Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1898-10-12

A. 1t has opened the eyes of the peo-
pie OF Kansas to the enormous profits
accruing to the capitalists on a $3.50
Investment and has led to an investi-
cation as to the feasibility of the State
owning its own stock yards for the ac-
commoGation of its own people.
.. Has not the action of the Populist
party in passing this law driven the
stock yards company out Of this State
and into Missouri?
A. Not for a minute. Two-thirds of
the plant is on the Kansas side of the
line. The quarantine ground and the
sheep and hog divisions are on the Kan
sas side. All sales of hogs and sheep
ard the delivery of such stock by rail
roads are made in Kansas. and seven of
the nine roads entering the yards are Oh
the Kansas side. The company canno.
move out if it would and the howl thai
the stock yards have been driven OUT
of the State is simply raised to cast
dust in the eyes of the voter.
=. But has the company not aban-
doneG it's Kansas organization and taken
out d new charter under the laws of Mis-
souri,?
a. Yes but what of it? If the Kan
sas Legislature has Jurisdiction uye1
corporation of its own creation it has
equal If not create jurisdiction over
corporation in some other State seeking
to do business in Kansas. Kansas gets
Just IS much taXe3 as she ever did and
missouri no more. Kansas loses moth
irg " the organization and Missouri
gains nothing. The yards smell just the
same, no matter what the name.
Z. What is meant by an open public
market:
A. 1t is place where any citizen has
the unrestricted right to go and buy or
sell
@. Is the Kansas City stock yards
such a market?
A. 1t is not. The abuses that have
grown up around it make it impractical
| bic for man to buy or sell his own
stun, and he must necessarily employ
the services of a broker
q. What are the matters of complaint
by stock shippers?
A. They are numerous--some as fol-
lows: First, overcharges for yardage;
second, overcharges for feed; third, in
ability of shippers to sell stock except
through brokers; fourth, a combination
I among buyers that effectually prevents
them from even looking at stock after
bid has been made and refused; fifth,
discipline enforced by the buyers upon
| shippers who refuse Kansas City bids
and then ship, to other markets.
| Q. What do YOU mean by discipline?
A. That shiI ers who offer stock at
Kansas City an refuse the offered price
and then ship 10 Chicago or St Louis.
commonly fin the market for that par
ticular lot especially bad: and this con-
dition is SO common that many shippers
believe that such cases are prearranged
between the buyers Of the different mar
kets.
@. In that case how can a shipper ex-
pect those buyers to buy or even look at
my stock in State stock yards?
A That would be matter of indiffer-
enee to shipper, so long as competing
buyers were on hand wanting stock.
G. Where are those competing buyers
to come from, then?
A Plenty OF men and money are anx-
lousiy awaiting any opportunity for
profitable business and will be on hand
at any market, public or private. Butch
ers by hundreds, and probably thou
sands, In the smaller cities of the coun-
try are prevented from buying live stock
in open market by the same combination
OF buyers that SO successfully controls
sellers.
Q. How can you prevent this combi-
nation from controlling the market at
the State stock yards?
A. By giving the shipper and buyer
direct access to each other, which can
NC uoHe Dy yafQ regulations
q. Where do the butchers referred To
obtain their stock now?
A. They are forced bv market ..,ndi-
tions and unfair competition to buv
dressed meats of these same packers
who by combining have excluded them
from the principal stock markets That
is TO say, these packers have success
I tully lnterpoSed themselves between
buyer and seller to their own profit.
U. Are there any examples of an open
market in this country.
A. Yes; nearly every city has it's own
market house
=. Wherein would stock yards mar
ket differ from these?
A. Only in the character of the stuff
offered for sale.
Y. What would be the advantages of
such a market?
A. Assuming that the State could on
crate such a market as cheap as the
Kansas Stock Yards Company. the first
advantage would be an annual saving
OF the $646, 558.73 which the special mas
ter found was the profits of the Kansas
City company in 1896 after they had
paid all expenses, repaired their plant
| and contributed their share of the State
taxes; second, another advantage would
De that the shipper could go into the
open market and buy his feed or bring
it with him, as best suits his conven-
fence, thus making a saving ON each
shipment; third, the great advantages
would be the opening of the market to
competitive buyers.
@ Would not. the packing houses dis
criminate in price against stock sent to
the State stock yards?
A. If the packers would not patronize
the State yards, that would open fine
opportunity for others to compete with
them. The State could not get its yards
ready for stock before packers you'd be
on the ground ready for business. AS
matter of fact, one-third of the cattle
handled in the Kansas City stock yards
are stochers and the packing houses
make no market for these under any
circumstances.
O. Are there any examples of public
stock yards?
A. Yes. Every phase of the market
question has been tried and proven by
the English and European municipal