The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1914-05-27
ACo.oPERATIvE BACON FACTORY

Frederickssund, Denmark.-We take
off our hats to the Danish packing
house and it's product. Here a most
efficient packing house takes a high
grade pig and manufactures him into
the best bacon on earth. If Armour
or Cudahy or Morris were here ne
would be compelled to join us in our
%salutation of the packing houses OF
Denmark. Here is the last word as
to efficient scientific treatment of the
dead porker.
But in Denmark they demand some
thing more than scientific treatment
in the packing house. The Danish
theory is that to produce good bacon
you must go back into the history OF
the pig. They want to know of what
breed he was, that he was raised In
a sanitary pen, on pure, wholesome
food, that he was between five and
seven months old, and weighed from
$50 to 200 pounds when butchered.
He may not be a scrub, picked up
by the buyers and rushed into the
yards to be killed and cured, as may
be the case in America. The Danish
pig Is an efficient scientific agency
for transforming pure milk and grain
and root crops and fodder into fine
pig meat. And so when the best
packing house methods deal with the
best pig the result is sure to be the
best bacon. And the farmers after
they have raised the pig and cured
the bacon in the bacon factory which
they themselves own, Insist that they.
get the profit from the sale. So these
farmers keep possession of the
bacon until 1t Is placed upon the
counters Of the retail dealers in Eng
land. In this way they get all the
there are in the entire process.
Organized Without Money.
This is the way in which it Is done.
The bacon factory here at Fredericks-
sund is owned by 5000 farmers. There
are big farmers and little farmers
among them. Some Of them have
,nly five acres, and others have hun
lreds Of acres. Some contribute only
one or two hogs per year, while 9TH
ers send theirs In by the hundred.
Strange to say, while the factory now
represents a very large investment
and while the farmers who own II
have in the aggregate great wealth.
The plant was established without the
direct investment Of n dollar. There
was no capital paid in and there were
no bonds issued. A large number OF
simply got together, organ
Ized. elected officers and directed that
these officers should, in their behalf
sufficient capital at the near
by bank to erect the plant and start
the business. And the bank stood
for 1t, we'll knowing that the unllm-
tied liability of hundreds of farmers
who were interested in the bacon rae
tory was the best security In the
we'll knowing also that under,
proper management a bacon factory
was itself one of the most sound and
business ventures into
which these same farmers could go.
The loan was obtained with the un-
derstanding that repayment should be
In annual installments running over
ten years and that these payments
should be made out Of the net earn
ings of the concern. There Is one
annual meeting Of the members each
and although the financial In
which the different members
have in the concern vary largely, 1t
is one man one vote no matter who
he may be, the owner OF a small farm
or Of a large farm. The. man who
delivers one pig per year has the
same voting power as he whose an
nual product amounts to 1000 pigs.
The annual meeting elects a board or
81 directors. These directors hold
four meetings per year. The direc-
tors employ the superintendent and
manager.
High Grade Manager.
This nee is owned by 5000
thrifty, close-fisted, money-making
farmers, but they do not run this
business on any narrow gauge plan.
They know that incompetence does
not pay. They want good results and
so employ the best superintendent
and manager that monetary consid-
erations can secure. His name Is
Frederick l.. Sleek. He is an edu-
Gated. widely read, much Travelled,
scientifically trained business man,
who understands farming and hog
raising In all its details. He knows
all about pigs from breeding to eat
ing. He has studied every known
roces of transforming a live pig into
the finest bacon. He knows all about
the by-products, be they sausage or
fertilizers made from the blood. He
understands the problems of trans
portation. He is familiar with the
markets of the world and with the
demands Of each. Into his plant he
has introduced all the latest efficiency
devices. He Is in the broadcast sense,
a competent. efficient, high priced
manager.
Although for some twenty or thirty