The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-11-17
STARTLING FIGURES
REGARDING MEATS
Virginia Gets Eighty Per Cent
of Its Pork, Beef and Mutton
From the West-These Can
Be Supplied by Home
Farmers-Market Fa-
cilities Ample.
r, FRANK 3. WOODsON.

GEORGE Wellington Koiner. Of Virginia.
n.ads a good speech. several OF them.
In fact. and he did little very JUS
t'fabic boasting. VirE.nia has made
some fine progress along agricultural
lines. and the commissions. had a per
feet right to boast. especially as the
Kcco story Of what the old mother -
dnirG Ii we'll calculated &c help he
daughters solve some Of the INDUS
frial and ayr cultural problems which
confront them. Speaking OF the sue
cessful use Of the hog cholera serum.
Mr. Koiner declared that the cholera
has been practically eredicated in VIZ
Gtnia, and that this has SO greatly
encouraged the hog-raising industry
in the State that Virginia has become
the leader in that line. raising more
hogs for the markets tnan any other
Southern State. The discussions de-
veIoped the fact that all of the South
ern States are far behind the old Do
rinion. And yet Virginia buys so per
cent Of the hog meat she consumes. and
her wholesale dealers SELL from the
vest. She also buys at .east half
OF the beef and mutton she consumes
from the packing houses OF the Vest.
and this Is ;he subject upon which
propose to talk 10 the extent Of a col
umn or two this morning.
situation Dswn seuth.
1 have just been reading a lengthy
article by L. I. Gibson. OF Macon. Ga.
which was written for the. purpose OF
getting the farmers AROUND Macon and
the capitalists and business men Of
the city to raise 81 600 eco to establish
q packing house business, with stock
yards. alattoirs, etc. for the purpose
of furnishing farmers and stock-rais-
ers market for hogs. cattle ana
sheep. and thus get them to raising
the necessary stock to furnish that
section with meat. instead OF going
West for ali. or I.early AL, OF tho
meat they eat Mr.. Gibson admits
that II would be a losing proposition
for the stockholders for a few years.
Until the farmers can be educated up
to the importance and the profitable
ness Of hog and cattle raising, his 20
sition being that Georgia cities must
first furnish a market before the coun-
tryTnen will grow the material Cor
the packing houses In this connec-
ton he says:
Why should he try to produce moro
hogs under present conditions? 1t IS
an old English axiom that the farmer
who sells his grain and forage is the
poor farmer. and the farmer that feeds
his grain and forage and sells his fat
te5 stock is the rich farmer. There
are millions Of acres of land as good
and productive as any In the State
that lie fal!ow. They would produce
corn. hay and various vegetables and
stock foods that would Produce mil
lions Of dollars worth OF good cattle
and hogs and other eoibie animals.
These acres lie dormant. idle. useless.
Tor no other reason than the lack OF
facilities for making economic use Of
these products. What other than the
modern packinGhouse car make use OF
them or turn them into money!
vtFB11lsas Better Posit1on.
All Of that applies to the vrginta
farmer - we'll ~ to the Georgian, ex-
cept that the virginian already has
the markets with the packing houses.
and al he has to do to make money,
Mr.. Gibson. Is to raise the hogs and
the cattle 70 supply the market. have
the figures 20 justify this statement
Six Of the largest packing houses in
the West have immense branch estab-
lishments and up-to-dase storage and
pack!ng-houses in Richmond. the great
point One Of these has
IN abbotto1r and slaughter house. and
buys and slaughteTs Virginia grown
hogs. All the others are prepared to
add these to their present plants. and
would do IL II they could get the hogs
and the cattle TO keep them going.
have not heard them say they would DO
It. but ] know, as will hereinafter ap-
pear, that they would have TO do IL, or
90 out Of the business in favor OF
somebody else IL the live stock came
here from Virginia farms 20 meet the
demand
aS0e Pscksnw-H~usrs.
There are in Richmond two packing
houses that are independent: that 10
they are not branches Of the big West.
ern houses. One Of these latter, =. E
Patrick Youag Company. handles alto
Gether meats siaueh;ered In the West
and shipped here in refrigerator cars.
The other, W .. Forbes 4 Co.. conduc,
an uu-to-dase absoitor, with all Of the
necessary stock yards. cattle pens and
ella ug hser-hovsez. Their packing house
g. perhaps the largest and best equip
ped In the South. and IL 10 . money
maker. I DO not hesitate to express the
opinion fhaf the capacity Of this al
ready immense establishment would b
more than doubled at once u the vir-
gin,a back country would furnish the
raw material In the shape OF hoge and
cattle. Z was about to say 10 the hack
country could furnish the raw material
That would have been improper. for the
farms Of Virginia csn furnish every
pound Of meat that u bought and sold
On the wholesale and retail markets %
she state How much DO they raise
now Let the figures speak for them
The pscking-hcuses 81 Hichmo.s
handle In one year. or DID last year.
snI viii ~ better tbs year. i?e."ee.e"s
sounds Of pork. One hundred million
SOUNDS of this wss kfIled in the West
ana SHIPPED here IN refrigerator cars.
THIS represenss :se.eee hors putting
lCe0siass1 % SecSnl Ps6&l