Cleveland County herald., 1920-01-15
ll7OOI[ID[6GAlllACI
 fRADE|PAIY''f'' 2
Senator Currie, Stock Raiser of Nebraska, Makes Ex-
 pertinent. aj ..5s .Esst sst

Meat is high; the packers admit 1t, though they say that other foods are higher in proportion. The farmer says he is not getting too much for his cat tle, in fact not enough, he says. How about numerous local slaughtering plants scattered throughout the com munities of our country, or more di- et-from-farmer-to-con relation nip?
 There Is almost sentimental attrac- tiveness about the thought, like dreams ef one's boyhood home. It looks so simple. Indeed, it is simple after fashion, and is the way most meat WAS handled before the industry grew to national and international propor- tions. But would it pay?
 Tried to Build Up Local Market.
 Experimentation and testing Is doubtless the best teacher. And in- curing minds have not hesitated to | 2 into the matter. Senator F. M. glIrrie of Broken Bow, Neb., himself 2 stock raiser, relates a bit of expe- fieaee of his own along this line.
 He tried for years, he tells us, to establish a market for fat cattle with local butchers. invariably finding that he could not meet the price made to them by the packers.
 "In other words," he says, "the pack CTS could pay us more for our cattle OF foot, and sell the product to our local butchers for less money than they (the butchers) could pay us for our cattle and slaughter the beef them selves
 During the fore part of the present year he carried his inquiry further He shipped two carloads of cows to Omaha, and they were sold to Armour and Company for $790 per hundred weight. Among these was one COW which he wished to have himself for beef. This COW weighed $40 pounds and therefore brought him $66.36. The animal was tagged and the identical carcass was shipped to him by ex- press to Thedford, Neb., and charged to him at the prevailing whole sale price of such meat on that day in Kansas City Omaha and Minneapolis. The carcass included carrying charges of about $600, cost him $8011. or $625 less than he sold the animal for in Omaha.
 What Cow Would Cost Consumer.
 "Now," continues the Senator, 'sup- pose consumer in Omaha had or dered this meat direct from me, and had slaughtered the beef at the ranch and sent the meat direct to the con- sumer. Taking as basis the price received for this COW in Omaha, $66.36, less the freight of 171a cents per hun dred, it would make the COW worth on the ranch S65.00"
 To this $65.0O he adds $500 for slaughtering at home and $6.0O for ex- press from Thedford to Omaha, and he deducts $700 credit for the hide.
 According to these figures the dressed carcass of his COW would be worth $67.0O in Omaha, as against the packers price of approximately S54.0O (which is derived by deducting the ex- press charges to Thedford. $6.00, from the price the carcass was sold to him, $60.11).
 Cheaper to Buy Than Kill.
 "After thorough investigation, the Senator says, T am convinced that it does not pay for us to slaughter our own meat at the ranch; that we would better ship our cattle to Omaha, and buy our beef from the packer. I have been engaged in the cattle producing business ali my life; tbere is no particular reason why l should be friendly to the packers. but I am thoroughly convinced I am re- ceiving, and always have received more for my cattle on foot, than if l | had been able to sell direct to the con- sumer, and consequently the consumer | has been able to buy my product for | less money through the packer than Snder any other system which is known to business up to the present | time."