Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-01-05

not, but disease in an animal on hoof can
be readily detected. 1t is largely for this
reason that American refrigerated beef
sells at pence pound in London, while
beef from cattle shipped to Liverpool sells
at 4 pence; the English public prefer
ing to pay more for beef when they are
sure of its purity.
Stripped of all sophistry, the simple
issue with the Chicago Beef Combine, is
that, under their control of the Chicago
market, all competition is practically shut
out, and without competition the
cattle markets of the country are subject
to the mercy Of men aclio kRoag no rsercy, and
who, in short, have acquired their mill
ions By modern commercial methods in
monopelizing food products and depress-
ing prices to producers and increasing
prices to consumer. Assuming that there
are over 100 900 butchers in the United
States, it is reasonable to believe that
these men would be compelled TO pay
prices for beef determined by the natural
laws of trade, owing to competition with
each other, if competitive markets ex-
listed. There is certainly community OF
interest between beef producers and
butchers; one produces cattle and the
other markets their products. The large
receipts of cattle at Chicago are pointed
to by the advocates of the Beef Combine
as indications of the production
of cattle in the United States,
but the fact is ignored that
nearly all other markets to which
cattle used TO go, when the business was
subject to natural conditions, are now
being supplied by the ice box meat sent
out by the Chicago packers, and nearly
all Western cattle go te one market. Texas
cattle in former days were shipped to
New Orleans, Shreveport, Little Rock,
Memphis and other markets, where
buyers competed for them and paid
prices determined by the natural laws of
trade. To-day there is in the United
States but virtually one market, which
controls the entire cattle business, and at
that market fve-siXths of the cattle are
purchased by the four OF five firms COM
prising the Beef Combine. A few years
ago when the cattle business was pros
porous, before the power of the dressed
beef syndicate had reached its present
enormous proportions, scores of buyers
could be found at all times in the Nation
al stock yards at East ST. Louis. Buyers
from Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Cleveland,
Detroit, Buffalo. Albany, and, in fact,
from all Eastern states were at these
yards and prices were determined by the
laws of supply and demand. But, to-
day at the stock yards at East St. Lonis
scarcely any buyers are seen except the
agents of the Beef Combine. AT Kansas
City the same condition of affairs exist.
The best obtainable information goes to
demonstrate that there are less cattle in
the United States to-day in proportion to
population than there was at the time
when cattle values were highest. Con-
sumers are paying, as all know,
ON an average as much for
beef as they paid when cattle
values were highest. This being the case,
there is certainly something radically
wrong Looking back to the time when
the cattle business was prosperous, we
find that cattle were then carried from
producing fields to consuming centers,
where they were purchased by butchers
at prices fixed by the cost Of production,
and competition among buyers. 1t is
reasonable to assume that a return to the
conditions that then existed win bring a
return of the results that were then OBJ
tanned