The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-03-31

Suppose we enter. How cold 1t Is! The
temperature is 8 degrees above zero. The
sheep put in three days ago are already as
hard as stone. Tap one Of the carcasses.
The sound is like a tap On a drum head.
Take one down and rest 1t on the floor, it
is so stiff that it stands alone. 1t feels like
Ice. My fingers freeze as I take notes and
We are glad to get out.
We now go on into the hamber in
which the frozen mutton Is stored. They
are equally cold. The carcasses have been
put into bags of white cotton and they are
stacked up like cord wood. They are now
ready for the ship and the cars will carry
them down to the harbor. They will be
thrown into troughlike chutes and will slide
down into the hold. not to come out Of the
ship until they are landed in London.
The B~y-Products.
After a look at the freezing machinery,
which the manager tells us is American, we
go on to other branches of the establish
ment to see the by-products. In one place
they are canning sheep tongues to be
shipped all over the world. The output Is
about 5000 tongues a day and the tongues
sell for 20 cents a can in one-pound cans.
The cooking is done in great watts in which
the water is kept hot by steam pipes. The
white tongues bob up and down in tho boil
Ing water. and, the bare-armed men take
them out from time to time with pitchforks
! and put others in their places.
In another room we see them rendering
fat. in another they are taking care Of the
shepherds and in others they are pulling
wool from the skins and spreading 1t out
to dry. A curious department Is that
where the blood and bones are turned into
fertilizer. The blood is roasted in a great
cylinder several hundred feet long. On the
floor Of the factory is a pile Of blood as
big as a small haystack. 1t smells like
ammonia. and our eyes water as we look.
Tbtr 11~@I L. ,-,r
For a long time 1t went to waste in most
Of the factories of New Zealand. when \
couple of Americans came down and made
a contract for the product. The New Zea-
landers soon saw that they were getting
rich out of their blood money. and they
concluded to have the profit themselves. SO
when the time came for the renewal Of. tho
contract they refused. and now this and
the other by-products of the factory pay, /
am told. about all of the expenses OF iS
operation and management.
Among the Factory Hands.
AS we walk through the works I ask the
manage to give me some idea of wages.
He replies that they range from $1.O a day
upward, and that for a day of eight hours
The men come to the factory at s a. m. ana
they leave at 8 p. M. taking an hour of for
dinner. They have in addition to this what
are called mokers These are recesses OF
ten minutes twice a day for a smoke. Tho
foreman fixes the time, which Is usually at
10 O'Clock in the morning and 3 In the aft
ernoon. These smoke recesses are common
in all New Zealand factories.
AS far as / can see. the men seem con- |
tented with their Jobs. Many OF them cwn
little cottages near the works, the average
workingman's house being worth about |
$3.50. Tho manager tells us that II a man |
is ordinarily economical he can pay for his
home in five years and that most Of the
men accumulate money. He tells US that
the factory insures the lives of its en-
ployes upon such terms that II they are
killed while on duty their heirs will re-
ceive from $500 to $500. according to the
amount Of their policies. |
You people of the United States look upon
New Zealand as a half-savage country.
You think it may perhaps have some good
farms and sheep ranches, but I venture you
have never considered 1t a land Of great
These people have wooden mills
which would be considered large In New