The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1906-06-14
+ From Printers Ink.

Few men have been longer in the
stock food business than F. f. Sanborn,
president of the Standard Stock Food
Company of Omaha. With one eXcep-
ton. it is said, Standard stock food is
the oldest article of its kind i'll the
Cnlted States
Stock food" it might be explained,
is really nos a food at all, but condi-
ment that is prepared with meal or
some other base to carry 1t, and fed to
cattle, horses, sheep, SWINE, poultry,
etc, to give them appetite and build
them up by feeding. one OF the pet
scientific tricks Of the directors of some
agricultural stations is to get hold of a
brand Of stock food analyZe it, find
nothing in the shape Of food initS tome
ingredients, ana then publish a bulletin
to expose the commodity by brand, for
mula and makers lame The Doctor
Niieys me not all in Washington.
Stock foods We're unknown twenty
five Yea IS ago, before the days OF scleu-
ttic * growing. F. L. Sanhoun got
III on tie glOund floor of the business
He was born in Maine about - years
ago. went from there to Boston. and i'll
the late seventies took a trip to Omaha
with Boston engineer III charge OF
consignment of railroad locomotives.
This trip occupied SIX weeks and san
born mad twenty-five cents when he
landed in Omaha. The engineer went
back TO Boston, but his companion de
termiled to stay awhile and look
around Almost Immediately he got
Job as d Toustabout, but at tel tive days
work came down with measles. When
the disease had run its course he had to
i.NH1 tn, Inl
scented itself. He was put on the gov
eminent building as a stone dresser
though he had never handled stone
dressing tools i'll his life. There are still
a couple of stones in that building
which he points out with pride aS his
handiWork. But the dressing is fear
fully crooked. In consequence of this
crookedness he was discharged. Then
he found place in an implement fac
tory, and finally, saving 500, started
feed business on his own account, which
ultimately got him into the stock food
line. y man came along with a stock
food formula one day and bought some
ingredients at Sanb0rn's feed store.
The latter watched him mix it, got in
terested and bought the formula. His
father back in Maine was a veterinary
surgeon, and young Sanborn always
had a keen interest i'll stock. He took
the formula, experimental, changed
and improved it, and finally worked out
an article that was the foTerunner of
what is now sold as standard stock
food
From that time forth he prospered.
FIRST the food was sold direct to stock
raisels and farmers, the proprietor
selling himself i'll a buggy and also
sending out men. Then, as the bust
ness grew, a new plan of selling was
adopted. Farmers through Nebraska,
Iowa and adjacent States We're made
local selling agents, and these soon ran
up the sales to a point where it was
necessary to have State superintend-
ents of agents. a large tonnage bust
ness was handled direct through sales
men who sold to the big feeders. For
adhered to, aud it paid. But eventual
ly it began to show defects.
For one thing, it was top heavy,
State superintendent had to be good
men, on high salaries, to hold the
farmer-agents in the face of competl-
ton as the competitive business i'll
stock foods grew and the article be-
came staple. Then, though the bust
ness was big, it covered only a small
portion of the country. A few States
in the corn belt comprised Standards
whole territory. When times were
good in those States everything ran
along like a forward spring. But if
there was crop failure in one of them,
or the price of beef fell off, the business
was sadly decreased that year. Crop
failure over several States might mean
no business at all.
Mr.. Sanborn found remedy for this
condition in advertising and the re-
mainder of the article in Printers Ink
is devoted to that matter.