The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-03-28
LARGE PACKING
PLANT HERE IS
farmers NEED
Industry Would Meet Demand
for Broadening Scope of
Live Stock Market.
BY WILLIAM r. SANBORN.

ucIt SeeIuS 10 DC an 1nSlStGnt de-
mand that the Richmond livestock
market be broadened out, and the
sphere of its influence widened. And
this is no reflection on it's present
usefulness, in fact to the contrary.
Richmond should be looked upon as
a livestock center, with a wide local
radius of action and effect, because
of the great number of cattle, veals
and hogs that are being continually
produced in this prosperous agricul-
tural district.
This much is generally conceded
1t is also the experience of those who
are regular patrons of the Glen Mil
Ter yards that they average out bet
ter. year in and year out, than their
neighbors who follow the will-o-the-
wisp of shopping round" and taking
the shrink. freight and brokerage
charges upon their own shoulders.
Then there is always the "culling
out the division of the shipment into
grades and the further fact that the
man on the farm is long ways from
the stock yards scales. In Richmond
he gets fiat price, sees the stock
weighed, gets every odd cent the pur-
chase is worth, gets his check at the
moment and has shed responsibility.
as duck sheds rain.
That is the real condition and those
are the facts as to the home market
the Richmond market, gentlemen,
If you please.
The Loss on 90 Calves.
In Mondays Palladium we told in
detail the prices paid for ninety-two
calves, a solid car load bought in Rich
mond on Saturday last, and headed
out for Pittsburg that night. We saw
a statement of sale of these same
veals Thursday morning and what do
you suppose happened? On top Of the
labor of buying, loading, the straw for
bedding, etc, the Richmond yards re-
ceived $107 less in cash than they
paid for that shipment This was
partly owing to a low market on Tues
day at Pittsburg, and because the
grading did not admit paying the
same price for the whole load as it
ran. This is the combination the in
dividual shipper has always to meet,
including the shrink, according to dis
lance and time in transit, which is
often extended unnaturally by delays
because of heavy travel or through
accident
Some men who have tried out the
Dayton market are vigorously COM
Blatant over the fact that hogs brought
into the Dayton yards by truck haul
age are penalized six pounds right off
the bat. That isn't the case at Rich
mond and this is among several rea-
sons why many Ohio stock raisers
wish Richmond yard quotations sent
out regularly. We ourselves have
had more than fifty inquiries why this
isn't done within the last few days.
A Good Packing Plant Needed.
The fact is, and this point cannot
be controverted, Richmond should
have at least one large, broadguage,
modern packing plant, operating cyl
cry day in the year. 1t would be
worth thousands to the local farmers,
and be Of benefit to those at greater
distance. Such plant would be of
great benefit, as a whole, to a very
large constituency.
Let us take another concrete exam
pie of a shipment of livestock within
morrow distance. Dayton, so far as
distance for shipment is concerned. is
lust across the street for Richmond,
but all the same it Is an expensive
street to cross to get action in the
Dayton yards. Two cars of steers to-
falling forty-three head were shipped
from Richmond to Dayton within a
week with the following results, Mr.. |
Farmer: The freight, insurance, feed |
and brokerage costs on these two cars
was exactly S135.23. OF that amount
SIS per car was an arbitrary charge
for insurance by the Dayton yards. |
This money is placed in an insurance
fund, so that should large fire ruin
the yards and burn up the live stock /
at any time the stock owners who
were damaged could get prompt pay
for the livestock burned in the pens. |
Now when you figure a shrink of thir-
ty-eight pounds per head on forty
three steers, and put it at the low |
price of II cents per pound, you find |
that SIC "a must be added to the $135.- !
% previously noted, and that to get
forty-three head of average steers !
from Richmond to Dayton and over
the scales has cost you $151.57.
And what about it. do you ask?
Well, there is a moral here, pointing |
to the need for development of our
home market. Richmond lis no mean I
city" it is a good place to live and |
in which to do business. 1t is go |
ing and growing concern, good people,
and it is our duty to help in every !
line of mutual benefit and progress |
Suppose you livestock growers and |
shippers think things over a little and |
see what you can do to help in the
line of our suggestions.