Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-05-28
ROUND-UPS.
Prominent Cattlemen Talk of the Re-
frigeratOr and Future Cattle
Market.
Good Times in Store for the Waiting Ones.
Good Points for Hog Raisers-General
Cattle News, Notes and Personals.

"Well, remarked veteran cattle
man to GAZETTE reporter yesterday as
he squared himself in front of him in a
chair at the Pickwick hotel, ~ see that
Fort Worth has come to the front as
usual and is going to build a beef refrig-
orator alongside her packing house and
stockysrds. -
eyes sir; the proposition of the stoc'-
men, or rather Texas beef refrigera-
ting company, has been accepted on the
part of Fort Worth and in q short time
work on the refrigerator works will COM
mence.' -
''Well, it beats the world, said the
cattleman with double nod of his head.
But then il is no more than might have
been expected. Fort Worth people
can see a good thing about as
quick as any set of people that L ever
saw, and it is a well known fact that
they never let good opportunity slip
by uuimproved. 1 for one am glad
Fort Worth has done this, for had she
not some other town would, and that
would have hurt your CITY. Cattle men
all over Texas generally kinder look on
Fort Worth as their headquarters, and
just come to this place as naturally as
water runs down stream; and it would
have been rather against the grain for
things to have been changed so as
interest would have called them else
where. -
''You think then that the establish
ment of the refrigerator at Fort Worth
will strengthen the bonds between this
city and the cattlemen?"
81 don It believe-I know it. You see
we have been coming here so long, hold
ing our annual meetings and doing our
buying and selling, that we have begun
to look upon it as our stamping grounds,
and don't wan It to make a change.
People have done big thing for
49esWorth in this matter, but a much
Bigger thing for the state generally than
you have for the city. What cattlemen
have wanted for a long time is a market
close at home, where the haul of cattle
will not eat up all the profits, and more
too, of beef steer. This will be secured
by the market that will be opened up
here by the establishment of the refrig-
orator. am no enthusiast, wan 'tyou
to understand, but look at thingslfrom q
business stand point, all the time, and it
L
how we cattlemen have been letting the
beef handlers up the country do us up.
''Why, would like to know, can not
we, down here on the range, fatten our
cattle, slaughter them and ship the
dressed meat to consumers in the North
at better profit than can be obtained
by the present methods? There is no
reason on earth why we. cannot. Texas
not 20
sell 1t on an open market to refrigera-
tor, dressed beef men and Gamers, at
what they are willing to pay, who
slaughter the stock and ship it right
back to US and make such profits that
they grow rich in a few years.
The present movement will reverse
this order of things, and if we are
only true to ourselves, it will be but a
short time before we are not only selling
beef cattle to our own refrigerator men,
but them fellows from up the country
will come down here for what they need
1t will either be that or they will come
down and establish more refrigerator
plants in Texas, and that is just what
will make the cattle business hum once
more.
Heretofore there has been lots of
talk about over-produotion; but do you
notice that you never hear of that now?
The fact of the matter is cattle are not
SO plentiful by long shot as they once
were, and they are going to be scarcer.
Cows were RIM to the market
last year by thousands and tens of
thousands and the calf crop this spring is
far below that of 1889. The scarcity this
year will not be felt so much. but wait
until next spring, and then you will see
the effects of the indiscriminate slaughter
Of COWS and calves that went on during
1889. You have no doubt observed that
The prices of good beef cattle are much
better now than they have been, but the
advance is nothing to what will come.
You know tits said that all things come
10 those who waltz Well, am
waiting, and believe the good day Is
lose at hand; and if the refrigerator is.
tarted up at Fort Worth 1 will attribute
much of the good time to the pluck of the |
people here.