THE CHICAGO STOCKYARDS.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 13013, 28 June 1906, Page 3

THE CHICAGO STOCKYARDS.

A travelling correspondent of the " Pastoralists' Review" gives the following account of the Chicago stockyards a,few months ago—i.e., before the "scare" was started; — • ..' : ,Ifc"'enterprising citizens claim, and probably : ' ijrith truth, that Chicago has the foremost" live stock and grain markets of the world. Official statistics show that in 1904 the shipments from the city included 9,606,000 bushels of flour, 27,225,000 of wheat, 102,787,000 bushels of corn, bushels of oats, 2,621,000 bushels of rye, and 25,588,000 bushels of b.irley, while there were received and re-til-tributed, either alive or manufactured, .a:>er allowing for local consumption, 3,526,-iV'-O head of cattle, 7,238,000 hogs, 4,504,0- 0 sheep, and 105,000 To carry this enormous mass of produce the port of Chicago in 1904 cleared 6671 vessels, v.irh a total tonnage of 6,514,000 tons, ats-l employed v.o less than 286,873 railway <n-s. As there are 25 separate lines of r.'diway, with a total mileage of 67,715 in Ik's, entering Chicago, and reaching out t • ill the producing district;---, west, north, south, some faint, idea may be gained of he magnitude of the operations in food products alone of this lemarkable city. To appreciate clearly what is involved ir . the operatic es of * Packing Town at C-i'"'igo, it must be understood that all ■'::» work of the main industries affected is carried out in one circumscribed area, wl.i.-h covers some 700 acr«s and, as its fame implies, is in reality a great <-t<mn, m which are conducted all the operations of yarding,. receiving, inspecting, buying o.n-1 selling stock, and subsequently the processes of killing, dressing, and the n> inufacturing of products. 'The great bulk of this area comes within the sphere of operations of the Chicago Union Stockyard and Transit Company, a colossal organisation which exists /or the purpose of affording facilities for the buving and selling of stock. It does itself engage in the buying or selling of stock, which is done by numerous commission agents, its province being solely to afford a proper place and adequate facilities for the reception, care, and handling of the animals put forward for sale. Naturally, the existence cf central yards attracted to the v-'cinity those who "were engaged ia the butchering and meatpreserving industries, then in their infancy, and so we find that within a space- of some 200 acres or le-s. adjoining the yards, there are situated the establishments of all tie great packing houses, to the number of sirte»". These >'e crowded together, being only divided by narrow thoroughfares apd railway lines, the property of the various proprietors, which wind in and ont amongst the various buildings in a perfectly bewildering itanner. Returning to the Union stockyards, which, feed these great packing maws, it may be stated that -organisation instituted in 1865 has, in 40 years', developed to a marvellous extent. The. originalyard area of 300 acres has been, increased to 500 acres, and of this 450 acres have been bricked or planked. Indeed, one of. the features of the yards which at once strikes a -visitor is their cleanliness. Being covered almost throughout with fine surface [material, they inay be hosed and cleaned out daily k -which,, is done, and "there is' 1 an appearance of sweetness about everything which makes the place very attractive. The stock are received in comparatively small lots from all over the States, and to accommodate these there are no,: less than 13,000 pens of rectangular shaped all equipped, where necessary, with hay and troughs for feeding and -water. The pens are divided into sections" by alleys, crossing each other at right angles, like the blocks and streets of a modern city, and on the top of the fences ■ around each pen is wide planking to permit visitors to walk safely around the enclosures. The streets and alley-ways alone ertedd over a distance of 25 miles, so that there is m> difficulty in obtaining good walking exercise if desired, and the -ways are.beautifully formed and kept. Of the 13,000 pens no less than 8500 are double-deck or covered pens. To economise spaced and for the better protection of stock, second floors; Trith covered roofs, have been erected over an area of 75 acres, and included in these is an immense sheep house capable of accommodating 30,000 sheep, and part of it double-decked.

To permit of easy access to the various pens there are usually two gates to each, and thus there are no less than 25,600 gates. To complete the picture of this vast concern, it has to be added that" the yards possess no less than 300 .miles of railway, either connecting the yards with outside lines or traversing the property. When these figures are digested some idea of the immensity of the whole affair can be gathered, and an idea obtained as to what expenditure mu&t be required to nuuaf tain and keep the vast affair going. The company employs, for instance, 1800 men; it has six artesian wells for the. supply of -water, with on average depth ;©f 2250 feet; by these and the aid of seven great pumps (which iave a daily. capacity of. 5,500,000 gals.), in Lake Michigan, 'seven million: gallons of water can be supplied daily, and this quantity is consumed in hot weather. To provide for emergencies, however, there are reservoirs with a capacity of 8,000,000 gallons, while, a water tower for the purpose of gravitation and affording jjower'has a capacity of 30,000 gallons. Water naturally plays a very important part in the economies of the yards, and thus we find that there are no- less than 10,000 hydrants in use, while the - length ,of water pipes is 90 miles, of sewer pipes 50 miles, and of water troughs 25 miles. Electric Injuring is, of course, a necessity wheWS so much work has to be done during all hours of the night, and to afford/lighting for -the unttucking and trucking of stock there are 2GO arc lamps and 8000 incandescent lamps, necessitating the use of some 50 miles of wire.

Someidea has now been afforded of the immensity of the organisation which Las I been developed for the carrying on of the cattle buying and selling here. It is not to be expected, of course, that the yards are ever used to their fullest extent but should aftoerd--mg to official statements, accommodation for 75,000 head of cattle, 300,000 hogs, 80,000 sheep, and 6000 horses. These numbers have, of course, never been, reached, but' at different times the highwater mark las reached the following: figures :—Cattle, 32,677; calves, 3612; hogs, 74,551; sheep, 31,334; and horses, 1608; or a grand total of 195,782. It is difficult to picture such an army of four-footed animals of all sizes mustered together in such a circumscribed: area. It is not for me to enter into the controversy as to the results of the sales effected at the yards. As io the case of our own sales, prices rarelj- suit both purchasers and sellers. But", to- be candid, I fancy the purchasers are, as a rule, the nvst satisfied. Without a doubt. I fear, the great beef trust, as the combination .of meat packing houres : is termed, regulates &e- price"- from' 'day "to' day; ''and [Very rarely does it suit" to .refuse what :s] 'offered him.N „- If he! -tides to refuse' the- first'-pi ice offered' by representing the -trust,- he - finds as a rule that be is offered less later'on,

.and .if ,he .withdraws .hi*, stock -to oiler them in another market he finds that the price to be offered has preceded iim. That is part of the system, and is in no sense to be ascribed to the yards or their management. So long as the packing companies act in combination, it appears that no outside power can work against them, and it is only the fear of overdoing the thing that keeps the price at all np to the mark.