Mexico weekly ledger., 1889-04-18
large experience in cattle handling,

isl &c CApciloiISO III SatGiS LdiIoAAiiS
said:
"The beef inspection bill III the
Missouri Legislature is very rams
parent. 1t is not for the protec-
ton of meat consumers, but to
drive The big packing house out of
business. Missouri may pass such
a bill and not materially atfect
local markets, for the reason that
comparatively little refrigerator
meat is used in Missouri towns.
The question is, can Missouri, a
meat producing State, afford to es-
tablish such a precedent, thus
virtually inviting other States to
pass laws for the benefit of farmers
OF those States? \ bill similar to
the one before the Missouri gen.
eral assembl is now under consid-
Grafton by the Michigan Legislature.
The Michigan farmers and Mlchi-
gan butchers favor the bill because
of the benefits which will accrue to
them by the enactment of such a
law. The northern peninsula Of
Michigan buys nine-tenths of the
beef it uses. The supply comes
mainly from Chicago. Every town
of any size has one or more re-
f~rigerat9r storehouses owned by
Armour, Swift, Morris and others.
Now, if the Michigan Legislature
enacts a law which compels a.
party Offering dressed beef for sale
to have the same inspected within
forty-eight hours of killing in the
town where the beef is offered for
sale, then these dressed beef houses
must ship their cattle alive to these
towns and kill them there. Every
cattle shipper knows that it will
cost as much to ship a a load of
twenty cattle alive from Chicago to
Marquette, Mich. as it will to ship
the carcasses of forty cattle in a re-
f~rigerator car. Everyone knows also
that the cost of marketing all kinds
of farm products must be divided
between the producer and the con-
sumner. Hence any measure which
increases the cost of marketing a
given product must work a hardship
Jointly to these classes. The Mich
lgan farmer is not slow to see that
If the cost of shipping beef from
Chicago to Marquette, ~Ishpeming,
Republic and other mining towns
can in any way be increased, he, the
Michigan farmer, will get the bene-
fit of being nearer the market in
question. Now, if Missouri cattle
cannot be killed in Chicago or Kan
sas City and their carcases shipped
to these markets, then the cattle
must go alive 10 these towns. 1t
might be pertinent to ask of cattle
shipper if a Car of 1900 pound cat
tie can be sold at 4 cents in Kansas
City, at what price would the same
animals be delivered, in winter with
the thermometer 35e below zero, in
a town-Marquette, for example
500 miles north of Chicago? If he
| can sell his car of cattle in the Mar
quette market there is no law to
prevent his doing so, but the fact is
that Fowler & Son and others can
buy cattle, make a big profit and
then sell at a price which defes
competition by shippers of live
cattle. | am sure that any measure
which will increase the cost of mar
keting farm products Injuries the
farmers. Would it not be well for
American Legislators to be more
careful of enacting laws which will
question the wholesomeness of
American beef? Have we not had
sufficient experience in the effect of
pleuro-pneumonia agitation? The
result Of discussions of this charac-
ter has given Bismarck an excuse
to condemn the American hog and
very materially curtailed Dur x
ports of cattle"