The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1895-08-02
A Great Concern.


lowing information regarding the
largest packing house, west of st.
Louis, is taken. This immense plant
just begun operation in Tacoma:
When it became evident to the
Pacific Meat Co. that larger packing
house than the old plant at Meeker
was needed, in order to carry on their
large and growing business, the ques-
ton of location became the all import
ant one, and company, after looking
the field carefully over selected as the
most ideal location for their import
ant industry site ON Commencement
bay tide flats, "where the rails first
meet the Sails" affording most excel
lent facilities for shipments by both
rail and water, and readily acces-
sible to the new Metropolis by the
Eleventh street bridge, now completed
The plant is the largest west Kansas
City, and in the essential points of
convenience and equipment, is second
to no similar institution in the coun-
try. The main buildings and annexes
cover two acres of ground, and cost,
together with their equipment of
machinery, $4,000 They are con-
structed after the latest approved plans
under the personal supervision OF
President Zimmerman, an expert
butcher and packer, aided by an archi-
tect of extensive expensive experience
in the construction of packing houses,
and embraces all of the modern inn
provements essential to the economic
dispatch of business, includinga per-
feet system of refrigeration, steam
elevators, hoists and drops, overhead
railways, ice plant, electric plaut. tele-
graph Office, etc.
The main building, embracing the
abbatoir, packing house and cold stor-
age, is l65 feet square, six stories high
with a central tower, forty feet square
at the base, rising to a heigt of 145
feet. 1t faces west or towards the city.
In order to properly understand a
modern packing house one should
start at the top and work down, as
considerable laborss and expense is saved
by compelling the animal to walk up
to his doom through inclined chutes
while there is motive power within
him. Usually decoys are employed
and the Pacific Meat company have
couple of old timers in the form of a
steer, to lead the cattle, and billy
goat for the sheep.
Most extensive and complete arrange
ments have been made for slaughter
ing hogs on the fourth floor, west side.
An overhead endless chain connects
the pen with the slaughtering gallery.
A porker is hooked up by the hind leg,
slid into the gallery and his throat
cut so quickly that he has scarcely
time to squeal. An overhead railway
conducts to the ycalding vat, auto
matte scraper, the butchers and the
cooling room, where, after he has been
kept for twentyfour hours, or until
the animal heat has disappeared, he is
cut up for sugar-cured hams, break
fast bacon Or sent to the market for
current consumption.
The Strengthening department. for
beeves and mutton is similarly To-
Gated on the third floor and is COM
plete in all of its appointments and
equipments for handling an immense
amount of business. Both depart
ments are kept clean and sweet by an
abundance of water and fresh air.
The west half of both the third and
fourth hors are occupied mainly by
chill rooms and cold storage, connect
ed with the abbatoir, weighing scales,
loading platform for local consump-
ton and refrigerator cars for outside
shipments by perfect system of over
head railways and drops, along which
the heavy. carcasses are easily pushed
TO their destinations. These floors. as
we'll as the two lower ones, have ready
access to commodious four story
smoke house.
There are also fifth and sixth floors.
equipped with tanks, presses, agita-
tors, refiners, etc, for rendering Imper-
lal pure leaf lard. The sausage de-
partment, supplied with ample mach
lnery for the manufacture of all kinds
OF sausage, including one of the lar
gest steam grinders and suffers man
ufactured, is also located on the fifth
floor.
On the second floor are more chill
rooms and packing rooms for beef and
pork In barrels, pigs feet, picked tripe
etc.; tanks for rendering tallow, pigs
loot cleaner, and other machinery for
separating and securing everything in
an animal OF merchantable value.
Hides and pelts are dropped from
The slaughtering departments down