Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1883-01-04
Beeves and Reef.

In his latest reported conversation
Mr. Vanderbilt was asked his opinion
of dressed beef, and had only this 10
say: Il believe in carving it by the
pound" This was 4 gratifying state
mcnt and must have afforded the Ar
mours, Swifts, llammondS and Aller-
tons of the business great relief They
know now that the king Of the rail will
not insist upon carrying this product
by the gallon, the yard, or the cord.
Whether he will usc troy, apothccary,
or avordupois weight is not expressly
stated, but they can afford to take their
chances on that point.
The truth is that Vanderbilt, Gould,
and their set are wholly opposed to the
new department in beef They have
many millions of dollars invested in
stock yards. cattle ears, slaughter
houses, and the like. The whole bust
ness has been farmcd out on the ling
plan, and not steer can fulfill his
manifest destiny without paving toll,
all the way from the ranch TO the
table. If it were possible TO keep the
cattle alive until they reached the sea-
board Vanderbilt and his associates
would do it. but they cannot control the
matter. All the forces of society are
enlisted against them. Thcproducers,
the middlcmcn, and the consumers
have u common interest in securing
the adoption OF the dressed beef syS-
TEN. No ring agencies are necessary
to make them pool their issues. They
are compelled by the facts in the case
to be upon the side Of the new system.
There are two great facts and frees
at work in the interest of the change.
First, the bullock is worth more if killed
in Chicago than anywhere else; and,
second, the meat is better. The saving
amounts to at least 81 per head. This
would amount to an immense sum Of
money in the course of Il year, even
cOnlining our calculations TO the becvcs
eaten in the city of New York alone.
No reference is made here to economy
in transportation, but simply to the en-
hanccd value of the animal Hardly
less important, and from the standpoint
of consumption Of greater Importance.
is the improvement in the beef itself.
Put live steer in car and bowl it
along TO the scaboard in the usual way
and il becomes fcvcrish and unwhOlc-
some. But slaughter him here. and
put the dressed beef in cool storage
house or rcfrio orator car for week or
two, not frozen at any time, but kept
constantly in a temperature allowing it
TO ripen or cure without being exposed
to any tainting influence, and it is n
very great improvement upon crude
meat, fresh from the butchers knife.
Perhaps Vanderbilt meant to say that
he must get as much for transporting
the dressed product as the live stock,
and that he can get without interfering
with the business. Not that the beef
alone should he subject to the full as
sessmcnt for there are other products
There is the hide, the tallow, the oll'al,
and in fine everything about the ami
nal is saved and made mcrchaltable
commodity, and the aggregate cost OF
TRANSFORMATION may be equal to the cost
of shipping the live stock, and still
leave n large margin of profit to be
divided between the three other parties
in interest already named, the produc-
er, the middlcman, and the consumer
Chicago has reduced the provision
business, rs Il branch of manufacture,
to scientific basis nowhere else at
tanned. A few years ago pork-packing
in the summer would have been looked
upon as absurd. The genius Of Chra-
90 made the ith Of July rs good a
time as the ith of January for packing
purposes. and that of itself was n tri-
umph over the adverse forces of nature
which was worth millions TO our west
crn farmers. There is a good market
now for their hogs at any and all times
of the year Beef is not quite rs diff
cult to handle as pork, but TO realize to
the very best advantage everything,
from horns to tail-tip, waSa eatthing
to do, but it is being done in the case
of all bcevGs slaughtered in Chicago. |
There is not u particle of waste, and
every branch of the manufacture is un-
der one roof, at least under one man
agcmcnt, and conducted to the very |
best advantage. But the live stock
shipped TO New York to supply the
meat market of that great city is killed
and dressed on the old. mscicntiiic,
wasteful plan.
The difference between the two Sys-
tens explains the fact already mem
toned. that the animal is worth at
least 81 more here than elsewhere. 1t
may be asked, Why does New York
cling to the old method? Because it
cannot do otherwise. Chicago is the
great market for grain and live stock,
and New York has handled neither on
the scientific and economical plans
adopted in this city. The advantages
enjoyed by Chicago for handling adj
vantageously the great staples of
American agriculture are permanent
and never can be riyaled by New York
or any other scaboard city. What
Kansas City may yet do, or some still
less developed Western town, no one
can foretell; but the great cities of the
East cannot be reconstructed so as 10
be adjusted to the business admits of
no doubt.
The railroad interest of this country |
ought by this time to appreciate the
fact Chicagois so far in partnership |
with the general bread and meat in
tercsts that transportation must adapt |
itself to the methods which grow
naturally out of the demands of the
situation. Vanderbilt and others like
him may properly fix a tariff of rates
which shall maintain their end of the
profits, but as for trying TO dictate
where beeves shall be manufactured
into beef and other products made
from that raw material, live stock, that
is out of the question and must be
wholly abandoned.
IILl,a .isit Lon 70 Now Nnrl. lltv