Kennewick Wins the Northwest's Great Livestock Clearing House

Union stock yards, owned and maintained jointly by the packers and stockmen of the Northwest, are to be located in Kennewick. The yards, which will be known as the Seattle-Portland Union Stock Yards, will have a capacity equal to any of the large city yards. They will be used as a central clearing house thru which will pass practically all of the livestock raised between the Canadian line and the Rocky mountains.

Although a few of Kennewick's business men knew of plans being formulated for the yards, the official announcement made in last Sunday's Seattle press was the first intimation the community in general had that any such industry was being contemplated.

Every large packer in the Northwest, with the exception of Carstens, of Tacoma, is back of the enterprise, and among the incorporators of the new company are some of the most prominent commission men and stock raisers of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. These men are locating the yards here not because Kennewick wants them, but because they consider the enterprise good business judgment. The site comprises the east part of town near the S. P. & S. depot, in the triangle between the tracks of the Northern Pacific, the S. P. & S., and the O.-W. R. & N. railroads. Included in the tract are the suburban places of E. M. Sly, P. O. Book, F. H. Patten and W. S. Heston. The site is ideally located from a standpoint of transportation facilities, drainage and nearness to the business section of the city. Options on these lands were taken several weeks ago by R. E. Pratt and L. Johnson, who were acting as agents for the Seattle-Portland interests, and since that time Mr. Pratt has been devoting much of his time assisting the promoters to work out the preliminary plans.

It is the intention of the company to have the yards completed in time to receive the heavy fall movement of livestock from the ranges and farms of the Northwest country.

The official announcement sent out last Sunday from the Seattle Union Stock Yards follows:

"Packers and commission men of this state and stockmen of Montana and Idaho have organized the Seattle-Portland Union Stock Yards, with a capital stock of $100,000, and will build independent yards at Kennewick. Among the incorporators are Charles J. Frye, head of the Frye Packing company; Henry Waechter, president of the Waechter Commission company at these yards; E. H. Stanton, James Sexton, James Kidwell, of Baker City, Ore., and Butte, Mont., and William Balm, of Baker City.

"Fifty packers and stockmen are uniting in the project, convinced, it is announced, that the increase of the stock-raising industry in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana has now reached a point where a good feeder market is required. The location for the distribution of feeders in the Walla Walla and Columbia river territory is regarded as ideal.

"Plans have been made to build and equip yards with a capacity equal to that of Portland or Seattle. The site has already been purchased and work on the plant is to begin at once. No packing house is included in the plans. Stock that cannot be marketed at Kennewick will be diverted to Seattle and Portland."