The Wadsworth dispatch. [volume] (Wadsworth, Nev.) 1892-1899, 1898-03-16

"hiFs OFCE 1nelF HEADS.
The Chicago stockyards are unioue
among the great marts of the world. In
10 other place, say those who are most
familiar with its daily routine, is so
large IN aggregate of business transact
cd III tie language CT gestures and with
out tie "scratch of a pen" as i'll the
noisy pens CT tie s~tockyards. A whip
is held high i'll air, across a sea of clat-
tering horns the signal is answered by
the %momcntary uplifting of a hand, and
! bunch" CT cattle worth thousands of
dollars is sold.
There Is something s%plcndidly pic
turesque and even spectacular in these
worthless transactions. They ignore the
artifciGlitios Of the complex system up
on which modern business relationships
are almost universally maintained.
TRACE ill the cattle pens gets boldly
back to primitive simplicity, 1t is done
on honor, not on paper. And the undis-
puted transfer of millions of dollars
worth OF the property here dealt in
Proves that Il bargain sealed with the
wave Of the whip and an asserting ges-
lure If tile hand is quite as safe ard sa-
cred as if the whole transaction were
recorded Fin black and white"
Ihei trader in the wheat pit is armed
with his tally card, upon which he
pauses to note tho names of those with
whom he deals and. the amount, nature
and price Of the commodities bought
and sold. The broker upon the floor of
the Stock Exchange places equal reli-
ance upon the quickly penciled memo
randa made at the moment when the
details Of each transaction were upon
the Hpsof those concerned in its fulfill
ment; but the buyer and seller of the
yards carry whips, not pencils, and
their deals are recorded in memory in
stead of written upon trading cards. AS
we'll try to picture the old knights max
Ing laborious written memoranda of
their challenges as to think of the rough
and ready traders of the cattle yards
pausing i'll their saddles to jot down
1pon paper their purchases and sales.
Such a procedure would bid defiance to
the very nature of things and do vio-
lence to the magnificent unconvention-
ality Of every environment.
is there never any trouble in this
kind of dealing?" a leading commission
man was asked.
If you mean do the men go back on
their bargains made by whip and hand,
| can answer, never" was the traders
answer as he brought his trim black
horse to a halt in the cattle alley and
leaned forward in his saddle. ''There
isn't another place in America, or the
whole world, for that matter, where SO
much business is done on the basis of
personal integrity, without a written
word to show for tie transactions, as
right here" he continued, land the
method beats all the bonds on earth.
The days business III these pens will
run about 81, SOC, coo. And how is it
done? Little talk, a considerable way
ing of whips and hands and 40 exchange
of written documents between buyers
and sellers.
Here is a bunch of cattle that will
figure up about $40, 600. Over there in
the other alley is a buyer who this
morning offered me a price of So. 10 for
them. l thought that l could do better,
but the market has been a little off, and
| have. decided to let the bunch go at
his offer. Up to the present moment
we have exchanged about II dozen words
on this subject. Now, if he is willing to
pay the price which he named iii the
morning I'll show you how a $40, 900
bunch Ct fat steers is sold without
---.l - .~~...4I, ,, , ecrotol, rf xrrifif,r
at the time the bargain is really made"
The commission maj then straighten-
ed up in the saddle and waited tor the
distant buyer to look in his direction.
A moment later this representative OF
a big packing house wheeled lis horse
about and faced in the direction OF the
seller. Instantly the commission man
lifted high his rawhide riding whip
and held it aloft. His attitude was as
striking as that Of a cavalry colonel up
lifting his Aaicr TO concentrate the at
tention Ct Lis regiment before making
IL desperate t.a3ge. Ike pose, however,
was full Ct atJr&l glace and freedom
and showed tAat the ma was mere at
ease III t! saddle than he could Lave
been out & it.
Only a rsomcnt elapsed before the
alert eye Ct tic layer caught sight OF
the appraised whip, Ihe next instaHt he
raised lis hand q little above bis head,
held il r~lot.uB!o-s II moment and then
dropped il wan a forward movement.
Quickly TIE 3, Her repeated Tie motion
Of assent vita lis whip, and then, uafn-
ing to Ills o%a!iti, 9ald;
or hn;' "a "a iltn3 "a "a H.. TO q Stran-