The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-03-22
INCREASE is
SUBSTANTIAL
Fine Gains Made in Packing
Interests Notwithstanding Fire
FIGURES ARE MADE UP
Which Show Unprecedented
Packing House Year
FIGURES ARE MADE UP

People who accomplish great things In
this world look forward, instead Of back
ward, and the star of hope lights their
pathway The Wichita people who keep
looking backward were downcast and de-
pressed IN spirit in the days following
the 18th of last July. 1t was on that date
the Dold packing house in this city was
burned.
Cudahy had only recently started, and
people thought it would take him sew
eral years TO work up trade for his
Wichita house and the fellows who looked
backward said that our packing business
was practically demolished, while the fell
lows who kept their eyes en- the future
said that Wichita was just starting on a
great forward movement. Everybody now
comedies that the men who predicted the
forward movement were right.
The loss of corn crop is always
counted a calamity in this state, but in
spite of the setbacks, Wichita has held
her ground in the packing Business since
the Dold fire and it has been demoustrat-
ed that the people builded better than
they knew when they secured Cudahy,
and when the new Dold house. with three
times thee capacity of the old one, IS
opened for business, it does not require a
prophet TO see the great business move
ment of the future.
Just to show how nearly the market
here hello It's own In spite Of the Dold
fire and the loss of the corn crop, it may
be mentioned that for the year ending
March l, 1901, 1here were 2s1,1 hogs and
., 20 cattle sold on the Wichita market.
This was the year Of prosperity in the
packing trade here to which people looked
back after the fire. These figures include
the stock sold here and not those that
were stopped in the yards to feed IN
transit. People said the report for the
year closing the first day Of last March
would show great falling off. The actual
figures are SOB hogs and 23.527 cattle.
So this year of "calamities" shows an in
crease of 6S12 hogs and a loss OF only
2195 cattle. These figures show that Wich-
tia is 2 natural hog and cattle center and
that stock will come to the Wichita pack
ing houses in abundance whenever they
furnish a market for IL.
Now in regard TO the losses and the
cattle purchased on this market The
figures are decidedly encouraging when
they are properly understood. II was only
last summer that this began to be recog-
nized as a stOcker and feeder market and
from the first day of August up to the
goth day Of this month there were q, 257
cattle sold on this market, which is
very decided gain over the Same tine last
year. Never in the history of the Wich-
ita stock market, has the future appeared
so bright as now. The stock yards peo-
pie and the commission men all know il,
and they are jubilant over the outlook fo-
the future.
The capacity for the new Dold plant
will be 2,10O hogs a day. But for the sake
CT conservatism let it be conceded that
both plants will kill only 1000 hogs day
An expert in the packing business said
the other day that would mean the EN-
plOyment of at least l, 900 men. Then there
is Dolds new beef house, which is not
counted in this estimate. = reporter for
the Eagle was shown the blue print for
the mechanical part Of the beef plant.
which has been accepted by the Jacob bold
Packing company, and he at once under
stood that IL would be a big affair.
This increase in the packing business
means more than the men employed in
the plants. The packing houses make tia
stockyards. the joint railroad office and
the numerous business houses built AMI
now building in that section of the city,
and the stock yards street car line. There
will have to be more men employed in
all these adjuncts Of the packing house
next summer.
G. L. Smizer topped the hog market last
Thursday and he told a reporter for the
Eagle that the farmers have Just learned
how to raise hogs. He said his hogs were
fed on wheat and he would rather feed
It than corn He predicted that the far
mers of southern Kansas would never
haul any more forty cent wheat to mar
ket. They would feed It to hogs. That
means a good supply of hogs in the fut-
ure- tt means that Wichita is going TO be
one of the biggest packing centers in tho
west