The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-04-08
TRADE IN MEAT PRODUCTS.
DEVELOPMENT OF HOG AND CAT
TIE RAISING IN AMERICA.
CoincidentalIy With stock Produce
ton Has Come the Growth of the
Packing Industry, which Now

Special Dispatch to the Post-Intelligencer
WASHINGTON April e-The present
agitation in Germany for the exclusion
of American meats lends n special time
illness to the appearance of a monograph
OF the treasury bureau Of statistics on
The Provision Trade OF the United
States" This monograph. which appears
In the Monthly Summary for February, Is
one of a series OF articles dealing with
the production, distribution and consump-
ton OF American staples. and especially
with their transportation within this
country
The development OF swine and cattle
raising in the United States presents
features of peculiar interest. The United
States has achieved a peculiar position
among embarrassing countries, with n to-
tai of more than one-half OF the world $
supply OF swine. The discussion shows
that the development within the country
has consisted chiefly in a movement from
the East TO the West. following the
broad course Of the corn belt, and that
this westward movement has been, TO
a sim greater extent, true OF the horned
cattle of the country.
The growth of our swine raising indus
try has been of the utmost Importance
to the farmers OF the country. since Il
has furnished them an outlet. otherwise
difficult to obtain. for their surplus corn
The hog has become not only a converter
but a condenser of values, and as such
has sought out Eastern and European mar
kets in cases where IL would have been
Improbable to transport corn.
The development OF swine and cattle
raising has been also Influenced by the
phenomenal growth OF the packing indus
try of the country. This evolution pre-
sents features of interest from the time
when In colonial days primitive packing
was carried on in New England down 10
later times when, about 1890. the prototype
of the modern packing house was estab-
lished in Cincinnati. In those days Gin
cinnati possessed peculiar advantages for
this industry Adjacent to the corn fields
OF Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, Cinciu-
natl possessed the further advantage of
being situated on the Ohio river, down
which her packed products were shipped
to New orleans, to DO reshipped to Phila-
delphia, New York and Boston The
westward movement Of the center of the
corn belt. however. and the successful
competition of the eastbound railroads with
the long, devious and uncertain Mississippi
route gave to Chicago, In the early sixties,
an immense advantage. and achieved for
that city a pre-cminence which II has since
maintained, although Kansas City and
Omaha are now rapidly forging TO the
fore.
traces this development OF the packing
industry down to the present time, II
also gives statistics OF winter and sum-
mer packing at various centers, together
with receipts and shipments of live ami
mails and provisions, as well as statistics
of the routes by which they are received
or shipped and OF their source or desti-
nation.
detailed analysis is made of our for
eign trade in live animals and provisions
and statistics for the last ten years are
furnished showing the changes In the
ports of expectation or in the country OF
destination. The article further con-
tans tables on the French and German
importations of meats, showing the effect
Of the policy of restriction in the early
Sos and considerable space Is devoted tc
the treatment OF the British market fol-
provisions The monograph concludes
with a series of tables showing the sta
tistics OF cattle, sheep and swine for a
number of Years In all the principal coun-
tries of the world.
The United States is now the world 8
greatest producer and exporter of meats
which form one OF the most important
features of our export trade In 1857 the
total expectation OF provisions and live
animals was si02 ia. $40. and In 1889 their
total was s20T, los. S37 having thus doubled
meantime. and forming In 1883 i1s per
cent. of the total exports of that year.