The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1906-03-30

press DE Weakst os0s
-A-perso0N viewing Acknowledgement
4stoekyards ia the midst of Chicago
views one Of the largest and best man-
aged organizations w have within
the United States.
When these stockyards were estab-
iished in 1s4s this entire square line
was one endless swamp only fit for
ducks and cells.
Now it is divided into $4,000 stock
pens all drained with ewers and paw
ed with brick and paved drives be-
tween.
The cattle and horse pens are all
open w%ithhhig board fences. dividing
all, while the sheep and hog pens are
in the most part covered and many
OF them double decked to economize
room -r
These pens will hold at n time
about 5000 horses, $4,000 cattle, 50,-
600 sheep and 800, 900 hogs, which sell
dom remain in the pens more than one
day, but are sold to feeders or ship
pers, or slaughtered in the mammoth
buildings in the midst of the wards
built for that purpose, where about
46,0Oo persons including men, women
and boys are given employment, and
and about $50 cattle, 275 sheep and 600
hogs are slaughtered and prepared for
food every minute Of time during the
eight-hour working day, six days out
Of the week the year round
. About 80 large railroad systems CEN
ter in Chicago, all of which are daily
bringing to Chicago thousands of
stock of all kinds for these yards.
The stock comes from every sec
ton of the western country.
Trains half a mile or more in length
come laundering up to the city limits
TO where they intersect the Belt line
before daylight each morning, the
shippers timing their arrival before
dawn. This Belt line extends round
the city and intersects every other
line, and onto this line the stock are
switched and hauled direct to the
stockyards.
From the Belt line switches are pro-
vided leading down between the rows
of pens and so arranged that the stock
are allowed to walk from the car doors
out into the clean dry pens which are
provided with plenty of pure water
and clean feed, but not a single one
can in any way escape.
By the time they are all unloaded
and get thoroughly settled after the
cars have been removed from the
tracks, and are we'll started on their
way back for another cargo, the buy
ers and commission men begin to ar
rive at the yards.
The commission men are the sales
men to whom the stock is all con-
signed long before it reaches Chicago.
1t is their mission to get the highest
possible price for the stock, feed and
freight and remit the balance after
deducting their commission to the
shippers. They must of necessity be
only the most responsible men or they
could not be allowed to handle the
vast sums of money which they
handle, not only for the shippers but
for the railroads.
In fact, there is not a dollar of
money that changes hands, unless it
may be that some of the shippers may
want some expense money when they
reach the yards, and before the stock
is sold, or possibly a little after sale
for expenses on the homeward trip,
but the bulk of it is all done simply
through the banking houses.
The shipper is given a check or
draft for the amount due him, the rail
road company is given another, and
the stockman simply slips his check
or draft into his wallet and returns
home, and after indorsing it delivers it
to his local bank and goes home and
writes out a few checks to the mer-
chants and others who have been car
rying him, and the entire transaction
is done and no money passed hands.
But we failed to show HON the COM
tlllSSlOH lldU ldllulCo lIo pat VI lHS
business, which is the selling. To the
casual observer nothing would seem
to indicate that any business was be-
ing transacted. Two men come quiet
ly riding down the isle between the
pens and one will call out sixty-two,
or some other number and a gate will
swing back to allow them to pass and
they ride in among the cattle and
glance over them.
"Sixty-fve,' says one of them.
"Sixty-seven,' responds the other.
"Not today" says the first.
The buver has bid $4.65 per hun
dred-weight for the bunch, but the
commissionman has held for $4.67 for
the shipments have been light for that
day and he thinks he can get that
much in advance Of the market on ac-
count of the scarcity.
They are an exceptionally nice lot
OF cattle. At a single glance the buy
er has noted that, and estimated their
weight. The buyer has offered the
market value and that is all he will