St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-10-28
THE PACKING SEASON.
Last Years Losses and the Prospects
This Year.
Especial Telegram to the Globe


CHICAGO, Oct. 27.-This week the packing
season opens. Even provision traders, how
ever, would scarcely take note of the date
were it not that industrious newspaper
writers, their repertoire of gossip long ago
exhausted, were excitedly calling attention
to the fact that pork will soon be regular"
Last years packing season was made rather
remarkable by q long and bitter
war between the packers and hog raisers.
The former, at the outset of last season, an
nounced that they had made sales upon a
basis that hogs would sell at about &c per
pound and that this was the best figure they
would pay. Following this announcement
came all sorts of maneouvers to lower the
hgures. The packers were in alliance, as
they always are, at the opening of the season.
One day they would hold of from buying
and allow hogs to accumulate. On another
they would send into the country and at
tempt to food the yards here with hogs pur-
chased by their own men. On still another the
hogs at Kansas City would be bought up and
sent to Chicago. 1t was thought that the
scalpers helped to support the market, and
an organized raid was made upon this frater-
nifty at the stock yards. Not one of these
measures, or all of them, ayailed to lower the
price Of hogs under six cents. The farmers
would not sell under it. Indeed, they would
not ship. For the first time in the history of
the trade, the packing autocrats suffered
defeat. The greatest Of them all was
the first to discover the mistake made at the
outstart, and abandoning such of his associates
as wanted longer to continue the fight, he
began to pay farmers their price and to fill
his warehouse. He used enough speed to
make up for the delay at the outstart.
Last season was a disastrous one for the
packers generally. 1t is conceded that Ar
mour was the first one to decide that sales of
pork on a basis of 4c for hogs was ruinous,
and the belief is that he reeouped the losses
Of the early season by the great
and successful bull movement he
engineered later, but the other
packers were probably vast losers. In the
pItiful confession which young Atkinson
wrote to his partner, Davies, he says in ex-
tenuation of his speculations, 81 thought to
make up the losses of last year." Davies,
Atkinson 81 Co., with the funds at their con-
troll, packed to as good advantage as most OF
the other houses. There is another sign that
last year entailed greatlosses. 1t is notlikelY
that young Singer would retire from the Chi
cago Packing company in which an interesting
| good year is worth a fortune, if he had no!
| learned that the same business in bad yeal
will wipe out fortune.
What prospect have the packers for the
season which opens next Saturday! Hogl
are cent pound cheaper than they were {
year ago. That is certainly an advantage
over last year, but there are disadvantages
The i'll sucsess of the packers last year lost
them the advantage of the pres
tige they had always had. Henceforward
farmers viii not feel SO helpless in the matte
of fixing the price Of hogs. The successful
fight that their commission men at the yard
made for them on the point of hog shrinkag
last summer shows that the packers are no
any longer the absolute dictators they ono
were. The signs are that the coming season
is entered upon with some distrust by al
parties. The packers can no longer conside
themselves superior to ordinary market in
fuences. The farmers who raise hogs cal
scarcely expect better luck than their neigh
bor5 who raise wheat, corn and oats.