Omaha daily bee., 1909-04-04

IL must not be overlooked, either. that
thousands of tons Of ice cream are made
from the fluid richness of the Nebraska
COW. No account is taken Of this food
for the gods in computing money totals
herein. The ice cream industry involves
a big story in Itself.
Condensed Mnk Industry.
At Waterloo, Neb., the Waterloo Cream
cry mpan has a factory which turns out
800 gallons Of condensed milk per day when
running at capacity. This condensed milk
adjunct Of the Waterloo Creamery com
pany is steadily growing in output ana
reputation, and promises to be within a
very few years one of the big noises IN
that branch Of the business, which is yet
a new thing in this section. This company
did a business of $4,000 last year. While
IL is one OF the comparatively small com
panies. it deals with 1900 farmers and has
sixty employees. representing a total of 2O
people dependent on the payroll. These rig
ures will give an idea of the very great
Importance of the seven establishments To-
Gated in Omaha:
Division Of production Of the seven
Omaha may be roughly made as
follows: Paramount and cooper
! alive companies, 100000 pounds each, more
or less: David Cole Creamery company,
and Kirschbraun e. Sons. 100000 pounds
each, more or less; Omaha Cold storage
pany. 100000 pounds or better: Waterloo
Creamery company, 2O0,O0O pounds; Atlantic
Sanitary Dairy company. 10000 pounds.
These figures are. OF course, approximate.
AS TO the field of distribution, one en-
thusiast says; THE world is our field"
The Omaha product goes wherever high
class butter is in demand from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, to New Orleans, to Alaska,
and to the Mexican line.
"In the space of a few years the bust
ness Of butter-making has been changed
from a crossroads industry to an import
ant commercial enterprise
Charles Harding, president of the Farm
ers Cooperative Creamery company, thus
epitomizes the progress Of butter-making In
Nebraska. He further asserts: Nowhere
in the United States has the scientific
manufacture Of butter been carried to
the point that it has IN Omaha"
Demand often Exceeds supply.
The quality of Omaha butter is uniform,
as to color, salt and texture, all the year
round; and those who handle it and con-
sumo IT agree that 1t is the most satisfac-
tory grade of butter produced anywhere
in this country. The demand is often
| greater LndH lut supply vi iNNNhN 80
Mr.. Harding had on his desk orders for
two carloads which he could not fill.
Going outside of Omaha, the dairy bust
ness in Nebraska has had probably the
most rapid growth In the last ten years of
any place in the United States. This Is
due largely to the energy and vigor with
which the men engaged in the industry
have pushed out for business in every di-
~rection.
AS a result Omaha is today the greatest
butter-making center in the world beyond
any doubt.
Mr.. Harding is, by the way. the grand
dad creamery man of the state. Twenty
eight years ago he was running one of
the pioneer butter factories of Nebraska
at Schuyler. There were only two others,
one at Fremont, run by ]. Dickson Avery,
and one at Columbus, run by a man whose
name is now forgotten. Ten years ago,
through the efforts of Harding. the pres
emit so-called centralized creamery indus
try had its inception in Omaha. He was
the first man to advertise in farm papers
of general circulation offering a price for
butter fat from hand separated cream,
based on the New York market.
Harding's advertisements had two i'm
mediate effects. Because of the price Of
, fered, much higher than the farmers had
; ever been able to secure under any other
system in this part of the country, ship
l ments Of cream increased enormously, and
a demand was created for hand separators
whereby thousands were sold all over the
-, state of Nebraska. The Omaha market
was at once opened to all farmers in the
state and the distance from which ship
ments came was limited only by the rate
Of transportation. Regardless almost Of
, Aba location Of the nrOHnrar Omaha ba.
> came a market where a remunerative price
could be secured for butter fat. 1t has
5 so remained to this day, and the business
; has grown by leaps and bounds. Other
creameries in the state followed Hard.
= ing's lead as quickly as they realized tho
: good thing that had been opened to then
and they began at once to push the sale
s of hand separators.
e Bitter Opposition Overcome.
K Large butter dealers offered bitter op
position to the system at the outset be
cause heretofore the small creamery haC
consigned its output to some commission
s house and had been compelled to accep
such price as the commission merchan
saw fit to return. Now, however, the but
ter dealers found it necessary, If the!
n wanted to handle any of the centralizet
a creamery butter, to buy 1t outright at
price SatiS1actpry 10 the creamery man
Right here was where the cross road
= method was cut out, commercial stabilit.
was established and the present stipend
Gus development began.
y The old plan, followed at Fremont
Schuyler and Columbus. was to furnish tn
farmer with what were known as deer
sitting cans in which to place the milk
These cans were provided with glas
= gauges in the side and were submerged /
~ water. Cream was paid for by the incl
: or gauge, and was gathered by wagons ser
% to the farmers door by the creamerie!
This plan looks good on paper. but durin
the ten or fifteen years it was in operatio
m the farmer found he was not getting
he remunerative price for his butter fat. tn
r expense of conducting the business wa
lie very heavy, and the loss to the farme
ne came from the fact that he was unable I
re get more than about three-fourths of III
u butter fat out Of his milk by tho process
or Thus he was left mighty small pay for h
er work and trouble. Realization OF thes
drawbacks made Hsrding's opportunity.
T. Besides this, the quality of butter pre-
op duced in these old-time creameries-s
W called for want of a better nsme-was q
uncertain as the weather. 1t, in fac