The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1898-10-14

EODuAASL EAdLAOElus
A. 1t has opened the eyes Of the peo-
/ pie Of Kansas to the enormous profits
1 accruing to the capitalists on a $4,000
/ Investment and has led to an investi-
/ CATION as to the feasibility Of the State
| owning IT'S own stock yards for the &C
/ conmOdatiOn 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
/ and the delivery Of such stock BY rail
roads. are made in Kansas. and seven Of
the nine roads entering the yards are On
/ 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-
doned its Kansas organization and taken
out new charter under the laws Of Mis-
soUri2
A. Yes but what OF it? II the Kan
sas Legislature has Jurisdiction JyeI a
corporation Of its own creation it has
equal II not create Jurisdiction over a
TO do business in Kansas. Kansas gets
Just IS much taxes as she ever did, and
Missouri no more. Kansas loses moth
iHg ~ the organization and Missouri
gains nothing. The yards smell Just the
same, no matter what the name
Q. What is meant by an open public
market
A Il is a place where any citizen has
the unrestricted right to go and buy or
@. Is the Kansas City stock yards
such a market?
A It is not The abuses that have
grow q up around it make IL impractica-
bic for a 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
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.
@ What do you mean by discipline?
A That shippers who offer stock at
Kansas City and refuse the offered price
and then ship to Chicago or St Louis,
commonly find the market for that par
ucul2r 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.
Q. In that case how can a shipper ez-
pect those buyers to buy or even look at
my stock in State stock yards?
A n.A r. l..
ence to shipper, so long as competing
buyers were on hand wanting stock
Q. Where are those competing buyers
to come from, then?
A. Plenty Of men and money are anx-
iOusly awaiting any opportunity for
profitable business and viii be on hand
at any market, public or private. Batch
eTs 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 50 successfully controls
sellers.
@. How can you prevent this eombi-
nation from controlling the market at
the State stock yards?
A By giving the shipper and buyer
direct access to each other, which can
be done By yard regulations.
@ Where do the butchers referred to
obtain their stock now?
A. They are forced by market eJndf-
lions and unfair competition to buy
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
fully -interpOsed themselves between
buyer and seller to their own profit
@ Are there any examples Of an open
market in this country?
A Yes; nearly every city has its own
market house.
@ Wherein would a stock yards mar
ket differ from these?
A Only in the character Of the stun
offered for sale.
@ What would be the advantages Of
such a market2
A Assuming that the State could op-
erats such a market as cheap as the
Kansas stock Yards Company, the first
advantage would be an annual saving
Of the S646,55S.73 which the special mas
ter found was the profits Of the Kansas
City company in 1896 after they had
paid ali expenses, repaired their plant
and contributed their share OF the State
taxes second, another ADVANTAGE would
be that the shipper could go into the
open market and buy his feed OF bring
10 with him. as best suits his eonVen-
fence, thus making a saving On each
shipment; third. the great advantage
would be the opening Of the market 70
competitive buyers
@ Would not the packing houses dis
criminats IN price against stock ssnt to
the State stock yards2
A. If the packers would not patrunfze
the State yards that would open q me
opportunity for others TO compete With
them. The StRts could not get its yards
ready for stock before packers would be
on the ground ready Cor business. As
matter 0f fact. One-third Of the cattle
handled IN the Kansas City stock yards
ara stOckers and the packing houses
make no market for these under anv
circumstances-
] Q. are there any examples Of public
stock yardsf
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