Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 31

V'A vnin 1K I i A WB" "JMtm SEVEN I Packing Industry Celebrates Twenty-First An4thhre he PLAINS INSPI run these big plants and the engines operated combined will generate lu000 horse power This is exclusive of the refrigerating plants of the twin packerles whose capacities have ad And the rau Birthday $40000000 Paid Out Annually suaes Into 9 i a cottonwood tre- An(1 buzzard sails on -X and is ftone and ai them with ease dispatch and certainty for some years to come Packing District Grows The packing district of Fort' Worth presents the aspect of a city in miniature The two immense plants are erected on an eminence to the eastward of the properties of the Fort Worth fctock Yards Company and afford a commanding view of contiguous territory Grouped about lb em on the slop-s to the north and northeast are countless cottages the homes of employes of the stock yards com pan and of the packing plants Their advent in North Fort Worth gave an Immediate spur to retail mercantile business and many stores not at all to b-classed as being of the "countrv" typo provide household necessities for the thousands of workers who produce meat' and meat products Cowboy and Ranch Sources of Romance for Writers 1 1 vanced from 1000 tons daily in 1901 I to 3500 tons daily in 1911 Annual Output The annual output of the Armour i and Swift packing plants is amazing to the uninitiated or lay mind It is an easy thing to stand at a distance from these big plants and look at them as they loom large The belching smoke from the tall chimneys conveys the concrete idea of energy- and industry The cattle and hogs driven I up the runways from the stock yards to the plants givethe purpose of th belching smoke and singing wheels-The hordes of men rushing about and I the long lines of refrigerator cars standing on adjacent tracks all add to the conviction that a large amount of business is being done within the massive brick walls of the two plants I But all of this does not reduce itself readily to figures taTliSlT established at Fort Worth One viewing these mammoth plants' 01 Armour (' and Swift Co to- 'ay would have but a slight concep- "On Of the original plants these com-i panies established in what was then North Fort Worth Although the pioneer packing plant established at Fort Worth had been able to run to its fullest capacity without so to speak making a dent I the possibilities offered by the cat- tie production of Texas the establish-ment of two new- plants at Fort Worth was more or less experimental However wideawake business men fostereel the enterprise and iheoo uero nrt There is perhaps better way to HARTE LOVED WEST Chittenden Eugene Field Edwin Markham and Others Wrote of Cowman Stately and still like a And wonder why- "do not at thing5 that ngs that w-ere- 1 half of my life i'ie buried Down on the Rio Grande? It remained for Larry Chittenden ung Kasterner who came to UyS a Texas ranch out in Jones covet to publish the first volume of pur-s The book had a 1 sale and received favorable noti frrm critics all over the world known far and wide the "poet-ranchman" wrote the boys' Christmas Ball" "Texas Tyrx and innumerable Texas poems Here is a sample of his care fj styIesubject "The Round-Up:" Through mesqulte and cactus a chapparaj bushes Over oceans of blossoms we gall along On on toward the round-up our stc hroncho rushes As we drive up the stragglers shout and with song The last verse: When the day's work is over to eai we an? flying To unsadMle and hobble and jc with ihe cook: When the supper is finished the a ronnd-up of lying But the tales that we tell are I told in this book The same subject Is treated tn more artV-tic style by Edwin Mai hrm begins: Speed jeed leave the brooks to til rjotter and prattle: Sweep rvn with the thunder and aw of battle The hills and the wind and -the oi tight The linrry the voices the keen orf the cattle Xow rn into camp by the syearn yonder Xow o'er the giii-nr let the lit fingers wanfler: Let thoughts tn the high heart gr pensive and fonder Them stars and the dream of a su men nlgfht POWER WAGON GROW! customed to produce failures If a business gamble it was thev took a that they made good is the city's industrial history New Epoch Downs The establishment of the Armour and Swift packing plants at Fort worth was immediately heralded as epoch making in the historv of the livestock industry of the and it has heen Many things have contributed toward the betterment of the livestock industry of the great states of the Southwest and all have had their influence However It is not a too radical statement to make to sav that the coming ef th Armour and Swift packing plants to Fort Worth bad a greater Immediate Intrinsic value to stockmen and farmers of Texas and opened more certainly an era of prosperity to them hitherto unknown than any other influence had elone The Texas farmer and stockman saw in the two Fort Worth packing plants a market for his cattle hogs and sheep brought practicallv to the boundaries of his range or ranch The dismal vista of the long drive to Kan- MU it St Louis or Omaha vanished He was assured that his cattle would reach a market in better shape with practically little loss through shrinkage and his further assurance was that his livestock would bring a high price as the Fort Worth packing houses must bid against the established reputations and prestige of more northern markets Cattle incustry Profits With a cattle market at its doors This year 1911 the packing industry in Fort Worth reaches its that is the year 1911 marks the twenty-first in which meat and lueut products have been packed and shipped from Fort Worth The beginning and development of the meat packing industry in the Southwest and that means "the begin-nnlng and development of the meat packing industry in Fort Worth discloses an interesting story of business 8ggressiv ss and intelligent conservation and direction that perhaps no Other industry of the great Southwest can match From the days when the buffalo roamed the plains of the then unsettled Southwestern country men have realized that Texas particularly among the Southwestern states was an ideal place for raising cattle This in time led to the period when irreat herds of cattle were driven hither and thither over the Texas prairies until thev fattened and then herded northward to the nearest city where awaited markets and plants to transform the longhorns into dressed beef Origin of Home Plant Naturally the time came when Texas cattlemen saw the advantages of having packing plants located nearer the ranges where cattle thrived and fattened and the penetration of the railways to the feeding grounds of the Southwest strengthened the belief that a Texas packing plant would pay and pay largely on any Investment made Transportation was brought to within relatively a short distance of the big cattle ranches and ranges and rho lines of steel radiated from Fort Worth to all of the principal cities of the country so logically Fort Worth was the prope packing plant site and sj It has become Packerv Ooens 1890 Relatively humble were the beginnings of the meat packing- industry in Fort Worth In 1R90 a plant was established by the Fort Worth Packing and Provision Company with a daily capacity of approximately 150 cattle and 250 hogs This initial and pioneer plant represented the meat packing industry In Fort Worth from 1890 until 1901 To be sure its capacity was niore or less enlarged from time to time to meet demands but it never reached or approximated the capacity the cattle resources of even a small portion of Texas warranted The development of the cattle raising industry in the Southwest the improvement shown in grades of cattle that were shipped to the markets and packing plants of Kansas City Omaha St Louis Sioux City and Chicago from the great Texas plains soon attracted the attention of the big pack-era of the northern cities North Interested Investigations followed and It developed that the northern packers immediately grasped the significance of Fort Worth as a point at which to establish meat packing plants that would take care of the cattle calves sheep and hogs that were raised in Texas The next step the logical one was to establish packing plants at this advantageous point and it was done The Armour Co and the Swift Co stock papers of the Southwest and the medium of personal appeal and argument the work of bringing farmers and stockmen to see the immediate advantages that would accrue to them through the breeding and marketing of better grades of livestock the campaign was begun It has been kept up since its inauguration without cessation with results that today are most gratifying to the fafcn-rs of the entire Southwest and to the consumers gf the output of farms and ranches the Fort Worth packing plant officials have not been reached More beef can be nt on cattle hogs can be grown "meatier" and fatter better sheep and more valuable alves can be produced and marketed and will be Best Is Wanted The day has passed so far at least as the farmers and stockmen of the Southwest are concerned when they might conclude that the Fort Worth packing plants will take anv sort of animal they choose to drive or ship to the plants It is not a question of operating the Fort Worth packing plants regardless of the quality of animals ousumed it is a question of operating them because the quality of anils als shipped to Fort Worth is of such a profitable nature that the farmer and stockman and the plants themselves do business mutually on a satisfactory margin of profit This insistent demand on the part of the Fort Worth packing plants for high-grade animals to transform into superior marketable products has operated more than any other one thing to improve the breeds of livestock in the Southwest and particularly in Texas The campaign of education under the auspices of the Fort Worth stock yards interests is bearing fruit Agitation accomplishes much and agi-tion of the idea tiiat high grades of livestock mean fuller pooketbooks and more sustantial bank accounts owned by farmers and stockmen is bringing about a ronrlition wonderfully profitable alike to the stockman and the packer Plants Trebled Comparatively the present packing plants of Armour Co and Swift Co are three times their original size In 1901 when these plants were erected they met the demands then made upon them However the farmers and stockmen of Texas and the Southwest generally soon appreciated the distinct advantages of home markets for their livestock and the shipments to Fcrt Worth soon totaled and later exceeded the capacities of the plants The remedy was applied and the plants were doubled in size and capacity This met demands made upon them for a few years hut the original experience of plant falling below demands made upon it was repeated Again the plants were increased This time the original area and capacity-was trebled This last increase In size and capacity was of course far in excess of the immediate demands business made on the plants and more than meets present demands But the Armour and Swift companies saw ahead and built the present plants so that thev are in a position to take care of the business that will come to The Western plains have proven almost as prolific a source of inspiration for poets as have the sea and "the mountains and their people have figured in verse almost as often as in plays and romances Larry Chittenden Eagene Field Ed-w in Markham Frank Duprez Joaquin Miller and Bret Harte are among the peets who have made frequent use of the ranch and the cowboy Eugene Field's btst known Western pcem is "The Red Red West" and here Is a typical verse: Give me no home neath the pale pink dome Of European skies: No cot for me by the salmon sea That far to the Southward lies But away out West I would build 'my nest On top of a carmine hill Where I can paint without restraint Creation redider still Poet of Texas Border Frank Puprez was a poet of great worth who owred his chief fame to a Western poem "Lasca" This poem Is a wonderful illustration of the art cf adapting the sound to "the sense a quality as essential to poetry as "to music "Lasea" iy the soliloquy of a man who has spent much of his life on the Texas border but who has gone piece a vivid picture of an Industry before readers than through the medium of comparative statistics 5000 Head Capacity From as has been said comparatively modest Structures and capacity the growth of the packing industry in Fort Worth through the efforts of the Armour and Swift packing plants has been such as to plac Fort Worth in the category of the big meat packing centers of the nation The area and equipment of the Armour and Swift plants todav is such that 5000 head of cattle may be driven up the runways to the plants and Into them and emerge as dressed beef ready for shipment to distant consumers in many-cities all in the space of a single working day and this process may be carried on without interruption every working day in the year Of course the shipments to the Fort Worth stock yards at this time do not total 5000 head of cattle each day but if 5000 head of cattle were shipped to Fort Worth the Armour and Swift plants are able to take care of the immense ri umber But the capacities of these two grent plants are but given In outline when their facilities for handling cattle are stated In addition to the ability to transform 5000 head of rattle daily Into dressed beef and by-products these plants are equipped to kill dress and ship 10000 hogs 3000 sheep and 3 000 calves each working day As in the case of the capacity to slaughter and dress cattle these plants have never been called upon to extend themselves to their fullest to handle 10000 hogs 3000 sheep and 30eo calves each working day The reason for this of course is that this large number of hogs sheep and calves have not been present any day on the Fort Worth livestock market However according to the estimates made by the heads of the big packing plants and of the Fort Worth Stock Yards Company the day Is coming when these plants will run to their fullest capacity and Fort Worth be the greatest packing center of the land Like the packing plants the Fort Worth stock yards are able to care for many more animals than are shipped The capacity of the stock yards is 25000 head of cattle 15000 hogs 5000 sheep and 7500 calves The plants and land of the two big Fort Worth packing plants cover an area of fifty-one acres and the buildings provide sixty-one acres of floor space The arrangements of the interior of both the Armour and Swift plants is ideal and of course constructed with regard to the last word In scientific building methods and economical disposition of equipment An immense amount of power is required $40000000 for Livestock Each year the Armour and Swift packing plants spend $10000000 in purchasing livestock for consumption at the plants This immense sum of money represents cash purchases (or each individual purchase is closed with an actual transfer of cash from the packing plant cashier to the shipper of liv stock to the Fort Worth stock yards All of this stupendous sum of money is cleared through the banks of Fort Worth and practically every cent goes into the pockets of Texas farmers and stockmen $6000000 for Material To mtaintain at the highest point of efficiency plants such as the Armour and Swift institutions at Fort Worth an Immense sum of money must be expended each year for supplies that are an integral part of the business of any packing plant In 1910 the Armour and Swift plants spent $6000000 for materials they used and of this large sum 60 per cent was spent in the states of the Southwest It requires many men to operate such plants as the Swift and Armour pack-eries When Armour and Swift began business in Fort Worth in 1901 it required but a combined forme of 1000 workers to manufacture their products The enlargements of these plants since their inception has quadrupled this original number of employes and the pay rolls of the plants today carry 4 000 names This means that a vast sum of money is paid out each year by the plants to workers alone and the belief is visualized when it is an-neunced that the annual combined payrolls of the Armour nnd Swift plants in Fort Worth will reach $3500000 A feature of this big pay roll of the-packing plants is that it is paid in cash right here in Fort Worth and so the merchants of this city havi given them the advantage of it No other city of Texas has so large a per capita pay roll as Fort Worth and this Is brought about largely by the location of the Armour and Swift packing plants in this city A working force of 4000 men can in a year's time manufacture and ship a vast quantity of wares and the employes of the Armour and Swift packing plants do In 1910 there were shipped from the Fort Worth plants of Armouh and Swift 26000 car loads of manufactured products These cars represent a total of 1300 trains and if stsftched along rails end to end woub! cover a distance of 225 miles These 26000 cars carry in them to distant cities each year 600000000 pounds of products- where good prices could be obtained back to Xew York He escapes from I tne cattle' industry of Texas was given a decided upward trend by each ineli-vidual stockman and farmer At first the same grade of animals that had a fashionable reception and looking at the stars thinks of his old life and longs for it The poem begins: I want free life and I want freh air And I long fer the canter after the been driven over the weary miles or shipped over the more recent railroads to northern markets were offered at the Fort Worth plants But the new plants wanted superior grade of cattle i sheep and hogs Their business was thai of selling dressed beef mutton or pork and the more they sold the greater would be the returns the plants would make on the investments The situation resolved itself into a simple proposition put all the beef possihle on cattle breed and market battleship hogs and ship to the Fort Worth i 1 i cattle The trample of hoofs and the rattle of horns And the crack of the whip like shots in a battle Cowboy's Love Story It tells the story of the cowboy's sweetheart Lasca whose blood is a Many persons have watched with terest the dovclopment of the pasa ger car but few of the shrewdest bu ness captains have realized how ste Ily the commercial motor has forging its way toward universal ognition Statistics showing the number business vehicles now in use In country alone show the marvelt strides that have been made since 1 automobile was invented 4 A milk supply company at Jeff era Wis has decided to purchase motor trucks for gathering milk in i vicinity Several routes will be plaAr to reJieve producers of the burden mak'lig extra trips to the fact or their extra supplies It is planned ultimately collect all milk by- ruck mixture of "the vigorous vintage of old Spain' and "the milder Aztec strain" and her tragic death in saving him in a stampede The last verse is exquisite: lUtiMU Villus lUr ut-BL Burrj tlliu calves possible to produce Education Begins A system of education for the benefit of farmers and stockmen of Texas and the Southwest was undertaken Through the newspapers the farm and The little gray hawk hangs aloft in ir- t1 TAN EL Located in the heart of the city Rooms without bath $ioo and up rooms with bath $150 and up In the center of the shopping district and within a few minutes' walk of all banks Th Connected with the hotel and under the same management is the Metropolitan Hotel Cafe Street car service to all depots Street cars for all points of the city pass the front door The Metropolitan Hotel Cafe is the most select dining hall in Fort orth New Modem Fireproof Comfort 150 rooms with bath and en suite 300 guest rooms elegantly equipped Place to Sleep The Every delicacy in season meals served a la carte prices reasonable Every guest room is equipped with hot and cold running water Private dining rooms for parties and fajnUUet without extra charge Every guest room is connected with the local and long distance telephone nace Every department of the hotel is steam heated Service A spacious well equipped and generously furnished Billiard and Pool Hall is open to visitors for their entertainment and amusement fD Eat Every department and every guest room is with pure artesian water from our own wells Large sample rooms provided for traveling men QTTTJ MAN TOR mm El.