PART II-THE SLAUGHTERING AND MEAT-PACKING INDUSTRY IN CHICAGO. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. The significance of Chicago as a slaughtering and meat-packing center-The stockyards district of Chicago-The development of the industry--Households studied— Members of households for whom detailed information was secured-Employees for whom information was secured-[Text Tables 126 to 130, General Tables 58 to 60]. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CHICAGO AS A SLAUGHTERING AND MEAT-PACKING CENTER." In 1905 the value of the output of the slaughtering and meat-packing industry in the city of Chicago was $269,581,486. This figure represents 29.5 per cent of the total value of slaughtering and meatpacking products for the United States. Not only is Chicago the principal center of the industry of the country, but the industry is the most important in the city. It appears from the special reports of the United States census on manufactures that in 1905 the value of the slaughtering and meat-packing output amounted to 28.2 per cent of the value of all local manufactures. In capital invested and in the average number of wage-earners, as well as in the value of products, slaughtering and meat packing outranks all other industries of the city. There were at the time specified 24 establishments in the city, the property of 13 individuals or firms, and the capital invested was $69,880,273. An expenditure of $230,866,378 was made for raw materials. Of the 22,391 wage-earners reported by the census, 19,857, or 88.7 per cent, were men 16 years of age or over, 2,477, 11.1 per cent, were women 16 years of age or over, and only 57 were children. The total sum annually paid in wages was $12,243,111. THE STOCK-YARDS DISTRICT OF CHICAGO. or The Chicago police district known as the stock-yards district, extends from Thirty-ninth street on the north to One hundred and seventh street on the south, and from State street on the east to Forty-eighth street on the west. These limits, however, contain much territory not directly tributary to the stock yards. Practically all the workmen who are employed in the stock yards and slaughtering and packing houses are found residing within the district bounded on the north by Thirty-ninth street, on the south by Fifty-fifth street, on the east by Wentworth avenue, and on the a Figures from United States census of manufactures for 1905. west by Western avenue. This area includes what is known as the Twenty-ninth Ward. A conservative estimate of 300,000 is placed upon the population of the stock-yards police district. The residence district of the employees of the slaughtering and meat-packing industry, or the Twenty-ninth Ward, as defined above, contains at least 100,000 persons, and this population is chiefly of first and second generations of immigrants. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY. The slaughtering and meat-packing industry as it exists to-day was started in Chicago in 1875. For ten years prior to that time individuals were engaged in slaughtering live stock, especially cattle, but they had no means to protect the product, if held, The meats had to be placed on the market in the shortest possible time, and the methods then in vogue precluded the possibility of building up such a business as exists to-day. Since that time, methods and devices have been introduced which enable those engaged in the business to butcher and cure cattle, sheep, hogs, and other live stock as well in one season as in another without fear of loss, and has made possible the regular employment of a large body of men and women. HOUSEHOLDS STUDIED. In the course of the investigation in Chicago detailed information was secured from 359 households, the heads of which were engaged in the slaughtering and meat-packing industry. The following table shows the households studied according to general nativity and race. of head of household: TABLE 126.-Households studied, by general nativity and race of head of household. |