162 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AaRICULTURE 



it does not seem consistent witli modern methods to weigh a volume 

 of business that reaches over $300,000,000 by a similar system that 

 was installed when the business was only $166,000,000. In other words, 

 since the present system was inaugurated, the check-rower has come 

 into use, the self-binder, the hay fork, the manure spreader, the silo, 

 the gas engine, the cream separator, and the automobile. These are 

 but a few of the many instances ol' the progress of our time, and the 

 things now established as necessary to our work. All serve to very 

 materially reduce the amount of toil and the number of people em- 

 ployed, yet the Western Weighing Association, at Chicago, maintains 

 twenty automatic and two beam scales, with night and day weigh- 

 masters for each, in order to carry on the business of weighing stock. 

 These remarks are not intended as a criticism, but as a comparison of 

 how the shipper has progressed at home with the instruments of his 

 labor, while a system is still in vogue at the largest market in this 

 country that would not be employed by a going business concern. It 

 is not a very difficult matter usually to find fault with that which an- 

 other has to do. The object of this paper, however, is not so much to 

 criticise as to present a comparison with another method of securing 

 the weight for freight charges which is in use at other stock centers. 



I have already acquainted you with an outline of the situation at 

 Chicago. I now wish to direct your attention to a system somewhat 

 recently adopted at South Omaha, Sioux City, St. Joseph and National 

 Stock Yards, whereby the weighing of stock in cars, before unloading, 

 is done away with. I desire to state that my personal knowledge of 

 the details of this latter method is confined to the plan in operation 

 at South Omaha, but I am informed that the other cities mentioned 

 have in operation the same general plan, although the details may differ 

 somewhat. The main features of the system are as follows: 



1. All weighing on track scales is abandoned. 



2. The weights on all shipments are ascertained by the Western 

 Weighing Association at the accounting office of the stock yards com- 

 pany. 



3. The railroads convey the stock from the main-line trains by means 

 of switch engines, immediately on arrival, placing the cars on the stock 

 yards transfer tracks. The stock yards switch engines then take the 

 cars to the unloading chutes, where the stock is unloaded and yarded. 



4. W^hen the stock is sold, the hoof or sale weights are taken to 

 the Western Weighing Asso'Ciation by the commission firm, where the 

 amount of freight, less a fill allowance, is calculated. 



5. The fill allowance is deducted as follows: Cattle on the cars 

 less than twelve hours, 500 pounds per car; cattle on the cars over 

 twelve hours, 800 pounds per car. The allowance for hogs is 300 pounds 

 per car for single-deck cars and 600 pounds for double-deck cars, re- 

 gardless of the time in cars. No fill allowance on sheep. The weight 

 of dead or crippled animals is estimated. 



6. The weights on shipments of two or more cars from one con- 

 signor to one consignee, from one station, on any given day are aver- 

 aged. For example: John Jones has five cars of cattle consigned to 



