1
Tri
Special
Stockmen's Edition
VOLUME XXII
At South Omaha is located Nebr
aska's greatest commercial Institu
tion, lta live stock market. Though
organized but thirty-two years ago,
the Union Stock Yards Company of
Omaha has cared for more than 118,
000,000 head of cattle, horses, hogs
and sheep, which, if placed in loaded
cars in one solid train, would reach
three-fifths of the way around the
world, or a distance more than equal
ing that from South Omaha to Pek
ing, China, and back. In the course
of the year practically fifty thousand
farmers and shippers of Nebraska
and nearby states are represented on
the market through live stock they
have raised or fed.
Though the South Omaha live
stock market exercises a powerful
influence toward the development of
the state through the demand which
has been built up there for all class
es of live stock, there are thousands
of people who have a very vague idea
of what constitutes the live stock
market, some of them being among
the farmers themselves. The im
pression that the live stock market
is a great corporation or company ar
bitrarily controlling the marketing
and slaughtering of cattle, hogs and
sheep, is erroneous. The live stock
market is made up of many different
interests, but may be divided into
three distinct factors, as follows:
(1) The Stock Yards Company.
This corporation provides the facili
ties and service for the accommoda
tion of the live stock from the time
the railroad delivers the shipment at
the market until it passes into the
poBBesslont of the packer, shipper or
feeder-buyer. At South Omaha the
Stock Yards Company owns the ter
minal facilities, the chutes into
which the stock is unloaded from
the cars, the pens, sheds, barns and
scales. It unloads the stock and
yards the same into pens accessible
to commission merchants to whom it
is consigned; it furnishes the feed
for the stock and supplies the water
and performs the service of feeding,
and operates the scales. All this
service requires an army of em
ployes, numbering from 600 to 700
men. The Yard Company does not
speculate in live stock; it does not
buy or sell any cattle, hogs, sheep or
horses except for its own exclusive
use in the performance of the service
required in the regular transaction
of business, and has no interest in
the shipments of stock received or
forwarded at the yards further than
to afford the best of service and ac
commodations so that the owner of
the stock may be pleased and want
to come again to the market, and in
this way build up a greater business.
The revenue which contributes to
the support of the company is de
rived solely from the nominal charg
es which are made for the facilities
and service provided for its patrons.
In this connection it might be re
marked .that there are many items
of expense which ordinarily would
not be thought of by those not dir
ectly concerned. The cleaning of
pens alone amounts in the course of
a year to more than 'f 50,000.00; re
pairs, over $100,000.00; over 15,000
tons of coal are required to keep the
machinery moving. In addition to
the above, at South Omaha there has
been expended during the past six
years over $1,250,000.00 in improve
ments in order to make the Yards
what they are today the most mod
ern in the United States. In this
connection, over $275,000.00 was
SOUTH OMAHA-MARKET FOR LIVE STOCK
' . !
1 1 1 i.i : " ' --- i- -.-.aitrr l. - - - . ... .
OFFICIAL ORGAN NEBRASKA
ALLIANCE,
1tf
, !
si vifMA . - kjm-'
expended for a complete water plant, a rule, the business at the live stock keen interest in the welfare of their South Omaha twenty-five years ago
alone, which furnishes an ample sup- market is done quickly. Railroads patrons have builded for South Oma- have been replaced by the most sub
ply of good, pure well water for the aim to have the stuff loaded and ba a reputation for honesty and fair stantial and modern structures
exclusive use of the patrons of the
market. -
(2) The Live Stock Commission
Merchants. These gentlemen, like
the farmer and feeder, are in the
business not only for the small
amount of money they may receive
in excess of the cost of operation,
but to help build up a great live
stock market at this point. At pres
ent there are fifty firms of commls-
sion men in business at the South; anything not sold by that time must
Omaha market. The shipper con- be held over until the following day,
signs his stock to one of these firms, but generally everything has chang
wblch he may favor from previous ed hands before noon. There is no
business acquaintance or association 'time for signing contracts or options;
or through recommendation of a business is done altogether on honor,
neighbor or friend. On arrival at A nod of the bead or the crack of the
the market a representative of the whip may signify the consumation of
commission firm is on the lookout a sale. "Weigh 'em up" is a: g:c !
for the shipment and gives it his as a bond, when spoken by a repre-
personal attention. Sees that
the
animals are properly yarded, fed and
watered at the right time with view
of a good "fill" which insures good
weight over the scales. These com-
mission firms employ expert sales-,
men and yardmen in sufficient num-
ber to handle their business. If the
firm is one which does a large busi-
ness it has a special salesman for1
steers and a special salesman for the
"cow stuff", it has a special hog possibly stopping long enough to eat which went Into nearly every county
salesman and one or two assistants, j dinner in the big restaurant in the of the corn belt. It is South Oma
and likewise in the sheep depart- Exchange building, then bidding his ha's output of packing bouse prod
ment. Though the firm gets a cer- salesman good-bye and starts for ucts which 'entitles Nebraska to
tain commission for each car of stock
sold, whether sold high or low, it is:
naturally to the interest of the firm
to please the shipper, and the man-
ager, who is usually the most active 1
member of the firm, likes to have 1
the shipper go away "satisfied" and
therefore strives to make the best
sale his ingenuity can devise. He
isees that the "boys" sort the stuff up
I properly and get it over the scales In
good season. He is always after the
"high dollar" for his client, for that
brings him more business anon. As
Alliance Herald
,AL ORQAN NEBRASKA STOCK GROWERS
VOLUNTEER FIREMEN! ASSOCIATION. IT REACHES 11 EAIy CARTERS FOR 1S.OOO FIREMEN
BOX BUTTE COUNTY, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 1915
r"rw; - -
View of Large Section of Stock Yards, Showing Excellent Facilities for Handling
handled in such trains as will reach
the market some time before 8 a. m.,
though of course there are excep-
tions to this through failure to main-
taln schedules because of stormy
weather, accidents, etc., yet after all
more than 90 per cent of the stock
reaches the yards and Is unloaded by
the Stock Yards Company before 8
a. m., taking the year through. The
market by rule closes at 3 p. m., and
sentative of a packing concern or a
known member of the trading fra -
ternity, and usually has a good "lis-
ten" to the man standing near who
fed them out the owner. In the
majority of cases the shipper or own-
er gets down to the yards about 9 or
10 o'clock in the morning, goes out
and looks over his cattle, or other
stock, goes back to bis commission
firm's office, gets his account sales,
home with his money, or a draft on
his home bank. In no other busi-
ness In the country can the country-
man market his products with quick-
er returns than at the live stock mar
ket as conducted today. These fifty
commission firms at South Omaha
sold last year more than one hun-
dred millions of dollars worth of live
stock without the loss of a dollar to
any shipper. Such a record can not
be beaten,
are tireless
The commission men
in their efforts to ad-
vance the market and through their
ASSOCIATION. REACHES EVERY
1
1.-' "i it i- .' !a' k.
, -'"$ 7 " V
dealing which has become a valua-,
bht v'.set to the market. They are a ,
wide-awake lot or progressive busi-;
ne?s men, who transact their busl-:
ness with honesty and facility.
es) To the packer a great deal Is
due for the development of the mar-
ket for live stock. Were It not for
the packer the stock yards would
still be a feeding station and the
stockmen would be in the position
of the vegetable gardner who is forc
ed to limit his output to the require
ments of his immediate locality. In
times when production is much
greater than the demand the packer
equalizes the market against the
time when conditions may be revers
ed. The live stock market is a busy
place where a single week's business
' transactions reach into the millions
iof dollars. At South Omaha, for In-
stance, the packers' purchases of live
stock for last year amounted to over
one hundred and thirteen million
dollars; which does not include sales
to country buyers of one and one -
half millions of feeder sheep and
lambs, more than any other market
in the United States handled, and
nearly half million of feeder cattle
prominence in the manufacturing
world: it is ber live stock market
that advertises Nebraska's resources
around the world.
Improved Faculties Eaiwntlal in Up-;
building of Market
As in all other lines of business.
the Improvement and modernizing of
marketing facilities has been a very
essential feature In connection with
the marketing of stock and insuring
the shipper of the greatest net re-
t urns.. Old time facilities In use at
-,v 1F
MEMBER
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; " 1 1
t V I, J - I
Live Stock
known in architecture. Cattle pens
have been laid out so as to handle
stock in the most efficient manner.
with numerous double alleys leading
from the chutes to the pens, facilitat
ing the movement of the cattle from
the cars to the sale pens. Every
pen has been paved with either brick
or concrete, with airple sewerage fa
cilities in ach pen and alley, enab
ling the Yards Company to keep the
cattle yards in the most sanitary eon-
ditlon. Every pen is provided with tles "PERFECTION" has been
concrete water troughs into which ! accomplished, is apparent, upon en
flows an abundance of pure, cool well tertng the new Horse Barn, Just re-
water from the private water plant
of the Stock Yards Company.
In the mammoth sheep barns ly
ing immediately south of the cattle
division, every known convenience
for the proper handling of sheep has
been installed, the entire barn being
divided into specially constructed dl-, horses capable of work as cavalry
visions, with sorting chutes In each mounts or for artillery. The entire
division, these sorting chutes being country has been gone over two or
so laid out as not to Interfere with three times by buyers from different
the handling of sheep in the various 'countries, and still the demand has
j alleys leading from one division to' not been filled. The draining of the
another. A large concrete dipping
j vat lies in close provlmity to the
sheep barn. In short, the sneep barn
is acme of perfection for the hand
ling and marketing or sneep.
The Hog Division at the
Omaha Yards has, for years
South
past,
been of reasonably good construe -
tion, and reasonably convenient, but
It has been the aim and wish of the
management of the Yards to give the
shipper the very best facilities in the j
way of Hog Pens that could be devis-
ed, and the old structures have been
replaced with the most modern, sub -
(tantial steel and concrete hog pens
and sheds ever constructed at any
live stock market in the world. The
.roofs of the pens are high, being of
.the saw-tooth variety, affording an
abundance of light and good air, the
floors are so sloped as to drain quick-
Section One
NO. 27
ly Into sewers of ample capacity,
keeping the floors, which are of con
crete, clean and sanitary, and afford
ing hog shippers the greatest amount
of efficiency or fill from the shelled
corn fed his bogs.
In the three departments for the
care of cattle, bogs and sheep, num
erous scales are well located, enab
ling the prompt weighing of stock to
be had Immediately after sale. Thes
scales are all provided with the lat
est pattern of type-registering beam
which stamps the correct weight of
each draft weighed, Insuring th
stock shipper of absolutely correct
weights on all stock which he may
sell at South Omaha.
In the reconstruction of the vari
ous departments of the South Omaha
Yards, the Horse and Mule Depart
ment was not overlooked. Just a
year ago the finest Horse Barn in the
United States was completed, being
built entirely of concrete, brick and
steel, fireproof throughout, sanitary,
and well ventilated. While the old
facilities for this department were
not of the poorest sort, yet the horse
business was being developed to such
an extent that at many times it had '
taxed the ingenuity of the managers
of the various horse firms to provide
accommodations for all the animal
that were being consigned to this
market. Therefore, when final de
cision was made for the construction
of this mammoth Horse Barn, Stock
Yards representatives were sent to
the various other markets to get
ideas of the facilities offered the
horsemen there, but returned with
the announcement that none were ot
the high standard which had been la
the mind of the South Omaha man
agement. Orders were thereupon Is
sued to the Engineering Department
of the Yards Company to draw plana
for a barn that would surpass any
thing yet constructed in this line, to
make it of proportions that would ac
commodate from 800 to 1,000 bead
of horses, and to be of the most mod
ern type of construction. That the
point foremost in the mind of the
management in regard to these facll
'cently completed
Better Horses
at
Several million dollars have been
spent in the United States for horsea
for war purposes. The greatest ds
mand, of course, is for stout, strong
west 'of horses means that In the re
habilitation a better breed of horse
will be produced. It is this that
sounds the death knell of the bron
co. The government has been work
ing'for years encouraging the breed
ing of better horses. As the demand
' for horses to replace those sold for
war purposes increases it will be an-
lmals of better breeds which will
take their places.
MOTTO FOR THK PRINTER
1 4 1 . i A A
, 1M lww dnUUng sun
I'rintiiig uone ir ies man co
i "Yes, my good man, "the kingdom
0f heaven Is at hand. It is here
new, on this earth."
"Gut tta holt f rv ha In nooVAii an1
know It!" Life.
