OCR Text |
Show AAI8INQ CATTLE IN WEST. I How Refrigerator Car Built Up a Trade tho Trust Ruined. "To produco beef that will Btand refrigerating re-frigerating and long carrying," writes Mr. Russell In tho May Installment of "Tho Greatest Trust in tho World" In Everybody's magazine, "cattlo must ho fed on food that contains certain flesh-making elements. In somo parts of tho country thcro grows what is callod 'Bhort grass,' which has all tho required nutrition. But tho supply o: 'short grass' cattlo Is not sufficient. Vhn nnlv nfllnr fnnrl flinf will mako tho quality of beef requisite for ro frlgeratlon purposes Is corn. Hence, In tho great corn bolt of tho west (Missouri, Iowa, southern Minnesota, South Dakota, eastern Nebraska, cast-ern cast-ern Kansas) tho practice camo to bo this: Tho farmer bought from tha wostorn ranges in western Nobraska and Colorndo rnngo cattlo that had been matured on common grass, took them to his farm and fed them on corn for six or eight months. When thoy had been sufficiently 'finished on corn thoy wore shipped to bo slaugh tered. "But this practice required capital. Tho farmer must buy tho rnngo cattlo and pay for shipping thpm to hla farm. Consequently, In almost every caso ho becamo a borrower at his local lo-cal bank nnd tho bank carried his loan until ho effected tho salo of his fattoned cattlo. Therefore a great business grow up for tho country bank. "So long as thcro was a free, unlm-podod unlm-podod and unmanlpulated cattle market mar-ket both parties to theso transactions went their ways rejoicing. Tho farm-or farm-or found that selling his corn turned Into cattlo fat was far moro remunerative remuner-ative than selling It to tho elevator; tho bank loaned much money at fair rates and on good legitimate security." |