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PART IV-SLAUGHTERING AND MEAT PACKING IN SOUTH OMAHA.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

Industrial significance of the community-The significance of South Omaha as a slaughtering and meat-packing center-Description of the locality-Inducements and obstacles to immigration-Households studied-Members of households for whom detailed information was secured-Employees for whom information was secured[Text Tables 259 to 263 and General Tables 162 to 164].

INDUSTRIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COMMUNITY.

South Omaha is especially representative of the meat-packing and slaughtering industry. Moreover, over one-half of its population is of foreign birth, all of the immigrants being either employed in or dependent upon the meat-packing establishments. In view of its recent development, therefore, South Omaha may be said to be a representative immigrant community, largely made up of races of recent immigration, which has grown up in recent years around the slaughtering and meat-packing industry.

The packing houses are all located on the hills west of the business part of the town and are adjacent one to the other. Most of the cattle are supplied through the Stock Yards Company, which is the central source for the supply of live stock. Its yards are centrally located and lead conveniently into the packing houses. As showing the extent and development of the meat-packing industry in South Omaha, the following general summary of the industry, for the years 1900 and 1905, is interesting:

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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SOUTH OMAHA AS A SLAUGHTERING AND MEAT

PACKING CENTER.

In 1905 the value of the output of the slaughtering and meatpacking industry at South Omaha was $65,530,935. This figure represents 7.2 per cent of the total value of slaughtering and meatpacking products for the United States.

In South Omaha slaughtering and meat packing is not only the principal industry, but the only industry of importance. The returns

of the United States Bureau of the Census show that in 1905 the value of the slaughtering and meat-packing products constituted 97.2 per cent of the value of all local manufactures. There were in the city at the time specified five establishments, and the total capital invested was $19,690,287. An expenditure of $57,806,537 was made during the year for raw materials. Of the 5,339 wage-earners in 1905 reported by the census, 4,963, or 93 per cent, were men 16 years of age or over; 228, or 4.3 per cent, were women 16 years of age or over; and 148 were children under 16. At the last census of population for which the returns are available, that of 1900, South Omaha had 26,001 inhabitants.

While there may very probably have been an increase in the population in the five years that followed, it is evident that in 1905 a very considerable proportion of the inhabitants of working age were employed in the slaughtering and meat-packing industry. In 1905 the total sum paid in wages to the employees of the industry was $3,034,633.

DESCRIPTION OF THE LOCALITY.

South Omaha is located in Douglas County, Nebr., south of the city of Omaha. The corporate limits of South Omaha adjoin those of the city of Omaha, the two being connected by trolley lines.

Before the year 1887 what is now South Omaha consisted of several farms and cattle establishments. In 1887 a Chicago packing company erected a large establishment at South Omaha and later two other companies, one local and one a branch of a Chicago concern, erected large plants in the community. These establishments are now in operation. Aside from the merchants and tradespeople and a few who are employed in small foundries and machine shops, everyone in the community is either employed in or dependent upon the slaughtering and meat-packing industry.

INDUCEMENTS AND OBSTACLES TO IMMIGRATION.

Chief among the inducements to immigration to South Omaha are, obviously, the opportunities for employment in the packing houses. This is the main attraction that draws so many immigrants into the community. A second inducement is the existence of immigrant centers of the various races. The presence of considerable numbers of certain races attract not only the working people, but also the immigrant business men who desire to engage in trade. The favorable location of the community, together with excellent church and school facilities, draws another class of immigrants. The people who come to the community because of these inducements are usually of a more substantial type than are those who are drawn to the city by strictly industrial opportunities.

The only obstacle to immigration applies to but one race and is not general in its nature. Strong racial prejudice has existed for a great many years against the Greeks. It reached its climax in a race riot a few years ago, when the entire Greek settlement was driven from the community by a mob. Immigrants of other races meet with no general obstacles.

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HOUSEHOLDS STUDIED.

In addition to the other data collected in the city, a detailed study was made of 4,660 employees and of 339 households, the heads of which were employed in the slaughtering and meat-packing plants. The following table shows the households studied, according to general nativity and race of head of household:

TABLE 259.-Households studied, by general nativity and race of head of household.

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The above table shows that 339 households were studied in this community, of which number 88.5 per cent are households whose heads are foreign-born and 11.5 per cent native-born of native father. The households whose heads are Bohemians and Moravians constitute a larger proportion of the total number of households studied than do the households whose heads are Poles and Germans combined, the Poles constituting a fraction over and the Germans a fraction under 17 per cent. Following in the order named are the Lithuanians, Irish, Roumanians, and Japanese, the households of the last race constituting 0.9 per cent of the total.

MEMBERS OF HOUSEHOLDS FOR WHOM DETAILED INFORMATION WAS SECURED.

The following table shows, by general nativity and race of head of household, the number and per cent of persons in the households studied and persons for whom detailed information was secured:

TABLE 260.-Persons in households studied and persons for whom detailed information was secured, by general nativity and race of head of household.

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Of the 1,913 persons found in the 339 households studied in this table, 91.3 per cent are in households the heads of which are foreignborn and only 8.7 per cent are in households the heads of which are native-born. Of those for whom detailed information was secured, 90.3 per cent are in foreign and 9.7 per cent in native households.

The following table shows sex of persons in the households studied for whom detailed information was secured, according to general nativity and race of head of household:

TABLE 261.-Sex of persons for whom detailed information was secured, by general nativity and race of head of household.

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The foregoing table shows that of 1,716 persons in the households studied for whom information was obtained in this locality, the larger proportion, or 54.9 per cent, were males. The proportion of males in the foreign households is slightly in excess of the proportion shown by the total, while of the native-born the females slightly predominate. With the exception of the Japanese and Roumanians, 98.7 and 61.1 per cent, respectively, of whom are males, there is little difference in the proportion of males shown by the other races, each race, with the exception of the native whites, reporting a percentage slightly in excess of 50.

The table next presented sets forth the number and per cent of persons for whom detailed information was secured, by sex and general nativity and race of individual:

TABLE 262.-Persons for whom detailed information was secured, by sex and general nativity and race of individual.

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Of a total of 1,716 individuals for whom detailed information was secured, it will be seen that of the males the foreign-born show a larger proportion than either the native-born of native father or the native-born of foreign father, while of the females the native-born of foreign father show a larger proportion than either the nativeborn of native father or the foreign-born.

As regards the foreign-born races it will be seen that the Bohemian and Moravian shows the largest proportion of males, followed by the Japanese, German, and Polish, while the Canadian other than French, English, and Scotch each shows less than 1 per cent, and he French none. On the other hand, while the Bohemian and Moravian shows the largest proportion of females also, they are

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