The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-02-21
TRANSFORMED INTO BEEF,
Some of the Things to Be Seen In a Chi
CagO Slaughter-House.

Some of the Things to Be Seen In a Chi
cago Slaughter-House.
We passed down into the slaughter
houses, saw some high stalls and a
man with a mallet passing from one to
another. There was that 'dull sick
ening thud. " a gate was lifted, a steer
jerked up by the hind legs and it's
throat cut. Then it was pulled clear
up out of sight to bleed and be drawn.
The next time it appeared the hoofs
and head had been taken off, ready to
skin. At least g. dozen men waited
their turn for an animal to come down
on the endless chain, hanging still by
the hind legs. The hide was removed.
The next man split the backbone, and
the two halves were passed on to be
washed and wiped. After this process
the two halves swung into chute and
down an inclined plane to the cutting
room. Here the first man made cut
between the fourth and it'll ribs:
another followed with saw and sep
arated the, fore from the hind
quarters. The headquarters went on
TO the cooling-rooms, to be shipped for
dressed beef, while the fore-quarters
were thrown on the cutting-blocks.
Passing from one cutter to another,
every man making a certain cut, the
whole piece was cut up, stripped of
the bones and sent to the curing-rooms
to be made into corned beef. The as
sortment is wonderful. Every part is
utilized. The bones go to the fertil-
izer; the shank bone to the factory for
making knife-handles, etc. the suet
and fat into tallow; the hoofs to glue
factory; kidneys, hearts, ETC., are
canned into minced scallops or sold
to local dealers; tongues are disposed
of in the same way and the oxtails
are cooked into soup. After curing,
the corned beef in large pieces is
shipped in barrels, the smaller pieces
being cooked and canned by the pack
ers. The hind quarters of beef, after
being cooled, are shipped in re-
trlgerator-cars to all parts of the
country. One department contains
supplies for the local trade, the best
beeves being dressed in halves and
bought by retail butchers. Down
in the basement immense engines run
night and day, also an ice machine,
by which any cold temperature is
maintained in the cooling rooms.
Going into these the thermometer was
found to stand below freezing point.
Hundreds Of barrels of meat Law in
the store-rooms ready to ship. Twelve
hundred cattle are handled every day
and converted into marketable form.
In the tin shop all the cans are
made in a dozen sizes and
shapes. A pair of shears cut
out can at one clip; another cuts
and stamps and turns the edges of the
top and bottom. A third machine
grasps the strip in it's iron embrace
and seams it while a man feeds the
machine and soldiers the seams. The
tops and bottoms are fitted on; the
round cans fed to revolving solder
ing machine, which drops them when
oOiuOioo, duu GHo square ones are
soldered by hand. Scrap tin is cut
into caps by another mechanical ar
rangement, and the useless scraps are
sold, the tin melted off to be used
again. After labelling the cans are
packed in boxes, and the nails driven
in with machine that fastens the
whole row at one blow. It is all ma
chinery-machinery the use for mere
ly mechanical men is dying out con-
stantly, and new race with intelli-
gence enough to guide the mechanism
OF machinery is taking their place.
One OF these days there will be a
oralny man or woman (why not) who
Will make patent labeler and var
nlsher. Then a supercilious, we'll
dressed young woman, who would
scorn the position of typewriter, will
stand and feed a machine that turns
out blue-topped cans with all the wrig-
Cling yellow lines put straight. and
al the consultations of yellow stars.
Chicago Tribune.