Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1916-10-08
SAW VISIONS Of
GREAT METROPOLIS
Pioneers in Packing Plant We're
Years Ahead of the
Times
ANTICIPATED GREAT
/ -. Ill CITIES FOR STATE
Market Between Medora and
Jamestown Did Not Pan
Out
BY, J. w. Foley

MedOra, Oct. 6.-The year 1883 saw
about the first of the cattle ship
ments from Montana over the North
ern Pacific railway to eastern points
for slaughter, to be sent farther east
as dressed beef. The question came
to many: Why not slaughter the. cat
tie where produced and ship the meat
in refrigerator cars, which had then
come into use by killing on the range
would save long hauls Of live stock in
crowded cars; save shrinkage and
bruises. And it was supposed the
freight rates would be less. The
business looked reasonable, and logi-
cal. Experience taught many thing
about the slaughtering on the range
which could not be learned any other
way. <...., ..,
1t was thought that all the by-prod-
ucts which were used in Chicago
slaughtering houses could be saved
here, and that the saving on shrink
age alone would amount to fair pro-
fit.
Lack Of Experience
Few, indeed, are the pioneers in a
new country who can see far ahead or
can sense the changes which are la
BILE to take place in a few years.
Had any one told the writer sixteen
years ago that the Bad Lands today
would be d farming country, we
would have thought them insane.
Yet today the same lands are farmed
with homestead on every half Sec
ton. Let us look backward and see
what some of the conditions were
from Jamestown west some thirty
three years ago. If a butcher was in
need of cattle or hogs for his market
he went to 81. Paul or Montana and
purchased and shipped the stock to
bis home town to be slaughtered as
required. More or less expense was
incurred for care and feed of the
stock until killed, and when slaught.
cred what did the butcher lose which
is now saved in a we'll regulated alb
attoir? II the butcher was not an ex-
pert, he scored the hides when re-
moving. them from the carcass, which
decreased their value. He lost the
blood, the horns, the hoofs ana the
leg bones. a. -,
The tallow, If not carefully and
properly tanked, he lost d pSrts oi its
full price. II he had to ship it to
market barrel was required. this
was an additional cost to get besides
the freight In shipping; away. He
lost that part Of the beef whieh3isa
used in making neatsfOot oil His
hides would require salt To save them
until shipped. Salt cost money and
was a loss for 1.-THE hides it evapor.
ated, and what did not evaporate was
swept away before thenshide7 was
weighed by tAeshide bug ", .ss \
The country At the I'll IS O. Witch
we arr writing. dn not prod6ee sumo.
lent, butter eggs, poultry and veget.
ables ~ supply the demand, and ill,
Or ncary Oil, .of Ithsse articles, had to7
be shipped in by dealers the greater
part Of the year. Few we're the deal
ers who could order in car loads, and
on less than carloads the freight was
higher. ~.
The foregoing being the conditions
why not slaughter beef on the range
and ship in carloads to the towns and
supply the dealers? With chain of
cold storage houses along the line,
other perishable articles could also
be shipped in carloads and the local
dealers supplied.
I, Santa 70 Experiment
We have been told that when the
Santa re road was extended down
u aa y ~