Bismarck daily tribune., 1903-12-16

raise their own products, feed their
own cattle and sell their own beef to
the retailer as can the packing house
The stockmen claim that the cost Of
raising steers was never higher and
the prices are lower. The packers, on
the other hand. say that the market
has been overrun with fat steers, and
they are unable to realize on the in
vestment Of cash in beef on hoof
Regarding the conditions of live
stock all over the country" said an
authority in Chicago, "the prices of
cattle went SO high two years ago
that stockmen fairly went wild and
undertook to get rich in single sea-
son by entering the business on a
large scale. Prices went down, and
stockmen found that they had more
cattle on hand than they knew what
to do with. Despite these unfavorable
conditions, cattle have been rushed to
market at every feeding season, and
the prices have not advanced mater
tally" This is the packers only ex
planation of the cheapness of the
cattle as compared with extraordinary
prices charged for dressed beef.
It is claimed by well-known cat
tleman that in the past year the cat
tlemen of Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona
and New Mexico and Indian Territory
have lost $10OOO0,OO0 in extra profits
they should have realized had 1t not
been for the alleged packing house
combine
And on what do these great packers
feed that they have grown so rich. so
Independent that they can demand the
antagonism of $15.OOO,00O Of capital to
enter into the field of trade against
them, and to cause some of the
shrewdest cattlemen of the country
to organize co operative establish
ments to defeat their purpose of cor
nering the beef market of the coun-
try?
The worlds supply Of meat, one
third of which comes from the United
States, is the largest single industry
in existence. The domestic animals
of the United States are worth $5,-
100000, 900, or as much as the farming
area. There are about 100000 00O
head of cattle, and most of these are
in the hands of cattle syndicates
Some of these syndicates are interest
ed in the packing houses-a trus
worth hundreds of millions of dollars
Many millionaire cattlemen are out
side the combine and working up in
terest Of their friends and the smalle
raisers in the cooperative plan.
In this connection it hardly need b.
, stated that Chicago is the foremos
: cattle market in the world. its annua
receipts being about 3,215.000 Kan
sas City is second and Omaha third
The business done at the Chicago I'm
) ion stock yards is the largest singl
industry in the world, there being As
= 600 employees and the annual busines
, amounting to over $5oO,0OO,00O
The stock yards at Fort Worth
: managed by the packing house com
l bine, are the finest stockyards in tn
1 southwest These yards, it is believ
r ed, are shortly to be purchased by tn
e cooperative packing house compan
and turned into a cooperative indus
: try. The yards cover 595 acres. an
the live stock exchange, built afte
: the style of the Alamo mission house
/, Is the finest live stock building |
e the United States. The packing hous
e trust, for long time, was not in fave
: OF changing their base OF operatio
o any further southwest than Kansa
t City, and while they would not car
n to abandon Fort Worth, after havin
It spent hundreds of thousands OF do
It lars for packing houses there. the ca
IS tlemen plan to force the fight again
them at Fort Worth and here esta'
s lish their principal cooperative plan
le The Fort Worth stock yards
d July of the present year, handled sc
lie 600 cattle and 10000 hogs. The nun
E. ber of cattle slaughtered at the
yards amounted to 10000; hogs. 500
N The killing capacity is 5000 Gait
E. and 5000 hogs daily, so the packi'
-e houses are not doing an extraordina
n business.
w A cattle feeder pays $25 for a
le year old steer to put on feed. He pa
SIS to feed the animal, s. for freigl
le and brings it into market weight
r 1900 pounds. If the markets are rig
. he realizes 4 to cents pound. +
Id profit is not over s15. He has had t
n animal in his possession three TO nj