The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1907-06-08
Buying Cattle Subject to Inspection.
(Farmer and Breeder

RI EHuEN. 81 ~ r.a-s-H
Owing to the fact that tubercul-
osis has become SO prevalent among
the meat producing animals of this
country that it is impracticable to
buy animals for slaughter without
taking into consideration the loss
that must be sustained by the con-
domination of such carcasses at points
where inspection is maintained, and
the difficulty of estimating the per-
centage Of this loss has led the
large meat packing concerns of this
country to announce that hereafter
they will only buy COWS and heifers
subject to post mortem inspection,
as federal inspection is maintained
in practically all of the plants OPP
Grated by these firms, this new sys-
TEN means that where they buy a
COW or heifer they will not pay for
the animal until it has been slaugh-
tered, then if it is passed by the
government Inspector they will pay
the price for meat, but If it is con-
demned then they will pay the price
for tankage. The prime object of
this is to throw the loss of such an
imals upon the mar who is produc-
ing such diseased animals. There
is no question but what this system
OF buying il carried out will mater
tally change the method of market
ing stock and looking at it from the
middle mans standpoint the commits
sion men at all of the stock yards
have declared themselves against the
system and taken the stand that they
will not sell any animals subject to
the post mortem inspection and to
strengthen their side of the fight
they have advised all the owners of
COWS and heifers not to ship them for
slaughter, and they hope by this to
force the packers to so back to tho
old system, and in order to scare
the shipper a number of wild cat
stories are being circulated. The
fact of the business is these men have
bound themselves not to sell the
stock this way, regardless of the
wishes of the shipper, and should
they receive a shipment they must
refuse to handle it or sell it to
some n at a price that he a af-
ford to take all chances of the loss
from such as will be condemned, and
this will give another party a chance
to get part of the value of the an
finals that should go to the raiser
and this will be done by the parties
who are posing as the stock raisers'
friends principally for the purpose of
relieving them from Office work. At
this time it is impossible to forsee
how the fight will terminate. But
one thing is very evident, and that
is that the producers will suffer more
or less for awhile as a result of the
fight between the commission men
at the yards and the packers. So
far as the producers are concerned
in this matter they can be divided
into two classes, those that are pro-
ducing healthy animals and those
that r producing diseased mes
The man who is producing the
healthy stock should welcome such g
movement for then he should get
what his stock is actually worth
whereas now he must sell it for less
tthan it is worth, in order that the
packer nsprotect himself from the
losses that occur from the conden.
nation of stock that occur from dis.
eased herds. Again some farmers
have tuberculosis In their herds md
in case an animal of theirs is con.
demned for tuberculosis and they dc
not receive pay for it, this will be
notice to them that&their herd is af'
fected. A fact that they can take ad'
vantage of and clean up the herd
But with the man who is producing
diseased animals it is a serious
problem for he must stand the losE
or clean up his drove.
And this brings us to the point
of tuberculosis and diseased herds
We cannot at this time more thar
foutline the subject, but in the neal
future we hope to go into the subject
more fully. tuberculosis is a con
tagious disease, that Is transmissable
from one animal to another of the
same or of a different species
that is to say from one COW to an
other or from the COW to hogs, ant
under some conditions to horses
sheep and goats, but the disease ii
rarely seen in the horse, sheep o
goat while it is very prevalent ii
cattle and swine. And all indica
tfons point to the fact that hog
largely contract the disease from
Icattle, and 1t rs safe to say that yer.
few hogs will be found affected will
tuberculosis on a farm where tn
aIcattle are freeefrom 1t, 80 that tn,
sfproblem Of graduating the diseas,
from a farm lies, almost wholly IL
eradicating it from the cattle. Thi
is possible and practical as has beel
demonstrated on many occasions b,
haYing been done. The two mos
Istrikiag features Of this disease an,
the ones that make 1t most Difficult
to control are its slow progress or ad
yancement, and the fact that ordin
arily a COW will not show any symp
toms OF the disease until she is prac
~tically dead. This not only make
H dificult to- detect when the liv
COW is affected, and It is also Difficult
to convince the ordinary person tina
m animal that looks and acts health;
Affected with .; disease that !
communicable to other animals an,
That Nsis only a matter of time Whe]