The Ronan pioneer., 1917-07-27


esident of Sales Corporation.
Before the bidding began, Louis D.
Blodgett, secretary-treasurer of the
corporation, reviewed the organiza
tion of the institution and told some
of the handicaps that had been over
come in getting it under way
Richard A. Harlow of Moore, presi
dent of the corporation, was present
and made an interesting address to
the stockmen present. He said in
part:
I'VE are here today to attend the
| first sale of the Lewistown Sales cor
poration.
"This company was organized last
winter to supply a means to fill a
want arising from the new conditions
surrounding the livestock industry OF
this state.
"The livestock business of Mon
tana has undergone a great change.
| Twenty-Five years ago our friend Bob
Hamilton would pay hundred thou
sand dollars for a brand, and not
even bother to count the cattle it
covered, but today we buy cattle and
horses by the head. 1t was not un-
usual 25 years ago to hear of a sale
of ten thousand cattle, but that day
is past. The number of cattle trans
ferred in the average sale is growing
less and less each year. The ranch
man is giving way to the farmer. and
the farmers herds cannot be large.
Cannot Afford Scrubs.
"In early days when cattlemar
bought from / 1000 to 10000 steers he
could afford to travel all over the
western country to find them, bur the
man who wants from five to SO head
of cattle cannot afford to travel far
He must find them in some convent
ent, accessible place, and this COM
pany was organized to provide such
a place.
"A man who runs a few cattle on
high-priced land cannot afford tC
handle scrubs 1t costs no more to
feed a pure-bred animal than a poor
one, but the difficulty has been to
get high-grade stuff, and the organ
izers of this company had that in
mind also.
Every few people realize the pres
ent cattle situation. The United
oIdlGS HAS LO,VUU,UOU DCCI CdlllC lCoS
than it should have today. We have
just one-half of the beef supply pei
capita that we had in 1900. To give
you an idea of the enormous con-
sumption of beef, let me say that the
city of New York alone consumes
25,OOO,OOO pounds every week. That
meant $4,000 steers that will oress
900 pounds each. That is only one
spot in the United States, and l will
leave it to your imagination to figure
what the total consumption of this
country must be.
II think l am safe in saying that
cattle are being eaten up faster thar
we can raise them today.
when Germany entered the wal
she had enough beef cattle on hand
to supply her normal consumption
seven months. We know that she is
not importing much at the present
time How many cattle has she
now? And how many has Austria
And how many will they need wher
the war is over?
NEARLY all the cattle in northern
Mexico have been sold by the various
reyolutionists. and there is going tc
be a tremendous demand for breed
ing cattle there after the Mexican
trouble is over. Nearly all the cat
tie in Belgium have been killed. The
amount of beef that the Argentine
can ship hardly makes ripple or
the cattle market
Future for Stock.
"With these facts in view and witt
; roast beef at 35 cents pound, ant
mutton and pork no cheaper think
you will agree with me that there il
future for the livestock business il
the state of Montana
Let me go into few details as tt
the cause of the diminished supply o
beef because l want to impress thi:
situation upon your m.nus.
Twenty years ago every farmer
in New England and the Atlantic sea
board states had from one to 81
> steers for the market every year
They. were sold to the local slaughter
houses, Ewho supplied the local but
chers Then Armour, Swift and 9th
er packers came along and proposed
to furnish the butchers of that par
of the country with better and cheap
er dressed beef from Chicago thar
they could get at home. The butch
ers of course accepted the proposition
and the local farmers found them
selves without market for thei
steers They could not raise enough
. to pay to ship to Chicago, so the!
went out of the business, and tn