The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-12-02

I raised, head downward. to a wheel which
 runs on a track overhead. In this way
 1t is carried through the other depart ments of the factory. As 1t goes on past
 man after man each does something to i fit the carcass for beef. One butcher
 cuts the throat to let ou the blood, which
 must be used to make fertilizer; others
 clean the carcass and others take off
 the skin. hoofs and horns, all of which
 are saved for oil, glue, leather or some
 other by-product.
 1 When the carcass is ready for beef, I 1t Is divided along the backbone, mak- I ing two sides, and it is in this shape that it is shipped abroad to our soldiers
 or sold to the retail butchers. It does
 not take more than 20 minues from the
 time the steer is killed until it is ready I to be examined by the government in- 1 spectors and hung up in the refriger- | ating rooms. And yet it has passed l through the hands of about 20 men. The
 meat has to go through many more pro- 1 cesses before it Is ready for eating. If l 1t Is to be canned, 1t travels to the de- | partments where it Is trimmed, cook ed and sealed up in tins. If 1t Is to be sold fresh it slides along on the over l head trolley into the great refrigerat-
 ing chambers, which are so large that lthey will hold 10000 sides of beef at
 one time, and so cold that the temper ature is just above freezing. Here it I remains for 4S hours, and becomes chilled l through. It next travels on a track down to the ground floor. where 1t is | loaded into the cold storage cars, which United States and to the ports where it will be packed in the refrigerating rooms of the steamers which will carry 1 it to France.
 It Is interesting to see just what the | packer gets out of a steer. Cost eff 1 ficiancy sheets and the saving of waste 1 have been brought to a fine point, and, l after trip about the factories here l in Chicago, it is easy to believe that | nothing is lost but the squeal" The average steer weighs about 1000 | pounds when alive and yields to the | packer v535 pounds of dressed beef. Eightynine per cent or this is sold as refrig orator beef, per cent is frozen and the remaining 4 per cent goes to 1 be cured or canned. In the early days of the industry almost all of the re- l mainder of the carcass went to waste |, and great values were lost on the scrap heap. Today, with the applica- tion of the methods of modern scienhe and attention to the most minute de- tails, these enormous wastes are con served, and 1t IS Sa1d that the by- products really make possible the profits of these great meat packing plants.
 From the refuse meat come valua- able fats, which are manufactured into grease, tallow, soap and various lu- bricating products and also fertilizers with high percentages of nitrogen and phosphoric acid. The hides are sold just now at great profit to the tam neries and the bones and horns go to manufacturers of buttons combs and other ornaments. The hair is used in the making of mattresses and the sinews and hide trimmings are trans formed into the glue that is sold ill our stores.
 The same methods obtain in the handling of sheep and of hogs. and every department throughout these great butcher shops seems to be run with the highest degree of efficiency and the lowest percentage of waste. I talked today with one of the lead ] ing officials of Swift & Co.,, as to the danger of the failure of our meat sup. ply and of the increasing rise in the prices of beef. Said he:
 "The profit on every steer we handle | by-products and all, is only per cent l short time 1t takes to handle the an- l imals, and the number we can turn over in years time. The only way 1 to cut the prices is, believe, for peo 1 pie to eat less beef every day. I am l not. in favor of the meatless day. It l will not be a success for the reason l that fha stream of meat f1owiuo- ont