The West 27 



River, Chicago, and finally on toward the eastern ports 

 of New York and Boston, some of the meat even going 

 across the Atlantic to the big consuming centers of Eu- 

 rope. The general drift of all live-stock from the Rocky 

 Mountains, and to some extent from west of that region, 

 is eastward, in other words, from the centers of produc- 

 tion toward the centers of consumption. In the western 

 country, there are certain local centers of consumption 

 which take a portion of the live-stock. These centers 

 are Seattle, Portland, Spokane, San Francisco, and Los 

 Angeles, of which the larger are Portland, Seattle, and 

 San Francisco. Portland, Spokane, and Seattle handle 

 fill the stock from Oregon and Washington and part of 

 the stock from Idaho and Montana. San Francisco and 

 Los Angeles handle the California stock and some from 

 Nevada. Denver is an important market but is really 

 a part of the eastern system and the trade is largely con- 

 fined to stockers and feeders on their way to the pastures 

 and feed lots of the Corn-Belt. The shipments of stock 

 vary according to the season and the kind of stock. In 

 the fall all kinds of stock are more abundant than at other 

 times. The surplus is, therefore, obliged to go to the 

 eastern markets. The western markets all have to com- 

 pete with the eastern markets along their boundary line, 

 and hence the prices follow eastern quotations, with such 

 variations as may be necessary to account for the differ- 

 ence in freight. These small western markets help ma- 

 terially, but it is the Chicago and Missouri River markets 

 that really fix the price. The prices of western stock are, 

 therefore, with a few exceptions, Chicago prices less the 

 expenses of shipment. In any comparison of the live- 

 stock industry of the West and of the central states, this 

 difference of price must not be forgotten. 



