses has
in its employ several buyers and shrink
ers." The former do the purchasing,
and the sole duty of the "shrinker'' is to
see that the shipper gets the worst of
the bargain. Why the ..shrinkers'' are
so assiduous in increasing the wealth of
their employers at the expense of some
poor, Flooding farmer, is not definitely
known. However, it can be surmised
that the recent presents of houses and
lots, gold watches, suits Of clothes, etc,
by the packers TO their ''shrinkers''
must be made up in some way. One
thing seems assured, and that is that
the packers do not make the presents
simply because they, the packers, are
men OF generous impulses. nor because
they are men of great wealth; else the
cashiers, the clerks, and other employees
equally as faithful as the "shrinkels''
would come in for presents also. The
"shrinker" can make q thousand
dollars a day to his employer,
If he chooses, simply by docking to
excess on c~onsignments of hogs. Every
night the number OF hogs purchased and
the ''shrinkage'' is compared, ard it is
not to be supposed that a '.shrinker''
who examines the book and finds that
some other fellow has excelled him in
docking will remain at the foot of the
list so long as the opportunity remains
to square himself with his employer at
the expense of some unfortunate ship
per. "Shrinkers'' are, therefore, men
OF very easy conscience, if any. They
strut about the yard arrayed in fine
clothes and kid gloves, and absolutely
do nothing but keep within easy range
of sight of the buyers, and whenever a
purchase is made and their services are
required they gaze for a moment upon
the drove, and, with a supercilIous wave
Of the hand to the weigher, transfer a
handful OF greenbacks from the pocket
OF the shipper or the farmer to the
%plethoric bank account of the packer.
Yesterday while the reporter was
roaming about in the yards he came
upon a buyer about to purchase a drove
of hogs. A commission man to whom
the stock was consigned in company
with the shipper appeared, and a bar
gain was made at SO much per hundred
pounds. The shipper was highly elated
on having sold his stock, and, after cal
culating the amount the stock would
bring, was informed that all that was
necessary was to 90 to the bank and
draw the proceeds. The buyers aids
subsequently appeared, and the hogs
were driven to a scale to be weighed.
The reporter followed. After the hogs
had been weighed the ''s~hrinker," a
pompous parsonage whose word was
evidently not to be gainsaid, came up
and said to the weigher with a cynical
smile, -Four hundred off," meaning
thereby that he did not propose to pay
for 400 pounds of the net weight because
OF 'shrinkage." 1t was purely guess
work on his part, for he had no means
of knowing what the '~'shrinkage'' was,
if there really vas any. The shipper
has no means of retaliation. and if he is
at all green he does not ascertain until
his hogs have been driven off to what
extent he has been swindled. Then If
he makes any complaint he is liable to
be silenced by the commission man,
who tries to make him believe he had a
few piggy sows among the lot, and that
he has the best of the bargain
as 1t is. 1t is against the law to slaugh-
ter piggy sows, but no one ever hears
of the law being carried out. and health
officers and other petty officials are ca
silly silenced in the most practical way.
1t is scarcely to be wondered Mt that
there is a great deal of indignation be-
ing stirred up concerning the shrink
ers'" practices.