56 THE BEEF BONANZA. 



pany for the purpose of breeding, buying, and selling 

 horses, cattle, and sheep it would prove enormously 

 profitable. I have no doubt but a company properly 

 managed would declare an annual -dividend of at least 

 25 per cent. Such a company organized, with a presi- 

 dent, secretary, treasurer, and board of directors, and 

 conducted on strictly business principles, would realize 

 a far larger profit on the money invested than if put 

 into mining, lumber, iron, manufacturing, or land com- 

 panies. Nothing, I believe, would beat associated capi- 

 tal in the cattle trade, unless it would be banking, and 

 stock-raising would probably fully compete with even 

 banking as a means of profit on capital invested in large 

 sums. 



Such a company should buy Texas cattle, locate them 

 on ranges, placing 5000 head on each ranch, then breed 

 them up for the market, increasing quantity and quality 

 as fast as possible, selling all beeves whenever mature, 

 and cows as fast as they become too old to breed from 

 or were not suitable for breeding purposes. As fast as 

 beeves and cows were sold the first three years the 

 money realized should be used, or at least a good part 

 of it, to fill up the herds with good young stock. 



The ranches and ranges should be located with a view 

 of ultimately buying the land or securing control of it 

 for a long term of years. The company should operate 

 and secure, to as great an extent as possible, the 

 monopoly of government contracts and furnishing the 

 Eastern markets with beef. It should aim to grow to 

 be a controlling power in all that affected beef, and 

 eventually, not only packed beef and pork, but tan 



