The Donaldsonville chief., 1919-03-01
MEAT PACKERS PART fnDWAR.
Great Work of Feeding Ne Allie.
Shown in Year Book for 1919.

Shown in Year Book For 1919.
\ A new idea Of the great part play
ed by America in feeding the alice
forces in Europe is given in the 1915
Year Book of Swift IL Company
which has just been isst y.
In 1913 these products shipped
abroad totaled 5eo,359, 20 pounds:
lmore than three times the amount
shipped in 1914, the first year of the
war. The pork product shipments to-
tailed 1 1,6e1, ,454,529 pounds as against
921, 913,O29 in 1914-an increase
of 83 per cent.
During the year ending November
| /, 1918, Swift & Conf ny alone
shipped 76o,000,Oo0 pounds of meat
! and meat products to the American
army and navy at home and abroad
and to the allied nations for their
armies and civilian populations. The
Year Book says: "This amounts to
about $4,000 carloa& of meat which
would make a single traine 200 miles
long"
Some of the difficulties encounter
ed in shipping are shown in the fol-
lowing: II
''The meat for Europ gone fl
fleets of vessels under convoy, and
the Food Administration has often
been unable to know veKy far in ad-
vance when cargo space would be
available. For this reason Swift &
Company has frequently been noti-
fed that certain number of millions
of pounds would be wi I'd at GER
tain port within a few days. Swift
g Company kas often hfT shipments
on the way to the seab3rd within a
few hours after the orders have been
received, and believes that it has met
with signal success in thes filling of
such rush orders.
"The packing industry Was able to
adapt itself to wartime demands per-
haps more quickly than saaV other in
dustry. If this industry Mad not been
organized on large scale along ma
tional, and even international lines,
it would never have beenAble to an
swer all demands as promptly as it
has. War demands have, of course,
caused many changes in methods and
have made. it necessary for us to in
crease our facilities in many respects.
For example, when the United
States entered the war, thdb develop
ed a demand for cal bacon for
shipment to our soz overseas.
Swift & Company Immediately took
over a semi-completed soap factory
and within thirty days had installed
the necessary machinery and was
filling government contracts. More
than million pounds of .acon a
week have often been cannsd in this
factory. This means that our sol
diers have been getting f1 cured,
smoked bacon, whereas the Allies
have been demanding only salt, un-
smoked bacon, which doa not have
To BE- canned
Another coz
operation pistina offered the
~ a ~
ment found cessary to haye large
quantities Of butter, whictait had
bought for overseas shipment, put.
into cans. Swift & Company, alone
among the big butter handless of the
country, was willing to install the
necessary equipment, and in the
course of three weeks, under the
most unfavorable circumstances, be-
gan canning butter for the govern
nent. Up to the timeaisl Year Book
goes to press, we ha( p, up some
,hree million pounds Of 6tA4er owned
oy the government and also two mil
ion pounds which we have gathered
sor the government, making total
# five million pounds of butter that
rave been put up in tins