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

che animal Aeet bee entirely vanished.
fwbesitis taken on, 10 other- passs,t 70
be eut up into steaks. or eofaed beef,
or dried beet. % the CAGE may be-
Each animal pssses. thrcugh the
hands Of rearly fifty men, each per.
forming just q certain part Of the work
allotted 10 him, but paying no atten.
ton to what his neighbor is doing.
In addition to all these employees,
each animal passes the inspection OF
a government inspector, whose bust
ness it is to ascertain if the animal was
perfectly healthy, and if SC to attach
a tag to it to show what its condition
was, but if he finds the least trace OF
disease, it is his duty to condem it, and
it is passed to the fertelizing plant.
Hogs are slaughtered in a similar
manner, except that they are hoisted
by attaching a chain to one hind leg,
and the other end to a large iron
wheel about eighteen feet in diameter,
which carries them over into the
scalding vat, from which they are car
ried through a cylinder chute
about fifty feet in length, snorts first.
This chute is fitted with knives all
along its entire length which are set
on springs which revolve in such man
ner that when the hogs come. out at
the other end, they are almost entire
ly devoid of hair or dirt, whenthey are
lowered onto tables with moving tops,
for the finishing touches. AS the hog
passes along on the top OF this moving
table. men who are stationed on both
sides do their particular part until the
hogs are entirely cleaned and dressed
ready for the cooling room, when they
are. also hoisted and carried to the
cooling room in the same manner that
the cattle are carried.
There are about twenty-five differ
ent men who participate III the work
of dressing the hog from the time the
knife enters his throat to let his life
blood out, until he enters the cooling
room, and he never stops during all
the various operations, but is kept
constantly on the move.
The packing houses all have sepa-
rate plants where the operations fol-
lowing the dressing are performed.
There are great smoke houses ten
stories high often filled from base
ment to roof with hams, shoulders and
bacon, besides dried beef. In these
smoke houses cords of nice hickory
wood are burned daily to give the
meat a certain favor.
There are other buildings for rend-
ering the tallow and lard, and others
of making corned beef and for canning
all the delicasies found in the retail
stores of today. In these establish
ments is not only the meat cooked and
canned but the cans are manufactured
from the sheet tin by machinery.
Here too, every man, woman and
boy has their certain part to perform
and not one stroke of labor it misdi-
rected. The entire year round each
employee has one certain work to per-
form, and to do it skillfully and in ev-
cry act cleanliness is the watchword.
Hundreds of men are employed at
high salaries simply to watch the 9th
ers in the discharge OF their duties,
and to reprove every act of careless
ness, or to discharge the offender.
1t has been estimated that the 49,
900 persons who are directly employed
in one Of these establishments sup
port about 100000 persons, besides
giving employment to almost as many
more to take care of their wants. Thus
it is that through these large industries
the population OF Chicago is kept up
to a large extent.
These mammoth Industries have
been built up in about fifty years; in
fact since the Civil war, which Gre
ated an almost unlimited demand for
fresh and salt meats.
While the margins made from each
animal that passes through these es-
adjustments is comparatively small,
yet by handling so many of them, the
profit becomes something immense.
1t is estimated that the net profits
of one concern alone in 1905 was about
$4,0 O0 900.
1t is estimated that there was about
$4,000 head Of cattle, 4,5O5, 900 sheep
and 7,62s,0O0 head of hogs besides
about 105,950 head of horses marketed
in these stockyards last year.
While a.large part Of this stock is
slaughtered in these various packing
houses, yet there are large numbers
of them sold for export and for ship
ment alive to markets farther East,
and large numbers Of them are sold
to farmers near Chicago who want to
use up their surplus corn to finish
fattening them and increase their value
for killing purposes.
A large percent of the stock from
the far West are used in this way.
Some of the choicest ones may be
taken out to kill, but all those that
arc not thoroughly fatted are re-fed
there and held for raises in market.
While the organization of all the