The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1915-10-28
iNEFFIcIENcY IN GOVERNMENT
(By J. e. Jones)
Copyright, 1915. by u. S. Press Association
Chapter TX.

Chapter TX.
In the olden days-and it was not so
many years ago-the local butcher
bought his beef on foot and it was
slaughtered in his own establishment.
Then came a change in conditions,
and the great meat packers developed
their business to such an extent that
the old order passed away. Thirty
years ago the beef industry was grow
ing very rapidly and the local demand
was supplied entirely by the local
butcher. In the western country there
were enormous herds of cattle, and in
the states which now comprise the
corn belt the industry was a big one.
During the early nineties the prices
of cattle on hoof began to drop, and
whether or not this depression was
brought on by the large packers is of
no concern at this time, because a
post-mortem would likely produce only
denials. However, the logical result
was the breaking up CT many of the
large ranches of the west. The period
from 1892 to 1900 was a hard one for
cattlemen, and cattle other than milch
lows decreased 16,040, 900 head. ac.
cording to the federal bureau of ami
nal industry. The statement of this
bureau says: when the prices of cat
flo foil ca 1Nur I,trinn Tho ,nr;oI 90
1S93-1S96, many of the farmers through
the middle west began to reduce the
size of their herds. Wheat and corn
became the staple crops and they We're
given far more attention than were
cattle. The price of LAND throughout
this section began to increase very
rapidly and as a consequence the herds
of cattle on much Of it diminished in
size. With the advance of land values
immigrants kept pushing farther west,
and the settlers, h~omesteaders, and
sheepmen began crowding the cattle
men farther from the good grazing
lands to the less desirable sections"
Thus the production of beef was dis
couraged, and the farmers determined
that they would not place themselves
again in a position which would place
their fortunes at the mercy of the beef
trust. Therefore they have not re-
turned to this source of production.
The natural result of decreased Pro-
duction Of beef has been higher prices,
until it has become a matter of great
concern to many people in late years
whether or not they can continue to
provide beef for themselves and fam
lilies as a staple item of food. The
government statistics show that the
ratio of animals to population in the
United States has declined from ST Of
one animal per capita in 1900 to SO of
one animal per capita in 1914. And
Notwithstanding this great ~shrinkage
in the supply, it has been also found
that the average person eats three
pounds more beef now a year than in
1900. The annual per capita consump-
ton at this time is S0.3 pounds.
But that is not all, since including
other kinds of meat it has been de-
termined that each person consumed
1872 pounds of all kinds of meat in
1913. The annual number of cattle
slaughtered dropped from a yearly
average of 7,499, 1875 cattle during sew
eral years. to 6,724,107 cattle in the
year 1913. Calves slaughtered in the
fiscal year 1913 numbered only 1874
904, while the yearly average had pre-
viously been 1904 GA. The American
meat eaters do not eat less meat, but
they have turned more to sheep and
swine, and the statistics show that for
the last year for which the figures are
quoted, that the number of sheep
slaughtered was 1885 1874, as com
pared with the previous yearly aver
age of 1907, 621. The swine slaugh-
tered in the same fiscal year numbered
33,2S9,715, as compared with a yearly
average of 32,439,737
The beef supply has become more
curtailed each year, and there is not
much prospect that the West will re-
spond to the inducements for a ma
tional campaign for raising beef, par
ticularly in view of the fact that the
prices on agricultural land have so
rapidly advanced as to contribute to a
revolution in the meat industry. 1t is
ever doubtful whether it is feasible for
the western land owners to again turn
their attention to the raising of meat.
Land worth from SIS to 500 per acre
and capable of growing corn in turn
which has advanced from rs cents to
60 cents or more per bushel, is not
likely to revert to beef production.
There is, however. one section Of
the country that appears to be particu-
larry adapted to cattle raising, and that
is the South, since more than any