The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-12-07
MULES IN GREAT DEMAND.
THE EPOCH OF MULELESS WARS
 HAS NOT YET DA TINED.

More Than Twen,y-nvo Thousand ol
 the Helpful Hybrids Bought Recent
 ly in One Market-How They Are
 Classified for Army Uses-The Prices
 They Fetch and Their Defects.
 There is not a scarcity oI mules in
 Missouri or St. Louis or East St. Louis,
 greatest markets for mules in the world,
 but there is a near approach to it. Not
 for number of years has there been
 the demand for mules that exists to-
 day. and not for years have prices been
 anywhere near what they are now
 The nearest approach to the present
 condition of affairs was that produced
 by the high price of cotton, which
 about eight years ago brought period
 of more than usual prosperity to the
 agricultural communities in the south
 and sent the prices of mules, for which
 there was a great demand, up to close
 where they are to-day. There is
 ''halthy normal demand" all the time, as the stock broker would say, but the
 war between the United States and Spain and the war of England in the Transvaal have created an abnormal demand which has taxed the capacities of the East St. Louis folks to the utter most, for it is in East St. Louis that most of the purchases are made
 Agents of the United States govern
 nent spent many weeks in the mule pens of East St. Louis and the English army officers did the same thing weeks later. Even Spain made extensive pur- chases, and though the mule dealers refuse to admit it at this time, for fear of interference from the governmnt with deliveries, it is not at all improba- ble that the agents of President Kru- ger are now in the market under cov- er,'' just as the Spanish agents were during our war There are constantly in the mule business in East St. Louis seven principal firms, and they keep on hand an average of thousand mules each, so that the buyers when they en- ter the market have a varity of seven thousand mules to make their selections from. As an indication of the demands being made on the great mule market in East St. Louis, it is stated authorita- lively, and the statement is backed up by the records of the National stock yards, that the United States govern ment made purchases of sixteen thou sand mules in the period just preceding and immediately following the opening of hostilities with Spain. During the same time the Spanish government pur- chased seven thousand mules, and thus far the English government has pur- chased twenty-three hundred mules. Of all these purchases, the mule dealers say that the United States was the most liberal customer they had, and at the same time conducted the most rigid inspection and got the best animals. One of the dealers discussed the mat ter this way:
 "They always tell us we are behind England and talk about her being. the | mother country and tell us that we ought to and do pattern after her in | everything; but don't you forget that's a false alarm. If the British army men | were wise they would come to America before they make purchases and take few lessons from our American quarter masters department which does the
  say that England does everything first class and they say it in way intended to reflect on our government Now, of course, I don't know much about how other matters were run, but the way our army bought mules was model for other armies I don't mean that our government was stingy but I do mean that it selected the best mules that the government could find, and that sent the animals to the different military amps in first-class shape"
 The purchasing by the United States government was of mules in four class IS: Wheels, swings leads and packs The names indicate the uses to which he mules were put. In the first three the mules were made up n six-mule teams, the wheels being closest to the army wagons, the swings lext and the leaders up in front The packs were animals used in pack trains. The government made up the pack rains, with fifty-five pack mules for and thirteen riding mules or the foreman or boss and the pack rs. Each of these trains cost the gov { in addition to the price of the nules, no less than $5,0OO. The pack ; nules cost from $75 to $90; wheels, $40 ( 0 $175; swings, $120 to $135; leaders, $90 ( Q s10O. They vary in height and style { nd strength and action in proportion to ( he price. The largest mules used were 2 ixteen hands high and the smallest , ourteen hands high, every horseman ( moving that by q "hand" four inches ' meant Many animals were disposed I f to the government that could not 1 ave been sold to the regular custom e rs of the dealers to advantage, the reg c lar customers being railroad builders, t ,ine owners and street railroads. t Jules have been known to sell for as s igh as five hundred dollars each, but i le numi1er that has reached that price t m be told by nearly every dealer in a asst St Louis. The number of mules 0 .lling for two hundred dollars each is S uch greater, and there are several a ule teams in St. Louis each of the ami b als having cost that much. These q Lncy prices are for mules which have ? ,t only height, weight, youth and style Id action, but have peculiar markings q their hair which make them excellent s Id almost startling matches one for n ,rthar l V