The Portland daily press., 1889-04-04
THE PORTLAND WHOLESALE BEEF TRADE
A Press Reporter Learns Some.Inter-
estIng Facts.
Great Changes Made In the Last
Decade.
How the Beef We Eat is prepared for
Food.

business of Portland; not in the supply and
demand, but in the manner of obtaining the
supply. Ten years ago, or thereabouts, the
farmers Of Maine raised the beef that
was consumed within the State.
Moreover, they shipped to other markets
large herds of cattle to supply the
demand there existing. In the suburbs OF
Portland, there were situated then large
slaughterhouses in which the beef consumed
in this city was prepared for human food.
Now all has changed. The slaughter Of cattle
to any great extent here has entirely ceased
The farmers, finding there is no profit in
raising cattle for beef, have disposed Of
their herds, and the slaughterhouses have
for the most part been converted into build
ings Of less bloody significance. or, stand
unoccupied and unused. A decade ago John
l.. Best the wholesale beef dealer. slaughter
tered In a fortnight at his house inWest5rook,
more cattle than all the suburban butchers
of today kill and bring to this city in year
fhe West now supplies the beef trade Of
Portland as well as of all the other large
eastern cities. The wholesale beef dealers
Of Portland are in the order Of their impor-
tance, as follows: Portland Beef Co., John
l.. Best, and Thos. Dyer q Co., and Cum
mings Bros. the last two mentioned firms
doing about the same amount Of business.
All the beef, except a small amount that
goes to John l.. Best, that these four whole
sale dealers handle is shipped to them over
the Grand Trunk railroad direct from Chica-
90. In the month Of March the Grand Trunk
delivered to the Portland Beef Co.. fourteen
carloads Of dressed beef; to John l.. Best,
seven carloads; to Cummings Bros, four
carloads; and to Thos. Dyer & Co., four car
loads. A small amount was delivered to
John L. Best, over the Boston & Maine Rail-
road. In tons, the amount received by each
dealer for the month was about as follows:
Portland Beef Co., 140 tons; John l.. Best,
some over 10 tons; Cummings Bros, 40 tons
and Thos. Dyer & Co., 40 tons. The total
amount handled by all the dealers for the
month, was as will be observed, 200 tons, or
a total weekly average Of 721 tons; or a little
over ten tons for every day
in the week, including Sundays. BY this it
will be seen that the wholesale beef business
Of Portland Is one Of no mean pro.
portions. Probably less than dozen native
cattle per week are slaughtered and brought
into the city by all the suburban butchers
combined, whereas decade ago the number
was more than 100 Per week. The great
slaughter houses of the West. by means of
refrigerator cars, have been able to take the
fresh beef trade almost entirely out of the
hands Of our local butchers. Six years ago,
John L. Best was by far the largest whole
sale beef dealer in Portland, but today the
Portland Beef Company is doing larger
business in that line. The Portland Beef
cago. Mr.. II. b. Peters, the manager of the
Portland company, is very young man, and
when he went into the business half dozen
years ago, ne did not, as he says himself,
know where the beef came from. Few
young men, however, are better qualified to
manage a large business than Mr.. Peters,
and as a result of his energy and push the
business Of his house has more than doubled
in the last five years.
Besides handling beef, all the wholesale
bouses deal in pork, sausages, mutton,
etc., in large quantities. The PRESS re-
porter spent pleasant afternoon in visiting
the different beef refrigerators. The huge
carcasSes are hung on numerous overhead
tracks, and as required they are run out,
sometimes cut on the huge meat blocks, and
sometimes sold whole.
A view Of the beef carcasses in the refrig--
orators here can give one very little idea of
the size Of the industry.
The dressed beef business of this country
is one of immense proportions, and the work
of dressing and preparing the beef that Is to-
Of this city was performed away out
west OF the Ohio river, and perhaps west
of the Mississippi. The cattle markets Of
this great country are in order OF Importance
as follows: Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha
and st. Louis. Chicago is the great market
and the slaughter of cattle, hogs and sheep
in that city during the year is enormous, the
number of each being in the millions. Dur
ing the year 1887, 2,3S2, ,009 cattle were re-
ceiyed at the Chicago markets; 8, ,470,S52 hogs,
and l,360,S62 sheep. The number Of cattle
and sheep received in that year was very
much larger than in the two preceding years,
but the number Of hogs was over 100000
less. The total shipments of cattle from
Chicago during 1887 was 791 ,4S3; hogs 1,s12,-
O01 sheep, 445,094. OF the vast number of
724 head came from the east of that city
only 1923 from the south and southeast,
and the 2,297, ,851 or nearly 81 per cent. of the
whole came from that portion OF the United
States between the Rocky Mountains and
north and south linedrawn through Chicago,
extending from the British line on the north
to the Rio Grande on the soath. The prime
beeves came from Illinois, Iowa, Missouri,
eastern Kansas, eastern Nebraska and the
southern countries of in Wisconsin and
Minnesota. these are the animals which COM
mand the highest price and are slaughtered
for the tables of the large hotels, restaurants,
and epicures all over the country. The
great bulk OF the other grades is composed
mainly of what Is known as range cattle,
weighing from $50 to 1150 pounds, the aver
age being not to exceed 1000 pounds. These
come from the ranches and ranges of Mon
tana, Wyoming, Dakota, Colorado, western
Kansas, Nebraska, Indian Territory Ari-
zona, New Mexico and Texas. Within the
last four or five years there has been a great
Improvement in the raising CT cattle on the
ranches. Vast herds OF cattle, roam overthe
ranges Of the southwest. To look after
these great flocks requires fewer men than
one would suppose. For ranch of $4,000
head there is superintendent and % or 80
men. The average is about one man to
each 1000 head. The cattle are
when the calves are branded and count
up" is had. The shipping season begins in
June. The cattle are picked out in punches
OF about 1000 and driven to the nearest rail
road station, where they are loaded and
shipped North. Some are billed to Omaha,
some to Kansas City, few to st. Louis, and
the greater majority to Chicago. In loading
the animals into the cars they are packed Sc
closely as to prevent, il possible, any one oi
them from lying down. Should the brute
become "downer," his fellows occasionally
tiample it TO death or bruise 1t so severely a:
to render 1t unstable except to go into tht
rendering tank on its arrival at the stock
yards. At the end of each 800 miles the ami
mails are unloaded, fed, watered and rested
They ore then loaded up again. Cattle from
Northern Texas are fed and watered twice
on their journey to Chicago, and II billed tC
Chicago by way of Kansas City.so as to take
advantage of both markets, they receive
their ratiOns three times. The shrinkage Ii
weight averages from to per cent. OI
some Of the railroads palace stock ears ar,
used, and on these the cattle can be fed anC
watered while in transit. The owner 0
agent, and from one to five men, usually ac
company each consignment, and it is tn
business of the latter TO look after the feed
ing and watering of the animals, and to Sc
that while in transit they are all standing
Upon arriving at the Union Stock Yard.
Chicago, the animals are driven out Of th
cars and penned up. Then they are fed an
watered. The yards have daily capaclt
| for 10000 cattle, 10000 hogs and 1000
| sheep. Almost at daylight buyers and sell
| ers are on the ground. The buyers represen
the dressed beef houses, the local wholesal
| butchers, and the trade in Detroit, Indian
| apolis, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore
| New York, Boston and other Eastern cities
| At noon the business of the day Is practical
| ly over. As the clock strikes the weighlni
| scales are closed for the day. One OIL tn
sights at the yards is the numbe
OF men on horseback. The buy
| ers and sellers are all mounted
| and bronco ponies seem to be the favorites
| The grounds are so extensive, covering near
| ly 400 acres, with miles of alleyways, that
| would be impossible for either buyer o
seller to do his business on foot. There /
| in the employ of the Stock Yards compan.
an army Of men and bOys-check-clerks
weighers, ,Ifeeders, drivers and others. To tn
west Of the yards are the packing houses, +
which connection is made by long yiaduct
| over the cattle pens. Surrounding the yard
and coiling around the packing houses is
network Of railroad tracks, nearly $50 mile
in extent, upon which nearly 100 switch Ell
| gines are constantly employed.
1 In ha Of