A RANCHMAN'S RECOLLECTIONS 



Rich boys often enter into succession with the handi- 

 cap of great accomplishments by their fathers. These 

 young men go up through fewer opportunities to 

 fight out great problems. Their environment is one 

 of comparative luxury. They are plunged into re- 

 sponsibility. But all these men have shouldered their 

 heritage and carried the flag of American commerce 

 on and on, in spite of the criticism, baiting and often 

 persecution which have come to them, doing as 

 much as their progenitors in widening the avenues 

 of trade and saving waste to the world. 



The early story of G. F. Swift is well known. He 

 was a peddler of meats in New England. Due to 

 thrift and good business, he became a packer in Chi- 

 cago in 1875, and extended his operations to Kansas 

 City and Omaha in 1888 — about the time that I went 

 with the Kansas City Armours. His struggle for 

 growth probably represents the most wonderful 

 financing in earlier years ever done by an American 

 firm. I shall not attempt to describe what I know 

 about the details except to say that he was a heavy 

 borrower from country banks, always met his obli- 

 gations promptly, and had a perfect system of "kiting 

 drafts." He finally arriving at his great system of 

 thousands of stockholders — a credit as good as the 

 best — and a business equal to his greatest competitor. 

 I know G. F. Swift slightly, but his characteristics 

 and methods, as they have come to me by observa- 

 tion and from many of his own men, have always 



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