Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1915-05-18
THE PACKING PLANT

eral people in our city, it would seem
that their sense of smelling and hear
ing have been greatly improved and
that their sense of sight has been
greatly impaired, or else the Wausau
spirit has been supplanted by total
indifference or by personal greed. We
have before US both by day and by
night, our beautiful slogan sign,
"Work for Wausau."
The proposed packing plant did not
''bob up in minute or become the
realization of dream over night, but
dates back TO the summer of 1912,
when the present secretary, Harry
Schiller, received from the United
States Department of Agriculture
Bureau of Animal Industry, the cir
culars B. A. |. Nos. 173 and 1856, which
are the federal meat inspection regu-
lations and amendments and the
sanitary construction of government
regulated abattoirs.
On October u, 1912, he received the
plans and specifications direct from
the government bureau, for the plant,
picture and description of which has
appeared in the Pilot and other
papers. The project was presented to
the Wausau Advancement Association
at that time and Mr.. w. H. McGeehe
of Chicago, was brought here three
times TO go into details of the inner
workings of modern packing estab-
| lishment
They were unable at that time to
interest sufficient capital IN WduSau
to build the plant and the proposition
was temporarily at stand still. The
matter was brought up from time to
time during the next year, and in the
fall of 1914, again took shape of
possibility. A temporary organiza-
ton was effected and the company
| was legally incorporated, and imme-
diately commenced to sell stock. The
officers were not given much en-
couragement, in fact were given the
cold shoulder whenever the subject
was preached. They however had the
work at heart and were sure that the
time was most opportune and pushed
their operations out into the adjoin-
ing counties with the result that over
half of the S250,0O000 was raised be-
| fore Jan. l, 1915, and the remaining
half was forthcoming within the next
few weeks The company has upon
its rolls 2086 stockholders, from Mara
thon, Clark, Wood, Portage, Waupaca,
| Outagamie, Shawano, Oconto, Lang
counties, SO per cent. of whom are
| producers of live stock and all of
whom will personally deliver or ship
their stock to WduSdu. Does it not
| follow, therefore, that any industry
that can and will centralize COM
modify from adjoining counties Into
one centre, that that centre will be
benefited thereby?
A factory seeking a location is gen.
orally regarded as beneficial to the
city by the number of employees on
the pay roll. This plant goes further
than that-it not only will employ
from fifty to eighty up to one hun
dred in most seasons, skilled laborers,
will bring to our city twenty-five fam
lilies of well paid mechanics for heads
of different departments,-the bal
ance will be local men,-will give en-
ployment to one hundred men during
the entire summer on construction
work, will invest over $4,000 in
permanent buildings and equipment
and of course, pay in their proportion
ate assessment into the city's tax
budget, will go a long ways in reduc-
ing the high cost of living and make
it possible for the laboring man to
have real, pure, sanitary, government
inspected meat on their tables as part
of their meal III place of a delicacy-
but l0iU bring nedrLg eUeTy one Of its
2086 stockholders into oar city some time
during the gear and pay them cash an
hand for achdterer they bling to their
plant.
| Can any broad-minded, public
spirited resident of our beautiful
city afford to let few people who are
over sensitive about building parks,
boulevards,, ETC., dominate the whole
population and force this company to
build its plant elsewhere-and the
benefits TO city where the plant is
located has been discovered by two or
three of our neighboring cities who
have come in special trains with open
arms offering US royal welcome.
| Now this was started as a Wdasau
project, 1.-The Farmers Cooperative
Packing company of Wausau." This
name has been registered with Secre-
tary of State in Madison, register of
deeds Office, WauSdu, has been print
ed on all subscription blanks, notes,
stationery, and correspondence of the
company, and Is going to be built IN
Wausdt. Some weeks ago petition
was circulated amongst residents in
the First Ward and signed by 81 names.
| several of whom have voluntarily
came TO the writer personally and
apologized and asked TO withdraw
| their objection. Not one single signer
| on the petition has ever as much as
seen modern packing plant. When l
say modern packing plant | do not
mean a slaughter house, such as are
| located on the outskirts of some
cities, where self-respecting dog
would hesitate to pick up bone, but
a modern up-to-date establishment
| under U. S. federal government in